I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve read so far this year, and I want to spend a little more time talking about my favourite reads of the year so far and collect those thoughts in one place. I think I did a video version of this last year for what I believed to be the best books of the year (so far), but since then I’ve accepted that some of the books I love to read may not necessarily be the best of books. This list will be in no particular order, just vaguely chronological, so let’s begin!
K. Ancrum is truly just a once-in-a-lifetime author to me. Her prose and craft are so unique and endearing and every book by her feels like something that has done irreversible damage to my brain chemistry. This one is a modern-day thriller reimagining of Peter Pan with a very diverse cast in terms of race, sexuality, and disabilities, and is potentially the best and most enthralling Peter Pan reimagining that I’ve read so far.
This is a very unsettling and uncomfortable story about the vulnerability of minority kids who feel like they don’t have a place to belong. Every single book by this author is a love letter to friendships and found families, but this book also explores the importance of safety and how hard it can be to recognize abuse, especially when it can be disguised as kindness when you are longing to find a place to belong. It was an uncomfortable and thrilling read but I was still completely swept away alongside Wendy.
This is a book that I first picked up because of its comparisons to A Little Life in the sense that this is a story about suffering and dangerous loves and queerness. This didn’t emotionally wreck me like A Little Life did, which left me feeling completely numb. This story left me feeling angry and provoked instead.
I really enjoyed the structure of the book and how well Douglas navigates between two timeframes – a backstory weaved amongst a present in the loch – and how they come together for a final chapter that is nothing less than devastating, but with a hint of hope. I am not ashamed to admit that I was on the verge of tears for many of the later chapters. This is undoubtedly a very raw story, one that is equal parts captivating and horrific, but I think it will take a certain reader to see that kind of brutal honesty and value it.
This is a story of obsession, violence, intellect, passion, and cruelty. And it consumed me entirely. I finished reading it months ago and still don’t have the words for a review. It’s a slow, intoxicating book of violence and mental illness and subtle cruelty and consuming obsessive love. It’s a mess, and it’s so beautifully written, and I am perpetually devastated that this author doesn’t have any other books released at the moment.
The prose is incredible. The absolutely phenomenal level of detail just made each scene alive. It made the book slow and thoughtful but in the best way. You aren’t just viewing the world like the character would – you are so deep in his mind. The way his sensory overload seeps through the pages… I felt every word of it.
There was never any question in my mind that this would be one of my favourite middle-grade books of all time. It’s not that the book is atmospheric. It is, and strongly so. And it’s not that the characters are immediately and intensely engaging. They are, and without stretching or warping. And it’s not the flirtation with archetype, pastiche, and homage in the setup with smugglers, customs agents, and a company town. Though it does a fantastic job of both presenting them and reining them into a story you can lose yourself in. The power of this book is Milo.
Behind all the clues and ghost stories and thefts and lies, what Greenglass House really is is the story of a hero’s journey. Milo starts out a soft-spoken kid with little faith in his own abilities. Donning the mantle of a Dungeons & Dragons type character, he taps into a strength that he might otherwise not even know he had. Milo’s slow awakening to his own strengths and abilities is the heart of the novel. For all that people will discuss the mystery and the clues, it’s Milo that holds everything together.
This is a book about misogyny, transphobia, and ableism from the perspective of an autistic transgender boy. It has a thematic focus on the violent enforcement of gender roles and Victorian-era psychiatry as tools of oppression. The book means more to me than I can articulate, but be aware that it is not a fun or easy read.
To see a trans main character, with a brain like mine, who gets overwhelmed and cries and apologizes over and over, who doesn’t really get people or what they try to say, who moves through the world so similar to the way I do is something I am going to hold close. To read a book so darkly horrific, so brutally brilliant, and to point to the main character and go “Hey, that’s me”, to deeply understand their reactions and actions, is so incredibly special and rare to find.
So those are my favourite reads of the year so far. If you’ve read any of these and have opinions, or if you want to gush about your own favourite reads, let me know in the comments below.
TandeWrites 