Jill’s Little Library
Hello everyone! Welcome to our end of the year wrap up! For this post we will be going through our favorite books from the whole year! We would love to hear from you in the comments about your favorite books from this year as well! Now onto the books!
The first book that I want to talk about is The Deep and The Dark by Niki Smith. This book has it all. Political coups, magical women, and revenge! This was such a great graphic novel. This book is about Hawke and Grayson who are in line to inherit the throne of Sunderlay (eventually). On the night that their older brother, Reyden, is to be named the next ruler of Sunderlay, there is a coup. The twins flee while their brother holds off their cousin Mirelle and her lackeys. The twins end up disguising themselves as girls, Hanna and Grayce, and joining the Communion of Blue, a order of magical women who weave and spin the threads of reality. Can the twins get back the throne? Will Grayce want to go back to being a boy or has she finally found a place where she can truly be herself? You’ll have to read this book and find out!
This was such a good graphic novel! I loved the story and all of the characters. Hawke and Grayce were such good siblings to each other and I loved how strong they were with all the craziness going on in their lives. The ending of this book made me cry (in a happy way) and I absolutely loved it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone of any age. It’s so good!
Next up we have the Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor! This was my favorite series that I read this year! Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.
Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself – but first she has to make it there, alive.
I’ve read this whole trilogy starting in June and finishing it up in December. These books are amazing. As someone who isn’t a fan of sci-fi these books really drew me in with the fantastic world building and interesting characters. I loved the fact that we have a strong young woman as the main character throughout the trilogy. Watching her grow and change through the books was really a fun journey. I don’t want to spoil anything from any of the books but if you are a fan of sci-fi then I think this will be right up your alley!
Next up I want to talk about one of the YA books that I really enjoyed this year. Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt is about Tam and Kate. Two girls that are opposites but are drawn together despite that. Kate is your typical popular, blond haired cheerleader and Tam is athletic and more on the masculine side. But through a lot of ups and downs and dealing with high school, they become more than friends.
This book was really cute but dealt with issues of coming out and figuring out who you are. Do you want to be what everyone else wants you to be or do you want to be true to yourself even if that means burning a few bridges and possibly making people angry? I really enjoyed reading about the girls and how they both dealt with the issues that came up throughout the course of the book.
Gene understands stories—comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins.
But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it’s all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships.
Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’s lives, but his own life as well.
I’ll admit it. Basketball is not my favorite sport (football is if anyone was wondering). But this book made me care very deeply about one specific basketball team and its players. Gene Luen Yang has a knack for making you care about whatever it is he’s writing about. Dragon Hoops is one of my favorite graphic novels that I’ve read so far this year and I think it will probably still be one of my favorites six months from now. I would highly recommend checking this book out as well as his other book, American Born Chinese.
The next book that I absolutely loved was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix!
Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia’s life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they’re more likely to discuss the FBI’s recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.
But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club’s meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he’s a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she–and her book club–are the only people standing between the monster they’ve invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.
I don’t think I can properly articulate how much I loved this book. I finished it and immediately wanted to start it again. I will be recommending this book to anyone that will listen to me. My favorite thing was that the MC was so very dense at times that I just wanted to SCREAM at her. But I loved her. And I loved her friends and the friendships that they had. They were realistic. There were hardships, they fought and came back together just like real people do. All of these characters felt so realistic and fleshed out that they could walk right out of the book and shake your hand. Also, I love horror books and this one just touched on things so well. There was gore and there was suspense and I just cannot get enough of this book. Oh and the ending. I loved it. No spoilers here but it was just perfect. If you are a horror, vampire, or suspense fan then I highly, highly encourage you to read this book. You will not regret it.
The first book that I want to talk about this month is Batman: The Court of Owls Saga by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.
Hidden for years, the mysterious Court of Owls surfaces in Gotham City -what must Batman do to defeat them, and what deadly connection do they have to his past?
After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest. As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he’s sworn to protect. Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption? Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime?
This was SUCH a good comic. If you are a fan of Batman then this is definitely essential reading. However, if you are like me and not a fan of The Bat I would still recommend this. I went into this knowing nothing about it and not really liking Batman at all and came out with a new appreciation for Batman and the BatFam. This is a comic book that I would recommend to everyone, regardless of if you are a Batman fan or not!
Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.
This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features all-new material with more than 1,600 pieces of art. Solutions and Other Problems marks the return of a beloved American humorist.
This is a fantastic book. If you read the first book by Allie Brosh, Hyperbole and a Half, then you will love this one as well. I laughed, cried, and fell in love with this book. As soon as I finished reading it I started reading it again.
The next book that I really enjoyed last month was one of our book club picks, Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner.
Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time–threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie.
As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a “source” is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is “no comment”.
With the launch of Jo’s film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all…but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?
This book has an adorable romance but it also has a great WOC main character, accurate descriptions of POC, and a love story that actually takes time to build! I loved how Jo was with Emma. No spoilers here but I just loved how this book ended. I want more from this author! If you’re looking for a cute romance then this one would be right up your alley.
One of the last books that I wanted to talk about is Displacement by Kiku Hughes. Kiku is on vacation in San Francisco when suddenly she finds herself displaced to the 1940s Japanese-American internment camp that her late grandmother, Ernestina, was forcibly relocated to during World War II.
These displacements keep occurring until Kiku finds herself “stuck” back in time. Living alongside her young grandmother and other Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, Kiku gets the education she never received in history class. She witnesses the lives of Japanese-Americans who were denied their civil liberties and suffered greatly, but managed to cultivate community and commit acts of resistance in order to survive.
This book was fantastic. I learned so much as I was reading it that I hadn’t known before. The story of Kiku’s grandma and the other people at the internment camp was heartbreaking to read but I think an important topic for people to learn about. This is a book that I would recommend that everyone read – the history is something that we all should know about.
One of the last books that I read this year was Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur. This was one of my favorite books that I read in December! I read the whole thing in one sitting, it was that good. If you want a super cute enemies-to-lovers, wintery romance then this is the book for you! I would highly recommend checking this one out; it gave me all the feels and was a great way to end the year!
After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.
Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.
When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.
But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?
That is it for this year! I hope you all had the best 2020 that you possibly could. If you would like to get materials from the library, don’t forget that we have curbside pickup! You can put books on hold online or over the phone (305-292-3595) and then we will let you know when they’ve been put on hold for you. Park in our back parking lot and pick up your books at the back door! Call us when you’ve arrived at the library and we will meet you at the back door with your materials!
If you want to read some more books reviews, check out my personal blog over at Book Worm Blog!
