Honorable Mentions 2016
Another quick disclaimer: Despite this being a hard year to read for me, I feel strongly that any of these honorable mention books could have won this year. I ended up picking What We Saw because it's subject matter is so important and because it truly made me feel things. Anger, mostly, but things nonetheless. Anyway, these honorables are all also very good.
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more. She also has a secret. Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it. When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.
This was a super creative bit of historical fiction with just a touch of magic. I loved that the magic never overwhelms and that the story is truly about getting to California and the Gold Rush. The whole thing was very unique. I haven't picked up the sequel yet, but I definitely plan to.
Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more. She also has a secret. Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it. When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.
This was a super creative bit of historical fiction with just a touch of magic. I loved that the magic never overwhelms and that the story is truly about getting to California and the Gold Rush. The whole thing was very unique. I haven't picked up the sequel yet, but I definitely plan to.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
I both loved and hated this book, and I was super emotional about it afterwards. It took me right back to my first love, that one that seemed so impossibly fulfilling, that made the universe seem magical and perfect.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On is a love letter to love stories and the power of words - to every 'chosen one' who ever had more on their mind than saving the world...
This one has gotten better the further I've gotten from reading it, and I briefly considered switching my favorite of 2016 to this instead of What We Saw. The more and more I think about the characters in this book, the more and more I like it.
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here - it's their last year at Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up. Carry On is a love letter to love stories and the power of words - to every 'chosen one' who ever had more on their mind than saving the world...
This one has gotten better the further I've gotten from reading it, and I briefly considered switching my favorite of 2016 to this instead of What We Saw. The more and more I think about the characters in this book, the more and more I like it.