My Top Ten Books of 2013
I receive hundreds of free books every year as a book buyer, and read every night. I finish at least one adult or children's book a week, and often read the first 20-50 pages of others. These ten books are my favorites of 2013, and it's an eclectic and personal list. If you read my reviews, you'll see that I didn't give them all 5 stars, but these are the books that I keep thinking about long after reading them.
Middle Grade:
AL CAPONE DOES MY HOMEWORK by Gennifer Choldenko. Perfectly crafted prose, terrific voice, unique setting and unforgettable characters. You'd think that as the third book in the Al Capone "series" that it would be a little tired, but instead it's even better than the others.
THE SECRET HUM OF A DAISY by Tracy Holczer. Hauntingly beautiful prose that will make you want to highlight passages. A story of loss and finding home that I read slowly so I could savor every word.
Young Adult:
THE LANGUAGE INSIDE by Holly Thompson. This verse novel is unique and a perfect intersection of form and content. An American girl raised in Japan, but out of place in America, finds herself through helping a paralyzed poet record her poems, and befriending the son of Cambodian refugees.
WINGER by Andrew Smith. Funny, rebellious, and ultimately heart-breaking.
HOSTAGE THREE by Nick Lake. Thriller of a girl and her dad and step-mom taken hostage by Somali pirates. Brilliantly shows the emotions, motivations and delusions of both the captives and the captors.
DIVIDED WE FALL by Trent Reedy. A book that feels very real, very now as a young Idaho National Guardsman must choose between allegiance to his state and the Federal government, trying to squash a revolution. A balanced political argument that invites debate.
Adult Fiction:
A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING by Ruth Ozeki. Three interwoven stories that cross decades as well as the Pacific. A complex, nuanced story with rich cultural flavor.
THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Stimsion. This book just makes me laugh with its narrator who attempts to reduce love to the Wife Project. Loved this brilliant, rigid, generous character.
THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin. A smart story of a grieving bookseller brought back to life by the baby abandoned in his shop. Omniscient POV, characters as flavorful as Dickens, classic themes in a contemporary story.
Happy Reading in the New Year!
Middle Grade:
AL CAPONE DOES MY HOMEWORK by Gennifer Choldenko. Perfectly crafted prose, terrific voice, unique setting and unforgettable characters. You'd think that as the third book in the Al Capone "series" that it would be a little tired, but instead it's even better than the others.
THE SECRET HUM OF A DAISY by Tracy Holczer. Hauntingly beautiful prose that will make you want to highlight passages. A story of loss and finding home that I read slowly so I could savor every word.
Young Adult:
THE LANGUAGE INSIDE by Holly Thompson. This verse novel is unique and a perfect intersection of form and content. An American girl raised in Japan, but out of place in America, finds herself through helping a paralyzed poet record her poems, and befriending the son of Cambodian refugees.
WINGER by Andrew Smith. Funny, rebellious, and ultimately heart-breaking.
HOSTAGE THREE by Nick Lake. Thriller of a girl and her dad and step-mom taken hostage by Somali pirates. Brilliantly shows the emotions, motivations and delusions of both the captives and the captors.
DIVIDED WE FALL by Trent Reedy. A book that feels very real, very now as a young Idaho National Guardsman must choose between allegiance to his state and the Federal government, trying to squash a revolution. A balanced political argument that invites debate.
Adult Fiction:
A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING by Ruth Ozeki. Three interwoven stories that cross decades as well as the Pacific. A complex, nuanced story with rich cultural flavor.
THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Stimsion. This book just makes me laugh with its narrator who attempts to reduce love to the Wife Project. Loved this brilliant, rigid, generous character.
THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin. A smart story of a grieving bookseller brought back to life by the baby abandoned in his shop. Omniscient POV, characters as flavorful as Dickens, classic themes in a contemporary story.
Happy Reading in the New Year!
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