I’ve been reading some really amazing books over the last few months, and I’m so grateful for this kind of literature in my life. And even more so when I stop to think about what I loved about them.
Here are some of my favorites that I think you should read too …
Your book recommendations (in no particular order):
Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall — OMG this book. It was not at all what I expected. I knew from the description it would be an unreliable narrator (one of my favorite things), and that it was about a man stalking his exgirlfriend. And the whole time I was reading it I kept exclaiming how completely f*cked up the book is — in the best way, obviously. So good. But then. DUDE. THE ENDING. It becomes so much more and deeper and heavier than you would expect. I love this book. I can’t wait to reread it.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James — This book is kind of a ghost story plus a bit of a murder mystery, so perfect for the fall. Also some historical fiction elements. But what I love even more about this book is that it feels ever so subtly feminist. I’m not sure how to describe it specifically, but to me the fact that the cast is actually balanced by gender feels like a big deal. Of all the books on this list, this one feels like the lightest, but still so good.
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith — In case this fact has escaped you somehow in the last however many years … Robert Galbraith is a pen name of J.K. Rowling. Lethal White is the fourth in this detective series, and they just keep getting better. I want her to write these characters forever. This case takes the detective Cormoran Strike into the world of British politics and the families that operate in that circle. But purely beyond the case, the characters are dealing with their own personal struggles in a way that enhances the story and the series overall. I recommend all the books by Galbraith.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang — The first in what I believe is planned to be a trilogy of Young Adult Fantasy novels. It’s “inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic.” I love the genre, and I’m so glad for a non-pseudo-British fantasy option. The characters in this book are so great. The magic system is fantastic. The world-building overall is so interesting. I can’t wait for the next one.
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin — This is an example of the kind of book I want to write. Big, sprawling, multi-generational, multi-POV, literary AF. The Immortalists is about the four Gold siblings, who hear a prophecy about their deaths when they are very young, and how their lives then play out after that.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas — OMG I CRIED. I cried and cried. This book is so wonderful. Great (great) voice, characters, subject (#BlackLivesMatter). It’s a heavy book, but I already got a physical copy of it because I’ll know I want to reread it. And see the upcoming movie.
What are you reading? Anything to recommend?