My 5 Favourite Reads of 2017 + 2018 Book Challenge

My 5 Favourite Reads of 2017 + 2018 Book Challenge

It's four days into January, instafriends and book lovers! On December 31st, on the cusp of the new year I wrote about what I'm MOST excited about in 2018. But I gotta say, I'm also still not totally over 2017. There were so many fantastic movies that came out in theatres, so many spectacular shows that streamed and aired on cable and an abundance of amazing books that hit bookshops and library shelves! Friends, I have so much love for those characters and worlds I delved into in 2017, that I refuse to just say goodbye and leave it at that. In these next few posts look out for more of these 5 favourite countdowns. Do you mega love them too? Or maybe erm not so much? Tell me, don't hold back girlfriend (or dude) let's talk books!!! 

These are the five most outstanding books I cracked in 2017. Books that have moved me and hit me straight in the feels and heart and remain to be a part of me today. This assortment of unputdownable gems is extraordinary and while several of them were published in 2017 a few were published a few years earlier. This post pays homage to those new discoveries as well as new releases. None of these books are going to be used in reply to any of the Reading Resolutions in the 2018 Challenge I'm participating in! 

The two words that encompass the bulk of the reading I did, and these 5 books in particular: fantasy, and resiliency! Here it is, beginning with my absolute favourite of the year. . .

1. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett.

Published in 2003.

A 9-year-old witch in training seizes her trusty cast iron frying pan, and is accompanied by a talking toad, and a small army of tiny blue-skinned, rowdy Nac Mac Feegle to rescue her little brother from the dangerous and disturbing fairy realm. The Feegles, or ‘Wee Free Men’ are Scottish sheep stealing, and hard drinking Pictsies (pixies) that are always ready for a fight and add some more muscle and might to Tiffany’s fierce one-girl quest. There’s a heart and a soul to this book, that’s palpable on every page, and not a single wasted character or passage. Terry Pratchett’s writing thrums with magic, glitters like stardust and bathes you in a golden glow. It’s a can’t miss fantasy perfect for fans of Diana Wynne Jones, Harry Potter and Neil Gaiman.

2. The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange.

Published in 2016.

It’s 1919 and a young girl named Henrietta “Henry”  moves with her infant sister Piglet, ill mother, young nursemaid, and businessman father to a thickly wooded countryside. When her father leaves the country for business her mother falls into deeper depression, shut up in her bedroom, heavily medicated by a heartless doctor. With the nurse, Nanny Jane devoting all her time to caring for Roberta (Piglet) Henry who’s haunted by the sudden death of her elder brother Robert flees into the forest to seek refuge from the sadness and demands of life. On afternoon she meets an uncanny witchy woman swathed in tattered garments named Moth. The first real friend Henry has ever had, beyond that of the characters in her beloved fairytale books, Henry discovers Moth has a startling connection to the house Henry and her family moved into. This novel deftly tackles mental illness, loss and friendship in tender and heartfelt prose.

3. Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin.

Published October 2017.

After the disappearance of their beloved father, young sisters Snow White and Rose Red lose their lavish lifestyle in the city, and with their grieving mother move to a cottage on the edge of the woods. The very same woods that swallowed their father up.

With a dash of the fantastical, Snow & Rose is still grounded in reality with poignant characters and emotions. The storybook inspired narrative reads like fables and folklore and is anything but a sugary sweet Disney tale.

The enchanted woods aren’t merely a place to frolic, they’re a place of curses, darkness, and secrets. Emily Winfield Martin’s sweeping watercolour illustrations are steeped in the fantastical-- with whimsy and soul and the kisses of autumnal and spring colours. This art combined with the captivating prose, draws us into this, sometimes twisted, tale in a world that’s just a bit fractured from reality.

4. The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

Published October 2017.

The follow up and conclusion to Bradley’s earlier novel The War That Saved My Life, picks up where the story finished: Ada and Jamie reunited with Susan. The once reluctant guardian is now fully committed to being there for the orphaned siblings, and after the bill for Ada’s club foot surgery is covered by wealthy and intimidating Lady Thorton, the trio settles down in cottage on the far reaches of the Thorton estate.

It’s not long before the turbulence of World War II brings Lady Thorton, her daughter and Ada’s best friend Maggie, and a young German Jewish girl named Ruth into the once cozy, but now unbearably crowded cottage. Emotions and tempers run high as the outbreak of war intensifies around them.

Still recovering from years of her mother’s neglect and abuse, Ada’s skittishness and unease is still very much a part of her. Struggling with accepting  Susan’s unconditional love and encouragement, Ada often flees to Butter. Riding the yellow pony she nursed back to health in the first book is one of her only escapes from the turmoil and all the death and pain in her life.

Ruth as it turns out, also finds reassurance and comfort in being around horses, and the two girls, begin to open up to one another. Addressing topics such as disabilities, poverty, death and abuse this novel is anything but childish. Middle grade it may be, kiddie lit it is NOT. Adults, and teenagers will get swept up in Ada’s suffering and her healing, and the friendships this brave little girl forms. Mental illness, and homosexuality, once a taboo, is also subtly touched upon.

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

Published February 2017.

Undoubtedly of all the books on this ‘best of’ list, this one has the most buzz. This timely look at racial and social and political forces is one of the most powerful books on shelves today. A teenager Starr Carter is with her former best friend Kahlil when he’s shot by a cop in what should be a simple and routine stop.

The story largely takes place during the aftermath of Kahlil’s death, and trauma Starr has as a result of it. Her community is absolutely shaken, while her fancy suburban private high school is a world apart. Starr is a girl divided between two worlds. Her urban and largely Black and Hispanic neighborhood, and her largely white and wealthy school world. Pulled in many directions by friends, family and neighbors, Starr struggles to keep from unraveling entirely.

When Khalil’s name makes national headlines and continues to get smeared in the mud, with him being called a gangbanger, thug, and even drug dealer, Starr finally stands up and does one of the most daring things of all. The only witness that fateful night of the traffic stop, Starr tells everyone what actually happened.

The prose her is potent and memorable, and Starr’s voice resounds with the reader long after the last page is turned and the book closed. The heaviness here is undeniable, but there are also moments of humor scattered throughout, and a deep sense of justice and the sparks of bravery...one that starts off as tentative flickering flame before it ignites into a roaring blaze. Highly recommended.

Both Snow and Rose photographs arranged and taken by me. Other images from book covers and google.