My Top Books of 2020
It’s the end of the year! This means many things…but today it means that it’s time to discuss my top books of 2020.
I read 70 books this year, and while I had a fairly easy time figuring out which were my favorites, I had an extremely difficult time putting the top 10 in order.
I loved them all so much.
As a little background, I read mostly YA fantasy, because that’s my preferred genre for writing.
However, 3 of the 10 spots went outside of that genre. I also didn’t include in the running any of the nonfiction I read.
10 | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Summary:
A journalist gets an unexpected opportunity for an exclusive in-depth interview with Hollywood royalty, Evelyn Hugo, who narrates the story of her life and career.
I couldn’t believe how much I loved this book. It was one of only a few adult books I picked up this year, but wow. I read Daisy Jones and the Six a couple of months prior to reading this, and liked it, but left without any strong feelings.
Then I read Evelyn Hugo.
Despite relatively low stakes, Reid kept me engaged through the entire book (which I could NOT put down) with massively intriguing questions and twists. Evelyn Hugo is, to put it bluntly, a terrible person (though she technically is not the protagonist), but she had the one thing I NEED in my story.
Someone who loves fiercely.
Give me a story with a cast that will go to the ends of the earth to protect one another, despite serious flaws and frequent mistakes, and I’m hooked.
That’s what Evelyn Hugo delivered. It made me cry, it made me want to throttle the main characters, and it was incredibly human and beautiful.
9 | The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Summary:
In order to keep its people safe, a small village sacrifices one baby each year to the witch of the woods. But the witch, kind and confused by the babies appearing in the same spot on the same day each year, rescues the children and takes them to a neighboring village where they are placed with loving families. However, on her latest trek, the witch accidentally feeds the baby moonlight, giving her magic…and mischief.
Over this past year I have discovered something important about my reading. And I would suppose this to be the case for most readers—especially readers who are also writers.
This is what I’ve discovered:
There are really only a few reading experiences:
Books I don’t particularly enjoy. I push through them, then I finish and forget.
Books I really enjoy, and sometimes even adore, but after a few weeks I…forget.
Books I have lukewarm feelings about, then I finish them and can’t get them out of my head for weeks, months or years.
Books I love and can’t get out of my head for weeks, months, or years.
Only books in the last two categories end up in my favorites.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon happens to fall in category number 3. I read it, I was smitten with the characters and I found the plot engaging and original, but it was a solid 4 star book.
But as the year went on, I could not get it out of my head. It was so beautiful. The themes it tackled were poignant. The ending was moving. And the characters. Oh, man. SO ADORABLE. It had the “it” factor I mentioned in Evelyn Hugo (a cast who will go to the ends of the earth for one another) with the added bonus of enormous levels of cuteness.
A swamp monster, a tiny dragon, a spirited little girl, and a feisty old witch. Yes. Please.
8 | The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson
Summary:
A princess flees on her wedding day rather than marry a prince from an adjoining kingdom whom she has never met. But weeks later, both the prince she abandoned and an assassin from another kingdom have caught up with her…
I can’t quite put my finger on why this book isn’t higher up on my list. Lots of competition, I suppose.
But the fact remains that this was my VERY favorite series that I read this year. I finished all three books in no time flat.
I absolutely fell in love with the three main characters. I rooted for them through the entire series. Lots of action and high stakes. And an exquisite magic system.
Plus, I found a new hero in the protagonist. Her character arc is incredible. Her strength and courage and perseverance left me in awe. And she just got better and better as the series went on.
I cried (a lot) and I cheered. I only mentioned the first book here, but hooray for The Remnant Chronicles!
7 | Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Summary:
Morrigan Crow is cursed. She is an emblem of bad luck in her town, blamed for everything from burned pies to dead cats. But on the eve of her 11th birthday, when she is cursed to die, a stranger swoops in and whisks her away to a magical place called Nevermoor. There, he enters her into trials to compete for a spot in an exclusive magical society.
The BEST middle-grade I read this year, by far. SO whimsical and fun and engaging. The characters were awesome and the world was crazy enjoyable.
I haven’t gotten to books 2 and 3 yet, but they are on my shelf, waiting to be devoured in 2021.
6 | The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Summary:
Every year, to remind them of the utter failure of the uprisings, the Capitol travels to each of their 12 districts and “reaps” a young boy and a young girl to take part in the annual Hunger Games—a fight to the death in a killer arena . Only one winner will survive.
I read these books for the first time this year, and now I see what all the fuss is about.
The stakes are out of this world, but more importantly, the author had something to say. Her message shines through in every page of this book, and Katniss became someone I loved to root for.
I have a complicated relationship with Mockingjay, but books one and two were incredible storytelling that I am excited to return to.
5 | An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Summary:
Laia barely escaped with her life when Masks raided her home in the dead of night, killing her grandparents in front of her and kidnapping her brother, her only living relative. She escapes and finds an underground group raging against the regime of the Martial Empire, who agree to help Laia find her brother in exchange for a mission. She must spy on the most dangerous person in the Empire. Elias is a Mask, but all he longs for is freedom. Before long, Laia and Elias’ fates intertwine.
I only finished this book last week, but it had to be on the list!
The character arcs and dual protagonists were truly remarkable. The villain was yikes-level scary, which I love. (I’m a sucker for a great villain.)
The action and the stakes had my heart thumping through the entire thing. I’m talking high-stress levels. And she did such a good job setting up for book two.
In fact, book 2 is on my nightstand waiting for me at this very moment. So I’m gonna finish this post so I can get to it.
4 | Fable by Adrienne Young
Summary:
The night after watching her mother drown in a terrible shipwreck four years ago, Fable was abandoned on an island by her father. All she’s thought about in the intervening time is how she can survive, and how she can get off the island and back to him and earn her rightful place in his crew.
This is a book that falls in that last category above: I loved it AND I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I finished.
The writing was gorgeous, the romance was fantastic, and the found family was deeply engaging.
I just don’t even have words. This book connected with me on such a visceral level.
Also, umm, I didn’t know it was the first in a duology. The cliffhanger ending took my breath away and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out in March!
3 | Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Summary:
Sophie is the eldest in her family, and thus, doomed to an unlucky and unremarkable life. Then the Witch of the Waste sweeps into the hat shop where Sophie works and curses her, transforming Sophie into an old woman. So Sophie flees her home and finds shelter in the moving castle of the land’s most dangerous sorcerer: Howl.
Possibly my new favorite book. Ever.
SO adorable. Honestly, that’s the best way I can sum it up. Again, the characters take care of one another in the most moving and spectacular ways. And the romance was off-the-charts sweet.
This one really took me by surprise.
Whimsical, check. Magical, check. Hate to love romance (very light, done in the BEST way possible), check. Tender-hearted boys and fire demons looking out for feisty old ladies, check. Agh. I just loved it so much.
2 | The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Summary:
A group of young boys from the wrong side of the tracks fight to survive high school and life.
I only read 2 classics this year and they took the top 2 spots in my list. I guess they’ve stood the test of time for a reason.
Holy cow I loved this book. A gang of rough boys who are looking out for one another (told you that’s a theme in my favorite stories!). Impactful themes and heart-wrenching moments and absolutely captivating love and friendships.
Stay gold, Ponyboy. If you haven’t read this yet, go do it. Now.
1 | Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Summary:
A young girl finds herself in a whirlwind romance with a strange and wealthy man. But soon after returning to his estate, our protagonist starts to feel haunted by her new husband’s deceased wife, Rebecca.
The epitome of great thrillers. Daphne du Maurier’s writing is incredible.
Atmospheric, dark, beautiful, vivid. Like I mentioned, I love a story that has something to say, and this story had something to say.
Warning: do NOT go into this book thinking it’s a romance. It’s not. Our protagonist (whose name we never learn) is naive, insecure, and easily taken advantage of. But the themes of this book were phenomenal. And that ending. Whoa.
I kept checking the pages left. 10 pages? How is she going to sum this up? 5? Where is she going? 1 page left? HOW IN THE WORLD IS SHE GOING TO END THIS THING?
Whoa.
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