My Favorite Books of 2017

Favorite Books Read in 2017

Here are my top ten percent favorite books of the year out of two hundred, so twenty books (well sort of). All of the books that I have listed below are in order of how I read them this year. I will mention below this list what my top five favorite books were. I did not count any of my rereads from this year though because I reread my top six favorite books of all time. I have reviews for most of these books here on my blog. If there is a review for it, I'll put a 📚 beside it.

1.)  A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness- Read January 9th
 When I first heard of this book I was not really sure about it. It was getting a lot of hype as this book with a heartfelt message. I then picked it up and read it in a few hours. This book is one of the most moving books that I have ever read. I was not expecting the overall message in this book. I made sure to go in not really knowing much about it, which is how I recommend reading it. The monster's tales that he told Connor were great and I loved it so much. I will say that this is a tear jerker and broke my heart.

2.)  Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan- Read the whole series January 10th- 12th

I have decided to put all of the books from the Percy Jackson series in this list because it's a favorite of mine as a whole. This is a series that I should have read years ago and I kind of wish that I did. I have owned it for years and I just never picked it up. Shortly after I started the first book, I could not put them down. This has become one of my favorite series of all time and I still cannot stop thinking about it almost a year later. Each book stands out with the references large or small to the original Greek Myths. Greek Mythology is one of my favorite things to read about and I love that there are many middle-grade series that have such great use of these classics. Percy is such a relatable character and his way of narrating his tales had me laughing out loud. I was invested in his life and his friend's lives so much and I did not want to leave them. The Last Olympian was a great ending to this series and is one of my favorite endings to a series ever. It felt like the best way to close this series. 

I will be picking up more of Rick Riordan's series this coming year and I cannot wait. 

3.) Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt- Read February 11th- 12th
When I had first read the synopsis of this book a couple of years ago I thought that it would be a good book. Now after reading the book I know that I was wrong. It was not only a good book it was an amazing book. A great read and an amazing story. Toby and June's friendship was something that I could not get enough of. I really got attached to every character. Another tear-jerk of the year. I love the ideas of art, love, and friendship that fill this book. One of my favorites of the year for its incredible message and for characters that I loved more than anything.


4.) Stranger than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer- Read March 1st
 This is Chris Colfer's second young adult book and I believe it was just as good as his first Struck by Lightning. Cash Carter is a young actor from a very popular television show (Chris has said that this is somewhat based off of events in his life). Four friends who have been obsessed with the show since they were kids jokingly invite him on a road trip. They are very surprised when he says yes. Cash has been hiding many dark secrets though from everyone that explain his dejected attitude about everything. Slowly, the teens and Cash develop a deep relationship. I love the sarcastic humor throughout this book. I was not expecting how sad this would get.

5.) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde- Read April 20th-26th 📚
Dorian Gray is a self-absorbed man who treats the ones that love and care about him horribly. He becomes completely enamored by a portrait of himself that his friend, Basil Hallward painted of him. After another friend, Lord Henry mentions that he will eventually lose his beauty he becomes obsessed with the idea of how the painting will never lose its beauty but he will. Dorian sells his soul so that he would never age as his portrait changes. Over time he changes into a man that only cares for himself and uses those around him. The portrait then starts to reflect the man he truly is, a corrupt man who is vain.

It is interesting to watch Dorian's self-destruction as he loses every bit of redeemable qualities that he once had. The story is slow at the beginning but it is completely worth getting through the first thirty or so pages. Dorian becomes a detestable man that it is hard to feel a bit sorry for him but his decline into narcissism is one of the most interesting stories I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone. His self-absorption in the fact that his beauty will eventually end is quite fascinating and I kept wondering what else this man would do.

6.) Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi- Read May 1st- 3rd 📚
This was a great novel and it makes me want to read more of Tahereh Mafi's works. She writes in clever prose with beautiful lyrical writing. Also, her asides are quite funny along with the chapter introductions. She has a companion to this book that came out last year called Whichwood that I will be reading soon. This story is geared towards Middle Grade but I cannot help but think that anyone would have a fun time reading this (I believe anyone can enjoy a good Middle-Grade novel. I don't care what age you are). Not only is this a great adventure story but it also is a story about individuality. Alice is never afraid of being herself and will let anyone know this. She, I believe would be a great inspiration for younger readers and even older readers.


7.) 180 Seconds by Jessica Park- Read May 7th 📚
It's not every day that I adore a book from the first page of it but I became utterly hooked on this book from the very first page. There was something about Simon and Allison's relationship in the first chapter that made me adore them so much. I did not know too much going into this book. I knew that Allison was a college student who had been adopted at the age of sixteen. That interested me so much because one I had never read a book with a character that had been adopted at such a late age and was very interested to see what would happen. Her interactions with Simon (her adopted father) are so beautiful and I adored them immensely as characters.

8.) Bull by David Elliot- Read May 18th 📚
One of the greatest aspects of this book is the fact that it was written in verse. I can not imagine how long this book would have taken to write let alone contemplate. I love the idea of writing in verse myself since I love writing poetry and I love reading it. The author explains at the end the types of verse that he used throughout for each character. Every one of the characters speaks differently and brings new layers to the story.

What I really liked about David's book was that, yes he stuck to the myth but he added character and motivations to the story that were not already there before. He explained at the end his process in writing this and I loved that he did this. This is one of my all-time favorite Greek myths and he added a layer to the story that made me love it so much more. Asterion, the Minotaur becomes a tragic character in this story that I loved. In the original myth he really never had much of a character but in this David makes the character have new dimensions. I felt bad for him.

9.) My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton- Read May 24th- 26th 📚
 I have said this before on this blog but I'll say it again. When I was in tenth grade I really loved learning about the Tudor family and everything else about England at that time period. Really, I just loved my history class at that time but still. I thought that their story would be an interesting historical fiction novel and I have been looking for one ever since. Last year, I heard of this book for the very first time and I knew that I would have to pick it up. Man, am I happy that I did. This became a new favorite historical fiction novel and novel with humor in it for me. I love the characters especially Jane and also the plot. The beginning of this novel is similar to what actually happened in history and then it becomes its own thing. I loved the mixture of history and fantastical elements and I could not get enough of it. Now this year, the Lady Janies have a new book coming out called My Plain Jane which I will be reading when it comes out. :)

10.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer- Read June 9th 📚
I adored this book and it was hard for me to read it at times because I knew what was going to happen to Catherine the whole time. This is the origin story of the Queen of Hearts one of the memorable characters of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Throughout the story, each of the denizens of Wonderland is shown and we learn how they ended up where they are and how they are in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Catherine is the future Queen of Hearts who has the affection of the King of Hearts who deeply loves the young woman. Catherine does not want his love or to become queen, she wants to open up her own bakery. She is known throughout the kingdom for her wonderful treats. At the ball, that she is supposed to be proposed to at, she meets Jest, who she falls hard for. She and Jest secretly court each other because of her family and the king. Catherine wants nothing more than choosing her path but she has fate to fight with. She will be the future Queen of Hearts even if she does not want it.

I really loved how Carollian the writing in this book was. Marissa Meyer did an incredible job creating her own story but also making it feel like it could have been written by Lewis Caroll himself.

11.) The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide by Chris Colfer- Read July 11th 📚
Chris Colfer has been a favorite author of mine since 2012 when his first book The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell came out. I have loved Chris from his first episode of Glee and I still do. His books are just so special to me and I kind of wish that they would have come out when I was a kid. That is not saying that I did not enjoy them now because I adore them. Really, I just wish I could have been lucky enough to grow up with them like the kids are now. I am much older than the target audience of this series, even though I don't really believe that you have to be a certain age to enjoy a book. The Land of Stories is one of my favorite series of life and that will never change. Every single year I have done a reread of each of the books leading up to the release of the new one (I'm going to miss doing this). This was a great end to a series that I have loved for five years. The characters are great, the lands he created are all so vivid, and this world is one that I would live in, in a heartbeat. I have compared the feeling of finishing this series to when I finished the Harry Potter series ten years ago. This is actually the first series that I read along with as each of the books was released instead of reading them months or even years later. This was the perfect ending book to a series that I have loved for years and I cannot wait to see the companion series that he is planning on writing. I will be reading it as soon as they come out. As I said above in Stranger than Fanfiction, I have read every one of Chris's books and I don't plan on ever stopping. Also, I am beyond excited for the movies. I may be one of the only adults that will be there without children, but I will be seeing it as soon as it comes out.

12.) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor- July 30th- August 2nd

Laini Taylor has a writing style that I simply adore and this story was one of the best that I have ever read. Lazlo and Sarai's stories are beautiful and I could not get enough of this book. This is my second of her books with Daughter of Smoke and Bone being my first a few years ago. Strange the Dreamer has a world that I would love to live in and characters that I connected with so much. Also, that ending was powerful. I'm interested in seeing what will happen in the next book. Laini's style may not be for everyone but it is for me. It's lyrical, poetic, and each line feels alive in itself. This book was perfection.

13.) The Wendy Project by Melissa Jane Osborne, Veronica Fish (Illustrator)- Read September 2nd 📚

 This is a stunning graphic novel and is one of the best that I have ever seen visually if not the best. The illustrations/art by Veronica Fish are incredible and I just want to keep looking at them. The story is also great. I love retellings or stories that take a twist on original tales and this one was definitely very good. Melissa Jane Osborne takes the tale of Peter Pan and twists it into a story of grief and how to overcome great obstacles. The notebook-like design is not only clever and beautiful but it also goes perfectly with the story that Melissa is telling. I recommend this book to anyone that loves the original tale of Peter Pan and graphic novels. This was a great take on a classic story that I cannot get enough of. Also, it looks absolutely stunning and has a great texture to the cover. I could gush about it forever. Please, if the premise of this book sounds even a bit interesting to you, pick it up. You will not regret it. 

14.) The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell- Read September 10th 📚

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of this novel. The fantasy story was interesting and also cute. I rooted for all of the characters especially our two main characters, Xar and Wish. Also, the witches are interestingly different than I have ever seen before and are creepy. Cressida Cowell is great at story building and writes with a voice throughout the story that I could not get enough of. Her use of wit and narration are great parts of this story. This is the first book of Cressida's that I have picked up and know I will pick up others of hers. She is known for writing the popular How to Train Your Dragon book series that the two Dreamworks movies are based on. Middle-grade fantasy is a genre that I have always loved and this is an incredible example of one of the best. She builds this world that I felt like I was walking around in when listening to this book. The creepiness of these witches and also just the deep dark forest was perfect for the story. She says at the beginning that we may have heard of deep dark forests before but we really don't know what we are getting into. Her descriptions throughout were perfect to show this.

David Tennant did a great job creating a distinct voice for each of the characters. I have loved David Tennant since I first saw him in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire movie and also in a few episodes of Doctor Who.  He gave each of the characters a voice that seemed to fit their characters. My favorites were for the sprites, which were amazing. So adorable. He could literally read any audiobook and I would listen to them. That is because he made these characters come alive and created this atmosphere of a reading experience that I will never forget. Saying that I enjoyed listening to this book is an understatement. He made this book so much for me and I know that I will be picking up the rest of the series once they come out.

15.) Mort by Terry Pratchett- Read September 23rd- 25 📚
 The fourth book in the Discworld series and the first in the Death subseries, which is so far my favorite of the subseries. Death has been in each of the books so far because he comes when someone dies. This book focuses on him taking on an apprentice and then trying to find a more "normal" job for himself. Death both understands humankind more than we ever could because he has watched us for so long, but also is trying to still understand emotions and the actions of humans.
His adventures and quotes within this book our some of the best I have ever read in literature let alone in this series. This easily made it onto my favorites list. I can't wait to get more of Death's story throughout the novels.

16.) The Marvels by Brian Selznick- Read October 9th 📚

The Marvels tells two different stories that connect in such an amazing way. The first is told in about 400 pages of continuous pictures. It begins with a boy named Billy who is shipwrecked in 1766 and eventually finds work at a theater in England. Throughout this story, we follow the rest of his family throughout the generations and their life as actors. This is up until 1900 when Leontes Marvel is banished from the theater.

The second part of this story takes place almost a century later, in 1990, with the runaway Joseph Jervis. He has come to England from his boarding school to try and find his uncle. Albert Nightingale, his uncle, is known to be a strange man living in the most stunningly beautiful house, that contains many secrets. Joseph becomes fascinated in this house and his uncle. He tries everything to figure out what has happened in the past with his family and also the house.

I loved both sides of this story and especially the twist that we find out in the second part of this story. This is definitely my favorite of Brian Selznick's books. I would recommend reading this and his others. They are all very good.

17.) The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo- Read November 3rd-4th 📚
 This is a beautiful fairy tale collection set in Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse. Each story in this collection is accompanied with illustrations on every page which grow with each page until they make a two-page spread illustration at the end. Besides the illustrations, the stories are just as stunning if not more. Leigh Bardugo's writing is one of my favorites ever and I could not get enough of each of these stories. Some were based on some of the original fairy tales and other classic tales, and others were completely of Leigh's own creation. I loved how each story had the feel of a classic fairy tale to them. Really, I could have had twenty more of these tales and I would have been happy. I hope that she will eventually write more of these. I'll definitely buy them. Also, I cannot wait to read more of her books this year. I will be at least reading her Wonder Woman book.

18.) Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao- Read November 15th-18th 📚
From the first sentence of this audiobook, I was hooked. I have not read many books where the villain was the protagonist. I really loved this retelling/ origin story of the Evil Queen. The Snow White fairy tale has always been one of my favorites and this twist on that was enjoyable to read. It definitely became a new favorite one for me out of any of the Snow White or any other retellings. I loved Julie's take on this story and how she made it her own.

My favorite aspect of this book was how Julie made this her own story. I just love how she took these classic concepts and twisted them into a novel that I could not stop listening to. It became one of my favorites last year among a list as you have seen here that is quite extensive. I cannot wait for the next book in this duology, which I will be picking up as soon as it comes out.

19.) Descender: The Deluxe Edition Volume 1 by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen (Illustrator)- Read December 13th 📚
I had heard so many incredible things about this graphic novel series since it had first come out. At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to get the chance to review this first volume for the website Impulse Gamer. This was even more incredible than what I had heard before. It is definitely in my top graphic novel picks along with I Hate Fairyland and the Wendy Project. The illustrations in this graphic novel are stunning watercolor designs that just pop out. The story was very compelling. I really connected to TIM and cannot wait to continue his story in the near future. This is one incredible volume that I would recommend to anyone to read. It has a great mix of action, adventure, and science fiction.

20.) Hogfather by Terry Pratchett- Read December 26th- 29th 📚
This has been a great year of reading and I'm glad that this was one of my final books of the year. I loved starting Terry Pratchett's Discworld series last year and cannot wait to continue with Pyramids this month. Hogfather was one of the darkest so far for me of the Discworld series and also the funniest. It was entertaining reading about Death saving Hogswatch and also the world along with it. So far this is one of my favorites of the series. Terry Pratchett was an incredible writer and person and I would recommend them to everyone. He was one of a kind and it devastates me to know that he has not been with us for almost three years now. What an incredible mind and person. I cannot express to you enough about how much you should read this book and the whole series in general. If you love a great fantasy you should read this. If you love the feeling around Christmas you should read this. And finally, if you love a great story you should read this. This was an incredible book that I cannot speak more highly of. Also, Death is one of my all-time favorite characters out of any book.

Top 5 Favorite Books of the year
5. Mort by Terry Pratchett
4. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
3. The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide by Chris Colfer
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (because I'm counting this as one)
1. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Books Featuring Faeries/ Top 5 Wednesday

🎃 Books Featuring (Faeries/ Fae)/ Top 5 Wednesday 🍁

This week we were meant to pick one type of paranormal creature to talk about. For this week, I picked fae because I knew that I would have more books to talk about then the other creatures. One thing I have always liked about faeries/fairies/ fae, is the fact that they can be depicted in so many different ways. There is not one set in stone depiction of them.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group created by Lainey of Ginger Reads Lainey on Booktube. It is now hosted by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes on Booktube. Here is a link to the group on Goodreads if you are interested in joining.

5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: One of the lands in Stardust is actually called Faerie and the citizens that reside there are Faeries. I will say that both the book and movie are amazing but are different from each other in tone (the movie is my favorite movie of all time). This is one example of the term "Faerie" meaning many sorts of people and not just one set type of creature. It is an adult faerie tale that is filled to the brim with magic.

4. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: There are multiple fairies in this book. Lucinda is the fairy that actually puts the curse on Ella to make her obedient at birth. She's dim-witted and believes that this would be a blessing and everyone else knows that this is not true. Her character is an important character that helps add great aspects to this book. Mandy, their cook is also a fairy but is not very good at casting spells. It's interesting to see the different types of fairies and just learn more about the world of Kyyria.

I'll have to read this again soon, it's been a long time since I picked it up.

3. Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare: There are many fairies in this book, but I'll focus on my favorite, Puck. Puck is an example of a very mischievous fairy who is always pulling pranks on others around him. He is the closest that the play will come to a protagonist and is the reason why many of the actions take place. His character is one of my favorites from any of Shakespeare's plays.

2. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi: In this series, the Fey are magical beings that live in the Invisible World. Faerie is also the name of that world. They use magic to hide themselves from humans and the humans that have the Sight can see through this magic. The intricate world that the authors created is one of my favorites.

Here are some of the types of Faerie mention in the book.
Banshees, Brownies, Dwarves, Elves, Gargoyles, Dragons, Hobgoblins, Sprites, Griffins, etc.

1. Wings series by Aprilynne Pike: This is one of my favorite series from high school. The faeries that exist in this world are very intriguing and different than I have seen in other books. Laurel, the main character in the novels has spent most of her life at home being home-schooled but during her tenth grade year she starts at high school. Sometime in the early fall, she starts to grow what look like flower petals out of her back and is worried about what this could be. These petals almost look like wings. The world of the faeries in this book is different than any other that I have seen. One aspect I really enjoy are the different types of faeries (spring, summer, fall, and winter) and learning about their cultures throughout the books.
This series may not be for everybody and I know that it can be strange at times. I really have always loved how different and strange it was. (I have yet to read the new fifth book in the series. I loved the fourth book and thought it was a good ending to the series. I'm not sure of what I'll think about the new book.)

Fairy Tale Tag- 9/19

🍁 Tag Tuesday: Fairy Tale Tag- September 19th 🍁

The original tag is on the BookTube channel NEHOMAS2. Here is a link to her video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQRHPmelWZs&list=UUS8zKxtbi0LVKGzXQR5PE4A&index=1&feature=plcp

1. What was your first introduction to fairy tales?
     🍂 The Disney Movies, probably The Little Mermaid or another princess movie.

2. Do you have a favorite fairy tale/ favorite fairy tale character? Or several?
     🍂 Rapunzel is definitely a favorite fairy tale and fairy tale character of mine. Also Beauty/ Belle and the Little Mermaid/ Ariel

3. Do you immediately associate fairy tales with Disney and their Disney incarnations? Do you think this association is a good/ bad thing?
     🍂 No, I don't automatically associate fairy tales with Disney. I also don't think associating fairy tales with Disney is a problem. It is because of Disney that I went out and tried to explore many of the tales that I have found. That is not even just the fairy tales but also mythology, King Arthur, and so many others. Many children now get to know these tales and have for so long because of Walt Disney or because of retellings of these famous tales. That I don't believe is a problem, especially since many fairy tales were passed down through stories from other cultures. I think that fans of the Disney movies or these other adaptations of the tales will try to find the source material to learn more about them. It's not a bad thing at all.

4. Do you prefer "lighter" or "darker" fairy tale renditions?
    🍂 I'm sort of indecisive with this topic because some of the lighter renditions like The Little Mermaid or Tangled are some of my favorite movies. Then there are darker renditions like Snow White and the Huntsman that I also enjoy watching. I'll say both depending on my mood at the time.

5. Do you read fairy tale adaptations? If so, name some favorites.
    🍂 The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer (an all-time favorite)
    🍂 Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
    🍂 Beastly by Alex Flinn
    🍂 The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
    🍂 and really so much more.

6. In terms of fairy tales on film, what are some of your favorites?
     🍂 The Little Mermaid
     🍂 Tangled
     🍂 Ever After
     🍂 Beauty and the Beast
     🍂 Shrek
     🍂 a television show segment The Fractured Fairy Tales from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
     🍂 and my favorite Stardust (this is based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, which his own fairy tale and it's amazing).

7. What novels and films with a fairy tale feel do you enjoy? These are not directly canon tales eg. a tale from the Grimms, from Perrault, from Anderson, etc.
      🍂 The Princess Bride (at least the movie, I have to still read the book)
      🍂 The Neverending Story (again I have to still read the book)
      🍂 the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke
      🍂 Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
      🍂 Enchanted the movie
      🍂 The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (a fabulous book series)
      🍂 the I Hate Fairyland graphic novel series by Skottie Young (these are quite dark and gruesome but completely enjoyable),
      🍂 a new one which is great is The Wizard of Once (This book will be released on October 3rd. Listen to the audiobook it's incredible)

8. What do you think accounts for the enduring appeal of fairy tales?
     I think that many people can connect to these characters. Yes, we may not live fantastical lives like them but we can relate to a broken heart or falling in love. We can connect to having a dream that we want to attain so much that makes it the most important part of our lives for a while. I know for me, I love these tales especially because of how people have played with them over time. I thoroughly enjoy the feeling I get while reading or watching them and it's not something I'll ever forget. They endure on throughout the generations and centuries because we relate to the characters and feel for them. We want them to win and succeed just as much as we want ourselves and others to.

9. Is there a character that impacted you the most?
     Well, this is hard because I can think of reasons that many have impacted me in my life. I became obsessed with The Little Mermaid when I was probably around four or five and my sister and I literally wrecked two VHSs because we watched them so much. This and many of the other princess movies made me interested in the world of fantasy and if it weren't for them I don't know where I would be today. I fell in love with fairy tales because of these movies and wanted to know everything about them.
     One character that sticks out is Ariel. I remember connecting to her so much as a little girl. She wanted to go after her dreams and that was something I could relate to even at such an early age. Another big impacting character was Belle. I admired Belle because of her independence, her devotion to her family, and her love of reading. She was my type of character.

10. If you could be any fairytale character, who would it be and why?
      The Fairy Godmother but the version from Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories series. The reason I choose this iteration is simple. The Fairy Godmother has always interested me even as a child. A woman who can come to fix all of your problems with just a wand, that sounded great to me. Chris's version of her just was an enjoyable character that seems like a sweet little old lady with great power. It would be cool to be a younger version of her.

11. If you could rewrite or reinvision a fairy tale, what would it be and what would you do/change?
      Retellings are sort of a passion of mine and have been for most of my life. I actually have written one already and that is a secret, for now. I will say that I really like twisting what we already know from the original tales.

12. Your fairy tale weapon of choice: poison apple, the power of a name, an evil bargain, or praying on a specific human weakness/emotion?
       I'm a sucker for a good poison apple.