it’s been a pretty good reading year for me. so good that i’m afraid i won’t be able to share choose my favorite books by the end of the year. SO, it’s decided i’ll choose the best books seasonally instead of yearly. i don’t read enough to do this monthly; yearly is always stressful because i like so many books?????? it’s like choosing a favorite child.
it’s already too far into spring to do a winter one, so i’m combining the first two season. this is basically a mess. ANYWAY, here are my favorite books of 2017’s winter/spring – in order of reading date.
Caraval, by Stephanie Garber
goodreads • book depository • amazon
everyone told me this book was AMAZING, but i still started with an “oh, okay” opinion. to put it creatively, THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING. i loved the magical ambiance, characters, plot, relationships, and basically everything. buuuuuuut, a few months have passed since i initially read it; i’d be lying if i said i didn’t forget 75% of the book. in fact, i find it kinda hard to remember what made it so special in the first place. maybe it was because i went through a few oh-kay reads at the time and reading a Good book made me love it. or maybe it was actually really Great. *shrugs*
When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon
goodreads • book depository • amazon
two words: diversely adorable. i feel #blessed to live in an era when books like this are being published. it was beautiful, authentic, hilarious, and so so real. when i wasn’t laughing my head off, i was smiling at the cute and kinda absurd situations. i felt like i knew dimple and rishi; they were the classmates i loved for their quirky, upfront selves. thinking about this novel makes my heart happy.
Alex, Approximately, by Jenn Bennett
goodreads • book depository • amazon
here’s something you may not know about me: i am CONTEMPORARY TRASH. the cliché and cutesy books that may make you cringe? i devour those and they consume my soul. Alex, Approximately did approximately that. the plot has allllll my favorite things. internet people meeting in IRL (but they don’t realize)? a love-hate romance? two film nerds geeking out? a summer job? i am here for this.
The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon
goodreads • book depository • amazon
if i hadn’t received this as a gift, i probably wouldn’t have picked it up. i was kind of disappointed by Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon’s debut novel, and figured the same would be for TSIAS. but boooooooy was i wrong. this novel was so relevant. i read it on my flight to New York, and the book is set in New York; my friends were talking about immigration, and the main character is getting deported; i love korean culture, and the main love-interest is korean-american. not to mention, the writing is also A++++. READ THIS.
Geekerella, by Ashley Poston
goodreads • book depository • amazon
be still my contemporary-loving heart. Geekerella was similar to Alex, Approximately in the sense that there was the anonymous-internet-friends thing and the love-hate romance thing. but it also had some tropes that i love EVEN MORE. i’m talking about the celebrity-meets-fan-who-is-NOT-having-it trope (aka Starstruck but somehow better) and also the fandom-loving trope. imagine eating a cake with ALL your favorite things combined. this was it for me.
A Million Junes, by Emily Henry
goodreads • book depository • amazon
is it weird to say i feel like my life has changed after reading this book? even though when it hasn’t really? it’s weird because the ideas and themes flowing from the pages weren’t new to me; the writing and story just made it seem new and I’M DOING A HORRIBLE JOB AT DESCRIBING MY FEELINGS BUT this book is special. really really special. everything about it spoke to me.
Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor
goodreads • book depository • amazon
although it took me a while to finish, i enjoyed savoring Strange the Dreamer. this entire novel felt like a metaphor or a poem or a dream. probably all of the above. my favorite books are ones i can read repeatedly and still find more meaning each and every time. you know, books that are layered beyond comprehension. Strange the Dreamer is one of those books.
Always and Forever Lara Jean, by Jenny Han
goodreads • book depository • amazon
this is a book i always wanted but never thought i’d actually get – a solid conclusion to a contemporary romance. i had mixed feelings about jenny han’s series, but i ultimately realized i had an undying love for it. lemme tell you something: THIS BOOK IS A GIFT. if you didn’t like the To All the Boys books, you probably won’t pick this up. but if you enjoyed the earlier books, AAFLJ has everything you could want – without the unnecessary drama and all the emotions. I FEEL NOSTALGIC.
