According to GoodReads.com I read 20,948 pages from 57 books. So you can imagine how hard it was to narrow down to only 10 for the best books I’ve read this year. There were so many good ones! I think I ultimately went with these 10 was because while I may have liked some of the other books more or given other’s better reviews or more stars, these 10 books stuck with me longer after finishing reading them. I would like to think that our Diverse Lives, Diverse Stacks: Diverse Narrators reading challenge is working for me because half of the books were written by Women of Color and they contain protagonists from very diverse backgrounds. That’s exciting to me but enough of this, let’s get on to the list.
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas– This book was as heartbreaking as it was realistic. Starr is caught between two worlds but doesn’t really how different they are or how truly different she acts to accommodate both parts of her life until her friend is killed by a police officer during a routine traffic stop and she is the only witness. This really should be a must read in all schools for generations to come and I’m excited that it will also be a movie coming out next year.
- Pyromantic by Lish McBride– It’s funny, it’s sarcastic, it’s action packed but mostly it is just plain fun. I really hope that Lish returns to these characters because there is just so much weirdness she can do with them.
- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor-This is such a lush story with great imagery and original concept. There really isn’t another novel out there right now. The ending was such a surprise that I have no idea what to expect in the sequel.
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon-Just like The Hate U Give, this is another heartbreaking but all too realistic look at today’s youth. To strangers, meet and share a life changing day as Natasha fights to stop her family from being deported and Daniel fights the expectations of being a child of immigrants.
- The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin-How do you describe this book? It has so much going on and it’s not certain how they all interweave but you know they must somehow. It’s truly a powerful book it’s no wonder it’s won so many awards.
- Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray-The third book in The Diviners series takes place in the 1920’s but with it’s themes of race, gender equality and science it’s more relevant than you would think. Evie, Sam, Memphis, Jericho, Theta, Ling Henry and Isiah have to overcome the coming darkness but also the social limits society places on those in the minority.
- All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater-People come from far and wide to seek miracles from the Saints of Bicho Raro but even saints themselves need miracles and sometimes those miracles can’t be achieved on their own, sometimes they need a little help from others. That’s the lesson from this one, it’s great to self sufficient but don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
- The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan-A great ending to a great trilogy and the power of how diversity makes us stronger.
- Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake-It’s dark and mysterious but also cool to read of world where women rule and men play supportive roles. That women are just as complicated and conflicted and are able to be both and still show strength and vulnerability. Here we get three young women who all of those things and more.
- WarCross by Marie Lu-This was fun and exciting thrill of a book. Full of mystery and kind of a spy novel in a way. Emika a down on her luck, hacker/bounty hunter gets a chance to play in the biggest game ever in hopes of finding another hacker trying to sabotage the game. It’s full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.
So these are my favorite books of 2017. What are yours?
**Spoiler Alert**
I have missed my sassy Cajun, Nick and his friends. Eight books in and boy that boy has been through a lot. This is the last book in the Chronicles of Nick but not really as it’s lead in to a spin-off series, I guess? I’m not really sure how I feel about it. First, the book was fun and zippy. Just like the other books in the series, it’s no-stop from the beginning to end. It’s fast paced that I had to slow myself down or I would have read it all in one sitting. Nick’s son, Cyprian Malachai has come back from the future to make sure that Nick stays on the path to destroy the world. In doing so, he frames Nick for the murders of his former friends that kicked off the whole series. That plot line is actually a nonentity in the book itself as it’s quickly resolved but it does lead to Nick start to understand what is really going and how to stop it. The one thing that has separated Nick from the all the Malachai’s before him is that he was loved by his mother and he has the loyalty of his friends. Cyprian makes it clear that one of the reasons he hates Nick is that he is well liked while Cyprian is not. This seems kinda weak to me but who am I to judge. I’m sure we will get more in the Shadows of Fire series that will feature both Cyprian and Nick. So how does Nick defeat his foe. Obviously major spoilers so if you want to read more, check under the cut.
The first being 
Who Fears Death maybe produced by George R.R. Martin and HBO but in my mind N.K. Jemisin’s novel 
It’s a rare thing for me to start a series after all the books have been released. It’s kinda of thrilling to be able to read from beginning to end without having to wait years to finish. So with that in mind, I’m going to one big review after I have completed the trilogy. However I do have some thoughts. Lately, we have seen how some dystopian and fantasy novels could be prophetic, this is kind of a terrifying thought. The Tearling was founded by people escaping to the New World because the America we know had fallen in disrepair. The gap between the rich and poor had widen so far that there was no middle class left. Cities were nothing more then slums. Food was scarce. Martial law was enacted and women were forced out of the workforce to become mothers and housewives. So they sailed across the ocean, to where we don’t know where, looking for better lives only to losing all our advancements in medicine and technology. Basically the Tearling have traveled back to the Middle Ages and three centuries, Kelsea has inherited a Kingdom that is illiterate, sick, poor and at the Mercy of the Mortemense, the more powerful nation across the border. The Mort is ruled by the Red Queen, who is just a mysterious as she is terrifying. Kelsea, only 19 but is brave in her convictions. She knows her life may be short but she still sets out to do what’s best for her people, even if it means going against the Red Queen and her more advanced army. It is an intriguing start to the series and I’m already enjoying book two.
2 Women, So Many Books 