When we were asked to make a list of our Top Reads of 2020, I honestly felt like there was no way I would manage to get even close to a “list” of books that I read during 2020. Lockdown was a mess. I spent my time reading books from the 300 section in Non-Fiction; and LitRPG books. But I sat down, and I had a look back over the books I had reviewed. Cutting out the ones that aren’t published yet, I was surprised to see how many I had actually finished. It made me feel a little better; a little less like I lost the ability to finish a book thanks to Lockdown. And then I took a moment to reflect on that feeling.
Because Lockdown wasn’t normal. It was a time where things were completely upside down. We didn’t know what was happening, when things would go back to the way they were, if people we knew would get sick. And it is 100% okay, and 100% normal, to be feeling a little out of sorts (or a lot out of sorts!).
So relax. Accept that this year was a mess, and give yourself credit for the little things. We made it through a year that will go down in history.
That said, here are some of the books I read this year, which I really enjoyed. I will split them into categories, to make it easier.
Starting with the Young Adult Fiction:
Finding Balance* by Kati Gardner - I was lucky enough to be a part of the digital book launch of this book (ordinarily, a book launch is a physical tour, but due to COVID-19, that didn’t happen). An own-voices novel about a young girl who is learning how to live as a whole person, not to be defined as simply “that girl who lost a leg to cancer”, while hiding the secrets of her best friend - who pretends not to know her.
Everything I Thought I Knew* by Shannon Takaoka - This book was absolutely beautiful. It follows a young girl who had a heart transplant due to a genetic condition., It does have some magical realism/sci-fi elements (depending on who you ask, I have zero trouble believing it as actual fact).
Break The Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli - Set in the gymnastics camp of US gymnasts in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics, it’s a well written and enjoyable look at team-ship and friendship, as well as the troubling assault by a coach/doctor/mentor which are far too common.
Somebody Told Me by Mia Siegert - This book has a main character who is bi-gendered, which isn’t something you see a lot of yet. This aspect is well handled, with enough information to be informative without being pushy or overbearing. Given the sexual assault Catholic Priest plotline, I was honestly worried that it would be finger-pointing and blamey, or paint all Catholics with the same brush, or make out Catholics to be anti-LGBT+. Here’s a note from the author (in my opinion, they did what they set out to do and did it well): Author’s Note: I wanted to write a book about the ongoing problems in the Catholic Church without attacking Catholics for their faith. I didn’t want to tarnish something that’s sacred for many people. At the same time, as a child safety advocate, I knew I needed to write something. I believe that if a person knows about a crime and does nothing, they are as culpable as the perpetrator.
Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp - A YA thriller about a group of teens who are different and unique and wonderful. There’s a double layer of story going on - the teens have been playing a TableTop Role Playing Game, and this is woven into the real life story throughout. It was well done, and I wish the game was real!
Young Adult Non-Fiction
The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide by Siena Castellon - This part basically sums up my thoughts on this book: This book is great. That’s a good way to start a review, right?
No, seriously. Written by an Autistic Girl for Autistic Girls, the author writes eloquently and with intelligence, but with enough oversight to make it very easily readable, as well as easily able to be digested (unlike that last sentence...ugh.). It doesn’t read as too childish, which can happen when an adult writes for children. There is some repetitiveness at the beginning of the chapters, but this is something that is common in Non-Fiction, so is not an issue.
Adult Fiction
A Trio Of Sophies by Eileen Merriman - This one I will note three things:
I bought this for YA, read it, and asked for it to be moved to Adult Fic, due to the content.
She’s a Kiwi, and I don’t tend to read a lot of Kiwi Fiction.
The below are my thoughts on this book:
For the first half of this book, I moaned and groaned my way onwards, repeatedly saying things such as:
“Urgh, this is SO predictable!”
“Oh, come one, this is insane. No way, I just don’t believe it.”
“Dear author, I know he’s bad and all but really? All of that? Couldn’t have just stopped with one, could you?
In response, my colleagues laughed at me, and asked why I was still reading if I hated it that much. Honestly?
a) I’m terrible at wanting to finish EVERY book I start;
c) I figured I’d add it to my list of "Books I DNF" anyway.
When I finished it however, this book took up residence in my brain and just wouldn’t let go. I thought about it for the rest of the evening; I DREAMED about it. That’s impressive, especially considering that I listen to audiobooks at night when I sleep, so dreaming about a completely different book… That’s impressive.
I won’t give you much plot. It’s something that you have to read for yourself. All you need to know going in is written in the blurb:
It’s been 64 days since Sophie A went missing, and no-one has seen her since.
“[Mac] last saw Sophie Alexander kissing James Bacon, their English teacher.”
Mac is our narrator; the best friend of Sophie, student of Mr Bacon. We follow her ups and downs as she navigates the world after her best friend goes missing.
Adult Non-Fiction
Out of Orange by Cleary Wolters - So I went to look at my reviews in order to write this, and I NEVER REVIEWED THIS? How did that slip past me?? I reviewed Orange is the New Black, by Piper Kerman for my Books to Screen segment, and it was… meh. So I thought I would try the other half of the story - the memoir of the real Alex Vause, Out of Orange. If you’re looking for a prison memoir, this isn’t it. It is, however, an account of a woman who got herself into a situation and then paid for her mistakes. Not what I was expecting, but I couldn’t put it down.
Note: I marked with a * books which I have on order but are not yet in our system. Otherwise, we have either a print or digital copy.
Posted by Li
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