My 10 Favorite Books of 2017

I read 101 books in 2016, but I knew I wouldn't be able to make that happen in 2017. Between planning a wedding & working on a big conference for my job, I didn't think I'd have the oomph to make it to 100 - & I was right. To be fair, much of that is because I watched a lotttt of bad TV.

My final total for 2017 is 77 books, which is pretty darn good, all things considered. Below are my top three favorite books of the year - all of which happen to have been new this year (though that's not the case with the honorable mentions listed below them). Without further ado...

The Mothers by Brit Bennett 

This Book of the Month Club read was my 75th book of 2017 & easily one of my favorites. Told from the third-person perspective of an older church-going woman, it tells the story of teenage church member Nadia, whose mother recently died by suicide; her boyfriend, Luke, the preacher's son; & her best friend, Aubrey, who soon becomes close to Luke, too. The book follows them into adulthood and is one of the most agonizingly, exquisitely human stories I've ever read.  ★★★★★

Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar 

I read this one for Cleveland Magazine after its entertainment editor asked me to write a couple reviews for their holiday issue - & what an incredible book it is! Anton, a biracial 9-year-old, is taken away from his drug-addicted mother & fostered by a well-to-do white family who later adopt him. He subsequently grows up in the footsteps of his famous father & grandfather, both respected politicians - but what happens when he finds out more about his mother & his past?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

Is a "new classic" a thing? If so, this is one of them - as evidenced by the fact that it was voted Best YA Fiction Book of the Year & its author was named Best Debut Author of the Year by Goodreads users. Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter lives in an all-Black part of town ruled by gangs but attends an almost-all-white prep school, leading her to feel like she lives two separate lives. When a cops kills her best friend during a traffic stop, Starr is the only witness - leading to national attend, local unrest, & plenty of inner & outer turmoil for Starr herself.

Honorable Mentions: I read so many good books this year that it was difficult to pare down the top 10, but here are the best of the bunch, in no particular order:

• Final Girls by Riley Sager (adult fiction/thriller)
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (YA sci-fi)
• One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of this Will Matter by Scaachi Koul (memoir/essays)
• This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (YA fiction)
• Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin by Sybrina Fulton & Tracy Martin (memoir-meets-nonfiction)
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (YA fiction)
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (adult fiction)

What's the best book you read this year - & what's on your to-read list in 2018? Gimme all your recs! And as always, you can get your first book for $9.99 - plus a free tote bag - when you join using my referral link. Happy reading!