Hey y’all!! Today I am going to list my top 5 books of the year. I ended 2017 having read 185 books. It was very hard to narrow it down so I will list 5 honorable mentions and then get into my top five.
Honorable Mentions:
The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
TOP BOOKS OF THE YEAR!!
5. Jack and the Geniuses series by Bill Nye and Gregory Mone – If you have been on the blog for a while then you know my love for this series. It is an excellent middle grade series about science and mystery and forming your own opinions. I read the two published books this year and I cannot wait for the third one to come out in May. Here are my reviews for At the Bottom of the World (book 1) and In the Deep Blue Sea (book two).
4. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward – After reading this book, Jesmyn Ward became an instant auto-buy author. This book was so impactful and I just devoured it. The writing was beautiful but simple. Ward is an amazing story-teller and I will read anything that she writes. I have a full review for this book here.
3. Ghost by Jason Reynolds – I had been hearing about Jason Reynolds but I don’t think I was ready. Ghost is a middle grade book about a boy who has seen some things in his short life that adults couldn’t fathom and it’s left him very sceptical of people. He then has an encounter with a track coach and he joins the team. The story takes off from there. Jason Reynolds is an amazing author. I read another one of his books and I have recommended this book to several people and I cannot wait to continue this middle grade series.
2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi – This is a multi-generational story that begins with two half sisters, one is married to a slave trader and one is sold into slavery. Each chapter in this book follows another generation on each family tree. This was not a five-star read for me, however I think about this book a lot. I was captivated by the characters but the history of how African and African-Americans were treated during these times. I found myself looking up things that happened to the characters to see the real American history behind it. There was so much I didn’t know and I want to re-read it next month because I feel like I will pickup on so much more in this book.
1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – I really don’t care if this is “everyone’s favorite book” this year. It is well deserved. This was the only brand-new hardcover that I bought this year. I was hooked by the synopsis, then I picked up this book and new I had made the right decision. Angie Thomas was able to craft a story that had blatant social commentary without it being preachy. The teenagers were so real to me and the family was somewhat very similar to mine. The characters and the story were so real and I can’t believe that this was her first book. I read this book in March or April and it has stuck with me and I recommend it constantly.
Welp, these are the top books that I read in 2017. I’m not saying these are the best written books that I read in 2017, these were just the ones that immediately came to my mind when I thought about my favorite books of the year.
What were your favorites? What was your number 1 book? Let’s chat in the comments.
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Much Love,
Tasha
Amaysn Reads 