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My Favourite Reads: 2017 Wrap-Up

It’s the fifth day of 2018, and I’m ready to talk about my favourite reads of 2017!

This year was probably my best reading year ever.

I read 105 books, and I really enjoyed almost all of them. That made it difficult to choose favourites. So, I decided to pick one per month and then add some honourable mentions. I’ll also give each book a little blurb, because I didn’t start posting my reviews on here until November. I’ll link my review if there is one.

Here we go!

Title links take you to Amazon, and the links underneath are to my reviews, if applicable.

January: Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me by Ellen Forney

This is my favourite graphic novel of all time. It’s a stunning, true memoir of the author’s experience with Bipolar Disorder, medication for it, and her relationship with her psychiatrist.

February: For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu

This is a book I had heard nothing about when I picked it up, and it was a haunting story of coming of age  as a transgender person.

March: Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey

This is the second book in the futuristic sci-fi saga called The Expanse. I recently wrote a review of Nemesis Games, the fifth book in the series. Clearly I’m enjoying it, having read four of them this year.

April: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This is another great sci-fi with some pretty fantastic 80s references. And it’s coming out as a feature film this year!

May: everything I never told you by Celeste Ng

This was a haunting story of family and growing up.

June: The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

The Paper Magician was a really interesting, unique take on magic, and I’m hoping to read the second book in the series, The Glass Magician, this year!

July: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

A “The Breakfast Book Club” choice, On Beauty was a chuckle-worthy and deeply moving story of a multiracial family and their feud/relationships with another such family.

August: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Illuminae is quite possibly the most original book format I’ve ever read. Pieced together from case files, text conversations, letters, reports, images, etc., it is an exciting story of futuristic political and physical battles, family, friendship, and love.

September: A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

The fourth installment in the Game of Thrones series, A Feast for Crows was an excellent fantasy read. My only beef is that as the fifth book follows different characters, I will not get to follow along with these characters’ stories until Martin finally publishes book 6!

October: It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

This was a story of depression that was incredibly realistic and heart-warming.

November: Another Day by David Levithan

Another Day is the sequel to Every Day, which is one of my favourite YA contemporary books. This sequel definitely did not disappoint.

December: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I have read everything John Green has written solo, and this is hands-down my favourite. A story exploring anxiety and the meaning of life. Check out my review if you’re interested.

Honourable Mentions!

Some books didn’t quite win out as best of each month, but they were awesome and I have to recommend them on here! In no particular order…

One

the sun and her flowers; milk and honey – both by rupi kaur

Simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting poetry and illustrations. I recently reviewed the sun and her flowers!

Two

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

A beautiful story of intertwining narratives set in small-town Alaska and Canada. Also the most recent review I’ve posted on my blog!

Three

The Break by Katherena Vermette

Another “The Breakfast Book Club” choice, this was a harrowing story of connected Métis voices in Winnipeg.

Four

Warcross by Marie Lu

This was a really exciting story, similar to Ready Player One, but also with an interesting speculative fiction/warning feel. My review is also on the blog!

Five

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

This book was incredibly inspiring and I definitely agree with Gilbert’s premise about creative ideas.

Six

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

This was a crushing story of hope and perseverance in the midst of debilitating illness.

Seven

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

This is now my Bible.

Eight

scrappy little nobody by Anna Kendrick

A hilarious look into the life of a wonderful woman.

Nine

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

A fun superhero/sci-fi novel about family, revenge, and justice. I wrote a review for it in December.

Well, there you have it! My favourite reads of 2017. I hope you enjoyed this list and you take some inspiration from it for your next read (or several)!

– Paperback Patronus

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Book Review: The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

The Smell of Other People’s Houses is the first book by writer Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock.

Once again, this was a cover buy for me, but also a title buy. I’ve always had a slight fascination with the striking differences in the smell of people’s homes.  Smells have always affected me strongly. Some can make me nauseated almost instantly. Others can make me cry, and still others make my throat close over (that part is because I’m allergic to a lot of smells). I really enjoyed the fact that this title actually ended up being integral to the plot of the novel. More on that later.

Now, I don’t want to ruin the effect of first seeing the cover for you by telling you what it looks like, but I will say that it has stars on it, and generally anything with stars on it is an instant cover-buy from me.

So, here’s this gorgeous cover I’ve been talking up:

Now, before I get to what I think, here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

“This deeply moving and authentic debut set in 1970s Alaska is for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and Benjamin Alire Saenz. Intertwining stories of love, tragedy, wild luck, and salvation on the edge of America’s Last Frontier introduce a writer of rare talent.

Ruth has a secret that she can’t hide forever. Dora wonders if she can ever truly escape where she comes from, even when good luck strikes. Alyce is trying to reconcile her desire to dance, with the life she’s always known on her family’s fishing boat. Hank and his brothers decide it’s safer to run away than to stay home—until one of them ends up in terrible danger.

Four very different lives are about to become entangled. This unforgettable William C. Morris Award finalist is about people who try to save each other—and how sometimes, when they least expect it, they succeed.“

Finally, here’s my review of The Smell of Other People’s Houses!

Reading this book was an interesting experience in terms of the meta-thought processes that were going on.

Now that I’ve started reviewing every book that I read, I find myself taking time between reading sessions (or while I’m reading) to think about what I would rate it at any given point.

When I started The Smell of Other People’s Houses, I was thinking I’d probably give it a 3. Pretty unusual for me; I tend to love absolutely everything I read and it’s usually a decision between 4 and 5. While this is relevant to the conversation now, I figure it is also important to let my readers know early on that I’m unlikely to dislike a book and my star ratings might not be terribly helpful. However, by the end of the book…

I was enamoured.

I tend to love novels that include several disparate characters’ perspectives whose connections aren’t obvious until they come together by divine providence or magical happenstance or for a really stupid reason or for no reason at all or for some combination of all the above reasons. This one was no different. Hitchcock artfully stitches together the characters’ stories, slowly and carefully, with just the right amount of suspense. Even better, the ending was perfect and didn’t feel contrived.

Other Noteworthy Stuff

First, I get a bit uncomfortable when I realize that a white person is writing about Aboriginal experiences, but Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock was born and raised in Alaska and consulted several authentic voices on this subject. Also, this was by no means purported to be a true or authentic story; further, from my (admittedly white) perspective, it does feel as though she’s tried to be as truthful as possible, without romanticizing or glazing over the difficult aspects of Aboriginal life as they were in the setting of the book.

That being said, there was some really beautiful symbolism at work in this text. I feel as though saying too much more would be a spoiler. So, I’ll just leave this topic by saying that I think the main symbols in this book are artfully interwoven. They really made the story that much more magical.

Finally: I can’t believe I haven’t talked about it yet. The author crafts the theme of smell wonderfully and explores it with great detail throughout the text. It definitely supports the symbolism as the base layer for the tons of beautiful imagery threaded throughout the text.

Overall, 4.5/5 stars.

Slightly difficult to get in to. Absolutely enrapturing after a little while, and a stunning ending to knit all the narrators’ stories together.

Happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus

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Book Review: Columbine by Dave Cullen

Columbine is a nonfiction book by Dave Cullen. It is an account of everything to do with the tragedy, including events before and post, and accounts of many of the people affected by it. It even includes excerpts of Eric and Dylan’s journals and plans.

This is a book that my local Indigo featured a while ago and it caught my eye. I’m a fan of non-fiction and this event was both harrowing and fascinating.

Here’s the cover:

And here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

“The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . ” So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of “spectacle murders.” It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers. In the wake of Newtown, Aurora, and Virginia Tech, the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this plague grows more urgent every year.

What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we “know” is wrong. It wasn’t about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world’s leading forensic psychologists, and the killers’ own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.”

Finally, here’s my review of Columbine!

This was a tough read. However, I want to be clear that the fact that it was difficult has nothing to do with my review.

What I loved most about this book was the breadth and depth of its storytelling. Not only was the novel about the perpetrators of the killing spree, Eric and Dylan; it was also about the vast numbers of victims, investigators, journalists, first-responders, and their families and friends that were affected by this tragedy.

The research was detailed and in-depth. Like the Amazon review, states, Cullen spent 10 years working on pulling it all together into this comprehensive account.

What I found most important was Cullen’s emphasis on the why of the event. This was much distorted by the media coverage. Many believed the boys were lashing out at people who bullied them such as jocks. They were not.  They also weren’t actually being bullied. Many believed that it was to do with their involvement in the Trenchcoat Mafia, a group at Columbine at the time. It wasn’t. They also weren’t a part of that group. Eric was a psychopath. Dylan had severe depression and suicidal ideation. Their combination of personalities created this great tragedy.

Other Great Stuff

Write here. Talk about how touching the writing was – how many times my heart dropped.

Another thing I found really important about this book was the author’s emphasis on flipping the script from the biggest school shooting in history (at the time) to a complete and utter failure. Not that it would have been better if the boys had succeeded — their plan was to destroy the entire high school with bombs and kill over 600 people — but that the media’s portrayal of the boys at the “top of the list” so-to-speak for mass murders glorified them and made them the “success” they wanted in their last acts, when truly they failed, utterly, at everything they were trying to carry out.

In a similar vein, Cullen also emphasized the important role the media must play in the future of diminishing the time spent covering the perpetrators of these types of crimes, and focusing on the victims and the circumstances. Part of the reason that psychopaths commit these types of crimes is that they love the spectacle of it. They want to be in the spotlight. Reducing their time in that limelight makes the crime less desirable.

One Caveat

I found that the book jumped around a lot. I would have preferred it to follow a more linear timeline. However, I understand the reasoning behind it skipping from thing to thing – there’s just so many accounts to include, and they all relate to different aspects of the event. It could have done a bit better if it was more chronological, in my opinion. You’re often going back and forward in time.

Overall, 4/5 stars. I definitely recommend this one to mature readers, with the caveat that it will likely affect your mental health during and post-reading. Tread with care and take good care of yourself during and after the reading experience!

Happy (ish) reading!

– Paperback Patronus

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Book Review: Warcross by Marie Lu

Warcross is a new novel by YA writer Marie Lu. You may know her as the writer of the Legend trilogy, which I may have to read now that I’ve fallen head over heels for Warcross. But I’ll get to that in a minute, I can’t be giving away my whole review just yet!

Ever since I first saw the cover of this book on Bookstagram, I wanted it. Yes, I’m admitting it, this was definitely a cover buy. I was sorely disappointed when I realized that the rainbow naked cover is UK-only. Side note: can anyone help me out with this?! There’s a reason I bought this book in hardcover (gasp, AGAIN). Now I’m considering paying $45 to have it shipped from the UK…

Case in point:

This is the UK naked cover, as photographed by @weereader on Twitter.

And this is the cover for North America and everywhere else, as photographed by me on my couch.

This teal IS one of my all-time favourite colours. But it just can’t hold a candle to the rainbow edition, IMO.

Anywho, after the whole cover-buy situation, I started hearing what everyone thought of it, and I could NOT wait to read it. Most people who’ve posted about Warcross absolutely loved it.

Before I get to what I think, here’s the synopsis of the book, pulled from Amazon:

“For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

In this sci-fi thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu conjures an immersive, exhilarating world where choosing who to trust may be the biggest gamble of all.”

Finally, here’s my review of Warcross!

Like I said, most people really liked this book. I’m going to weigh in with similar enthusiasm.

I think the strongest element of this novel was the main character’s struggle with right and wrong. Without getting too spoiler-y, the main conflict in the novel has a twist at the end. The main character ends up wondering if she did the right thing.

The whole plot seems to be what Margaret Atwood would call “speculative fiction,” something that plausibly could actually occur in the relatively near future. Not only is the plot an exciting romp through a digitally enhanced world with elaborate world-wide gaming competitions, it’s also a warning to the current and future generations. With great power comes great responsibility.

Other Great Stuff

I really loved the character development and world-building in this novel. At least 6 characters got really detailed, nuanced development. It was easy to relate to them, and they were all so distinct and well-designed. The plot was set in both New York and several places in Japan. However, they are futuristic versions of each, in a world dominated by the Warcross empire. They were so thoughtfully and carefully crafted. So much that over the weekend during which I was reading the book, my dreams were taking place in these fictitious renditions of NY and Tokyo.

 

Also, just like Turtles, I really liked the ending of Warcross. It definitely set things up for a sequel. However, it wasn’t too cliffhanger-y that I was mad. Also, it really added to the books thematic discussion of the ethics which I found so enticing.

Overall, 5/5 stars. Highly recommend, especially to YA readers and those who like sci-fi!

Happy reading!

– Paperback Patronus