The first three are my top three, but other than that there's no particular order here: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle ZevinThis book centres on A.J., an isolated bookstore owner from the fictional Alice Island who ends up taking in a toddler named Maya who is mysteriously left in his shop. At the start of the novel, A.J. is dreary and has cut himself off from the world a bit after the death of his wife Nic, who had been the social face of the bookshop, but over the course of the novel (thanks to Maya and other characters) learns to open up and enjoy life again. It's a novel that celebrates books and reading; each chapter is named after a well-known novella or short story, and the delight that the characters take in reading is infectious. The turns in the plot and the personalities of the characters are really compelling. It's very emotional, too, and makes you care so much about all of the characters. Wicked by Gregory MaguireThis is the book that I usually cite as my favourite, and I think it's brilliant. It tells Maguire's imagining of the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, and was the basis for the hit musical. Though make no mistake, the book and musical are very different- I love them both, but the tone and plot of each are extremely dissimilar because of the form and the potential audience. Maguire's world-building is thoroughly impressive- his Oz is complex and layered and political and feels real, and I love the complexity of the characters and how far reaching the plot is in terms of time and place- it covers Elphaba the Witch's life from before her birth to the immediate aftermath of her death, and cleverly weaves in other well-known characters from its source material. It's definitely one for adults and mature teenagers though- I first read this book aged 15, and I think I was only just ready for it. Radio Silence by Alice OsemanOseman is an author I hugely admire. Her first novel, Solitaire, was published when she was only 19, and in the very few years since then she has published Radio Silence, written two Solitaire-character-based e-novellas and created her webcomic Heartstopper. I'm a big fan of all of her work. But I love Radio Silence in particular because of how funny and heartfelt it is. It's the most realistic novel about teenagers I've ever read, as well as the most diverse in terms of both sexuality and ethnicity, and tackles the issue of pressure on teenagers to go to university even though it may not be right for them. There's always aspects I forget about and then remember and go 'oh yeah, that was cute/funny/clever!' I highly recommend it, whether you're thinking of going to university, definitely not going, already there, or just living adult life. Oseman is incredibly talented at creating developed characters, and it's a joy to read. Little Women by Louisa May AlcottI can't remember reading this book for the first time. I think I must have been 9 or 10, but to be honest I don't know. But since then I've read it over and over again- I've read its sequels too, but nowhere near as much- and although I haven't read it in years it holds a special place in my heart because of how comforting I found it throughout my childhood. It (I'm referring to the first volume) was first published in 1868, and centres on a group of four sisters- Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth- as they deal with growing up and morality. Landline by Rainbow RowellAs with Oseman, I'm a big fan of Rainbow Rowell, and love all her books, which include Attachments and Fangirl, but if I'm pushed to choose I think Landline is my favourite (possibly because it's the most recent one I read). You can click here to read my full post on Landline. Read it if you want a book that's funny, contains just a hint of magic, explores different kinds of relationships from friendship to siblinghood, and takes a realistic look at long-term love. Jane Eyre by Charlotte BronteI read this for A Level English Literature, and since then I've come back many times to it not to fully reread, but to read my favourite chapters over again- those chapters being those featuring the relationship between Jane and Mr Rochester. I can't really explain why I love those two so much simply because it's hard to defend Rochester having read Jean Rhys' counter-novel Wide Sargasso Sea, which acts as a prequel to Jane Eyre looking at it from a critical postcolonial perspective. The truth is I think Rochester is an interesting and complex character, and Jane is more than a match for him. I've watched several adaptations of the novel, my favourites of which are the 1983 BBC miniseries with Timothy Dalton as Rochester and the webseries The Autobiography of Jane Eyre, which transports the story to modern day Canada, and poses Jane as a vlogger who is a fan of Lizzie Bennet (of the Pride and Prejudice-based webseries The Lizzie Bennet Diaries). In The Autobiography I do have a favourite episode, and it just consists of Jane and Rochester being cute with each other. Sue me, I like this couple. They're both really compelling characters. The Name of the Star by Maureen JohnsonThis is the first book in the Shades of London series, which is currently awaiting a fourth novel, and centres on Rory, an American teenager who comes to London to go to boarding school and do her A levels. As a mysterious killer emulates the murders of Jack the Ripper, she becomes caught up in the investigation after being the only person to witness the prime suspect at the scene of the crime. It's a supernatural thriller that also has a lot of humour and character development, dealing well with serious topics, and across the series the psychological impact of events on Rory isn't ignored, which is interesting. It's a clever, suspense-filled book, and I can't wait to reread the series and then devour the next book.
Have you read any of these books? If you have, what did you think? Or have I convinced you to pick them up...
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"After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world."- Philip Pullman Archives
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