FRIDAY FIVE: Books of 2015

Okay, this is a day late. Maybe I should just start calling this "Sometime During the Weekend Five." But better late than never, I suppose. And continuing with the obligatory end-of-the-year lists, here are my favorite books read in 2015 (and proof that fantasy rules my heart).

Rat Queens: Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery, Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

I've frequently lamented about how difficult it is to find adult high fantasy with female protagonists, and this one offers four. That and the recommendation of a friend were enough to get me to give this a chance. All four heroines are different and bring their own strengths to the team, and the world is interestingly fantastical so far. I already have the second volume in my TBR pile.

Beauty Queens, Libba Bray

I decided to pick this up after hearing good things about it on Tumblr, but I had reservations because I didn't love A Great and Terrible Beauty. This turned out to be quite the pleasant surprise. The story follows thirteen teenage beauty queens who crash on a seemingly deserted island while in transit to the Miss Teen Dream pageant. Like Rat Queens, Beauty Queens features a large cast of diverse female characters, all of whom have secrets and quirks and charms. This tale of friendship and bravery deserves a spot on every teenager's reading list.

Falling Kingdoms, Morgan Rhodes

I'm a sucker for high fantasy, obviously. This is the story of Mytica, a land of three divided kingdoms, and four teenagers whose lives intersect: Cleo, a princess who discovers that privilege ; Jonas, out for revenge on his brother's murderer; Lucia, whose magical powers are awakening in a land where magic is forbidden; and Magnus, who harbors a damaging secret. Although there's no real new ground broken here, it's light fare and makes for a fun, easy read. Again, I've got the second book in my TBR pile.

Days of Blood and Starlight, Laini Taylor
I adored Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and the second installment didn't disappoint. It opens up the world and delves deeper into the conflict between chimaera and angels. It also depicts the very real and awful consequences of war on those who wage it. Through it all, the relationships, especially the friendship between Karou and Zuzana, ground the story. And Taylor's lyrical writing borders on magical. The third and final book is, once again, in my TBR pile.

The Circle, Fire, and The Key, Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg

I don't even know what to say about these books because they're amazing and they were such a surprise! I got the first one in July on a whim because I had a gift card. When I finished, I immediately bought the second. Then I suffered for two months while I waited for the last one to be released. Basically, the trilogy follows six teenage girls who discover that they're witches and that their destiny is to stop the apocalypse. Only they're not even friends. How are they supposed to save the world?

The heart of this story is the girls: Minoo, Anna-Karin, Linnea, Vanessa, Rebekah, and Ida. All six girls are fully realized characters with their own hopes, fears, flaws, and strengths. Although they don't start out as friends, their relationships--both with the group as a whole and with other individuals--develop in realistic and moving ways. I want to re-read these already, and I've spent the last few months talking them up as much as possible!

FRIDAY FIVE: Young Adult Reads

I finished Kass Morgan's Day 21 tonight, so I decided to use today's Friday Five to talk about some of my favorite young adult books.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith

It's been a long time since I've read this book, but it's left a lasting impression. It follows Francie Nolan from childhood to mid-adolescence as she learns
Her world is dark and harsh, but Francie is able to hold on to her determination, hope, and love. I still get upset when I remember how her grandmother's savings was stolen by a conman, but it's Francie's vibrant spirit that stays with me.

Beauty Queens, Libba Bray

This book was such a pleasant surprise when I read it earlier this year! Fifty-one teenage girls are on a plane on their way to a beauty pageant when they crash on a seemingly uninhabited island. The thirteen who survive are forced to learn to get along in order to thwart the evil plot that's brewing on the island. It's chock-full of satire, but the heart of this story is the girls and their relationships with each other.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor

Karou has blue hair, enjoys art, and lives in Prague with a group of monstrous beings who send her on mysterious errands to gather teeth. Then handprints appear burned into doors, and her quiet yet unusual life is thrown into confusion. The story is different enough from other YA to immediately intrigue me, but once I hit the second half, I couldn't put it down. As if that weren't enough, Taylor's writing is lyrical and gorgeous.

Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli

This is another that I haven't read in a long time. Told from the point of view of Leo, Stargirl focuses on a girl who sweeps into town and changes everyone for the better until things change and they decide that she's too different for her own good.I remember it as a bittersweet exploration of growing up as well as a quirky celebration of individuality.

The Circle (The Engelsfors Trilogy), Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg

I have nothing but praise for this book! It centers on six very different girls in a small Swedish town called Engelsfors who are called to be the Chosen Ones and save the world from a magical apocalypse. It's a slow-burn story (which I love), and it takes time to develop each of the girls and their relationships with each other. I haven't had this hard a time choosing a favorite character since Orphan Black!

My Reading Year in Review

Since I've been in grad school, I haven't been reading for fun as much as I'd like. This past semester, I made a conscious effort, with some success, to read more books that weren't for school. Here are my five favorite books I read this year.

5. Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor

A friend recommended this to me. I went through a few stages while reading it. (1) This is interesting. I like the setting and the idea. (2) Oh, come on. Another teen love story? (3) Wow. The writing is gorgeous.

Thank goodness I didn't stop after stage two. I still haven't picked up the rest of the trilogy, but it's only from lack of time, not lack of interest.

"Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?"





4. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

This was the first book I read for a class in romance subgenres and one of the first books I read this year. It was different than I expected from the cover synopsis, but it was imaginative and full of wonder.

"I have been surrounded by love letters you two have built each other for years, encased in tents."








3. The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham

I remember listening to this audiobook a few years ago, maybe when I was in college. It left a much bigger impression on me this time around. Kitty isn't an extremely likable character, but she's a remarkably relatable one, at least to me. Very rarely, I read books that make me stop and wonder how the author got into my head, and I love that.

"I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art."



2. Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

I think, for a 26-year-old girl, I probably put a lot more faith than I should in a boy who refuses to grow up. Somehow, this book slipped through the cracks when I was growing up, so this was the first time I read it, and it's one of those cases when I read a book at the exact right moment in my life. It's funny and adventurous with an undercurrent of serious observations about the world and especially about growing up.

"To live will be an awfully big adventure."





1. Lovestar, Andri Snaer Magnason

Oh, my goodness, this book was so strange and so wonderful. Another recommendation from a friend, this Icelandic book is one I never would have found on my own. It's set in the future, when mankind has been freed from its reliance on cords by the harnessing of animal waves, and the story juxtaposes the life of Lovestar, the scientist who was responsible for this technology, with the lives of Indridi and Sigrid, two young lovers who believe they're meant to be together. It's very different, but in a refreshing I-didn't-know-I-needed-this kind of way.

"A seed becomes a tree becomes a forest green as a carpet. An egg becomes a bird becomes birds fill the sky like clouds.

An egg becomes a bump becomes a man becomes mankind, manufactures cars, writes books, builds houses, lays carpets, plants forests, and paints pictures of clouds and birds.

In the beginning all this must have been contained in the egg and the seed. Forest. Birds. Mankind."