So I follow a lot of bloggers on Twitter (surprise! not) and I learned very quickly that yesterday was
Top Ten Tuesday, a meme created by The Broke and Bookish. Yesterday's theme was top ten reads of the year, and that looked like a ton of fun, so I thought I'd join in a day late.
As it so happens, I've rated exactly ten books 4.5 or 5 stars, so choosing my top reads of the year so far was pretty easy. Yay!
So without further ado, here are the top ten books I've read in 2015 (which may or may not have actually been released this year) so far in no particular order:
- I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson—This book actually jumped onto my favorites list, because wow, it was just so emotional, and beautifully written, and it really, truly made me feel so many things while I was reading. Also, bonus points for showcasing some diversity (one POV character is gay). (Full review)
- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin—I know I'm way late to the party with this one, but I finally got around to reading it and whoa. It was so eerie and twisty, and totally left me wondering what the hell I just read in the best way possible. (Full review)
- OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu—So this one was recommended to me by Dahlia Adler, and I'm so, so glad a very smart person picked it off my Christmas book list and gifted it to me. This is the first book I've read with explicit OCD representation, and I thought it was really respectfully done. So much so that I wrote a post about why books like this are so important to me.
- Made You Up by Francesca Zappia—Kind of similar to Mara Dyer, but not nearly as creepy, Made You Up really makes you stop and think about what's real and what's not. This is the first book I've read featuring a protagonist with paranoid schizophrenia, and not only does it have a brilliantly unreliable narrator, but the whole book was completely fascinating and a really, really unique read. (Full review)
- Unteachable by Leah Raeder—So this was my first glimpse at Leah Raeder's work, and now I'm 100% a fan because her work is everything I love about the sexier side of New Adult. Unteachable is swoony, very steamy and really explores the depths of a forbidden student/teacher relationship, punctuated with Raeder's really gorgeous prose.
- Black Iris by Leah Raeder—Another (really friggin' amazing) Leah Raeder book! Unlike Unteachable, Black Iris is a NA Thriller, and it is super, super dark (as well as sexy because, c'mon, this is a Raeder book). Once again I was really impressed by Raeder's prose, but more than that I loved seeing how she combined this super dark plot with incredibly layered, twisted characters and a hell of a lot of diversity. (Full review)
- Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli—This book was so cute. SO. CUTE. Unlike many on this list, Simon vs. is a really happy, adorable book with a super cutesy m/m romance and actually had me giggling and saying "aww" out loud while reading. (Full review)
- Half Wild by Sally Green—So Half Bad jumped onto my favorites list when I read it, which meant I had super high expectations for Half Wild, and boy, those expectations were 150% met. Half Wild is super dark and exciting and the series has my favorite depiction of witches since Harry Potter and as a bonus? The MC is bi and there is angst and stuff between boys. My heart. (Full review)
- Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson—So this is one of my favorite NA romances, and I keep recommending it because it gave me all the warm fuzzies and a full spectrum of emotion while reading. Justin and Landry's journey together was a memorable one that I still think about, and the next book in the series, Focus on Me, comes out this month and I seriously can't wait. (Full review)
- Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler—This was another really great NA read; very swoony and sexy, and I loved the awkward flirting, and the student/TA relationship was A+. Furthermore, Last Will and Testament presented a situation rarely seen in NA—a college student who loses her parents in an accident and becomes the guardian of her two younger brothers.
What are some of your favorite reads of 2015 so far?
Twitter-sized bite:
.@Ava_Jae shares her top 10 reads of 2015 so far. What books are on your list? (Click to tweet)
I loved SIMON VS! I wish I could have been friends with Simon in high school. And I really enjoyed I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN as well. I listened to it on CD recently during a very long car ride, and I actually didn't care (for once) about being cooped up in the car for hours because because I enjoyed so much listening to Nelson's prose. I have MADE YOU UP on my tbr list as well, and I'm curious to read MARA DYER as well.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly enough, I haven't read any of these, but I have seen so many other people gush at these reads just like you! I need to get on it. And by that I mean not right now, but soon. I at least own Half Bad, so I can get to Half Wild sooner or later. I'd probably say Neal Shusterman's CHALLENGER DEEP has been the best book I've read this year (though maybe not my favorite), which was a fascinating study of mental illness. Maybe I was weird because it made complete sense to me the whole time, but whatever. I look forward to reading a couple of your favs pretty soon, though!
ReplyDeleteGood vlog! Prologues also can be exchanged for chapter one oftentimes. Like just slap "chapter one" instead of "prologue" on it and it can just as easily be chapter one.
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Yay! SIMON and IGYTS are both total joys to read (and I'm sure listen to, in IGYTS's case—that prose!).
ReplyDeleteI really need to get the sequels for MARA DYER because I loved it. It's super creepy and engaging and messes with your head and yeah, I want to read more. :D And also MADE YOU UP is excellent and I recommend!
Ahhhh I recommend these so much! CHALLENGER DEEP is on my TBR list, so that's one I'm looking forward to eventually. And I totally 250% encourage you to read HALF BAD, especially if you already have it. I love that series with my whole heart. :)
ReplyDeleteHeh, well yes, that's a common way to disguise a prologue lol. Same rules apply, but yes. :)
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, and it was SO GOOD. She is amazing with words.
ReplyDeleteOhhh I added that to my TBR right after reading IGYTS! Definitely on my list. :D
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