Top Ten Tuesday – Best Books of 2016

Weekly meme created by The Broke and Bookish.

10. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness –

This book made me sob so much, and also made me fall back in love with middle-grade and younger characters. How realistic it was really made it so much more impactful and heartbreaking. I don’t think I can bring myself to watch the movie or it might actually be the end of me.

9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini –

This was the first book I’ve read set in Afghanistan so it marked an opening of my eyes to that culture. As well as reading a physical copy, I listened to The Kite Runner as an audiobook while I was at the airport waiting to go to Portugal. The queues were ridiculous to check in baggage so we were waiting for three hours and this is the only reason I didn’t go insane. And also why everyone was staring at me as I was crying. I’m sure they just put it down to stress.

8. Stolen by Lucy Christopher –

Again with the sobbing. I swear I am stable. I adored this book so much that I just stared at the last page for a good five minutes after I’d finished reading. Nothing in it was romanticised or dressed up and you find yourself unable to hate who you’re supposed to. A great read that I have a full spoiler free review on here.

7. The Humans by Matt Haig –

I was given this book as a birthday gift from my librarian aunty (I know, I’m lucky) so she knows a good book when she reads one – and she reads a LOT. Therefore, I went into this book with high expectations and was not disappointed in the slightest. I was having a a bad few weeks mentally and this book managed to drag me out of it which doesn’t happen very often. Full spoiler free review here.

6. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult –

I found this book for a ridiculously cheap price for the hardback and I couldn’t resist. My dad couldn’t give me a lift home from the bus stop for another hour so I took it to Starbucks, ordered a Chai Tea, and fell completely in love with this book. Its take on racism made me question my own perceptions and (granted, limited) experience of it. I can’t stop thinking about it and I think because of that, I would be kidding myself if I didn’t put this on here. Full spoiler free review here.

5. An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir –

I know, technically this is two books but they’re part of the same series and I read them one after the other so in my mind, they kind of amalgamated into one big, brilliant book. This is a new favourite series of mine and I can’t wait for the next books in the series.  I’m also a bit obsessed with Sabaa Tahir’s Twitter.

4. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga –

I read this while I was in Portugal in the little villa we were hiring. I was in a room by myself on the ground floor with doors that looked out onto the garden and in the night, the curtains used to drift slightly with the air conditioning which made some pretty disturbing shadows and tapping on the glass. Couple that with being in a different bed in a different country, I didn’t sleep well. I read this on my Kindle for hours during the night and it made me forget to be scared. Oh, and it made me cry. Obviously. Full spoiler free review here.

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys –

This was my first audiobook and wasn’t my last! The narrator did a really great job of the reading and the voices. The book itself was beautiful and soul-destroying, and what’s worse is that it is based on the true story of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Yeah, yeah, I cried. Bit of a theme, isn’t there? Full spoiler free review here.

2. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab –

This was my first venture into Victoria Schwab’s works and my God, it will NOT be my last. This book was all kinds of amazing with the perfect amount of darkness and friendship and gore. As you’ve probably heard, this book has NO romance. Yeah, a YA book with no romance. It’s a Christmas miracle! Anyway, this book is fantastic and exactly the kind of thing I love to write. I just hope I can write something just as good.

1. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick –

I cried my absolute heart out at this book, which will come as no surprise. It is by far my favourite book of the year and very close to being my favourite of all time. I read it on my Kindle and immediately bought the physical copy and read it again because it was just that impactful. If I could give any character from any book a hug right now, it would be Leonard. I’d also ask him to be my flatmate, just because I need to have him close by and know he’s okay. I might also be in love with him.

So there it is! I feel compelled to say that I don’t often cry at books but these managed to move me so much that I did, and that is why they have made it onto this list. Despite how shitty 2016 has been, both for the world and me personally, I did read some fantastic books this year that have changed the way I see things and the way I feel in myself. I just hope 2017 is as good reading-wise!

Let me know what your favourite book of the year was!

Thanks for reading,

Abby.