I know, I know. It’s not December yet. It’s TOO EARLY for a year-end round-up.
Which is why…this isn’t one!
Consider this a check-in as the first be-hatted days of autumn begin to sneak up on Brooklyn. As October comes to a close, there are just too many good books on my shelf to wait until December. So here’s the best of what I’m reading in 2015 (so far!).
In YA (in reading order):
Far From You by Tess Sharpe
This suspenseful murder mystery, presented nonlinearly, has a great, unexpected love triangle and a compelling voice. The first best thing I read in 2015 (and re-read a few months later!).
Winger by Andrew Smith
He may have had a rough year on social media, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of this moving boarding school contemp. Smith takes the story to a really powerful, unexpected place.
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
This was my introduction to the inimitable Courtney Summers, and I want more! Now! This book was a dirty, vicious, and spot-on take on bullying. But it’s not like an issue book, OK? It’s just really well-done.
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
Great contemporary realistic about a likable girl making some unlikable decisions during her last year of high school.
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Voice, voice, voice! Really engaging, character-driven look at a girl facing the beginnings of mental illness during a summer spent housesitting for her parents.
Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Compelling “whodunit” about a girl suffering from total amnesia following a traumatic indecent that left her damaged and her best friend missing, presumed dead.
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
With one foot in the real world and the other firmly lodged in the realm of the fantastical, Ruby’s novel is mysterious, literary, and unlike anything I’ve read before.
In food writing:
Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchia Dunlop
I’ve been pretty YA-centric so far this year, but I did squeeze in this great food memoir. Mouth-watering and thoughtful writing on an English student’s experiences eating, traveling, and cooking in Sichuan provence and elsewhere in China.
In (almost) adult:
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
I loved this novel, which follows a creative group of teenagers that meet at a summer art camp through the successes, jealousies, and struggles of their adult lives.
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
This could easily fall under YA (it’s a classic coming-of-age story), but I’m pretty sure DiSclafani’s literary debut has been shelved under adult. Either way, it’s a suspenseful and taughtly-written drama about a girl sent away to a special private school after disgracing her family in the 1930s.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
I finally read Fun Home in anticipation of seeing the musical on Broadway this summer. (High marks to both!) Bechdel moves seamlessly between family drama, coming of age discovery, and literary criticism in this artful graphic memoir.
The TBR Pile
Here’s a sneak peak at just a few of the books in my To Be Read pile for the rest of 2015 (and beyond):
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Life By Committee by Corey Ann Haydu
The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler
Tease by Amanda Maciel
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill
Pointe by Brandy Colbert
George by Alex Gino
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
Where You End by Anna Pellicioli
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta