Goodreads Choice Awards 2020 Final Round

This is it, readers. The voting has opened for the final round of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards. This is the round that really breaks hearts, as many favorites get eliminated and left out of the final ten for their categories. I am always a little apprehensive to click the link and see if the books I voted for made it through, or if they failed to get enough votes to push to the end. I guess we will see...

The good news: All is well in the Best Fiction category, with all four DSNs that were originally nominated till holding strong. But it breaks my heart to see the same is not true for Best Historical Fiction. My pick, Deacon King Kong by James McBride, has not made it into the finals, and that makes me so sad. I adore this book. So after much thought, I am switching my vote to The Vanished Half by Brit Bennett.  

And the heartbreak continues in the Best Science Fiction category with the loss of The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez, another favorite of mine, which means I will be switching my vote to Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi. 

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic is holding strong in the Best Horror Category. And while the same can be said for Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett in Best Memoir & Autobiography, sadly, Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford did not make the cut, which is a shame because it is also a great book. 

In my opinion, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson deserves to win Best History & Autobiography; I have been recommending that book to everyone. Unfortunately, Almost American Girl by Robin Ha has disappeared from Best Graphic Novels & Comics, leaving that category without a DSN to represent it. 

My Dark Vanessa also manages to remain in the Best Debut Novel category, and it will be interesting to see if it can manage to snag both this category and Best Fiction, both of which have some incredible competition. 

And in another competitive category, my favorite for Best Young Adult Fiction, Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, remains a strong contender. But Tiffany D. Jackson's Grown has been left out. But both DSNs that were nominated for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction are standing firm, but being that they are Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, that is not surprising.  

So, down from 20 DSNs to 15, and a few of the now eliminated five were my personal favorites. But that is just how it is this year, and I am still excited to see the results.

The voting for the final round closes on Monday, November 30th, and the winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 8th. This is certainly getting interesting, and I wish all of the nominees the best of luck.

Young Adult Fiction: Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Author Nina LaCour has published her latest novel, Watch Over Me, to follow in the trail of the Printz Award-winning We Are Okay. My love of LaCour's work actually began with 2012's The Disenchantments, and ever since then I have come to count on her insight, vivid settings, and emotional plot lines for a story that will take the reader on a journey, as well as entertain.

The Situation: Now that she is 18 years-old, Mila has aged out of the foster care system. But it is okay, as she has accepted an internship teaching children at a remote farm. Mila is used to being alone, and she is looking forward for a chance to start over, maybe even find that sense of "home" that has eluded her for the past few years. When she arrives, she is greeted with nothing but warm and welcoming faces. The other two interns, Liz and Billy, already have an easy relationship that makes Mila slightly envious, though she never quite feels unwelcome. It is when she meets her one student, nine year-old Lee, that Mila starts to feel a connection to someone, someone that makes her feel needed. As she embraces her role as Lee's teacher, and gets to know the inner workings of the farm, Mila begins to think that maybe this can be the home she has been looking for.

The Problem: Mila's new home is wonderful, but the ghosts that play out in the field at night are unsettling. She really wishes they had told her the place was haunted before she accepted the job, but ultimately, the ghosts are not harmful or mean...though one makes mean faces at Lee, and another one, the dancing girl, hurts Mila's eyes to look at. The other's know about the ghosts, some even play with them, but what they do not know is Mila's own haunting past. The stories she had hoped to put behind her are now creeping up again. She does not like talking about the fire that caused her mother to disappear, or the man that forced them to live in a house with no roof. But the memories are there, as are the dreams, and the ghosts are not helping. If Mila does not figure out how to handle her own past trauma, the memories of what she is trying to put behind her may ruin the new life she is attempting to build.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult novel set in a remote location on the Northern California coast. The farm that Mila now lives is run by Terry and Julia, a couple that adopts foster children and hires young adults to help teach and take care of them, while also working the farm. Each child, as well as the interns, has their own traumatic story behind who they are and how they ended up with Terry and Julia. While some have been able to move past what they have been through, others are still haunted, much like how some are somewhat disturbed by the ghosts while others are not. The story explores the effects of trauma, what it means to truly survive, and what it means to choose to be a family, as opposed to simply sticking with the people you are born with. And while the ghosts are very much a part of the story, they are not the whole story.

My Verdict: I think what I love most about LaCour's writing are the settings, with the subtle and careful exploration of emotions coming in at a close second. With this book, the setting of the remote farm does not make a whole lot of sense, at least not to me, and yet it still took a firm place in my imagination and remained unmoved. It is isolated, somewhat on a cliff with waves crashing below, abundant with flowers, and often encased with fog. Then there are the characters that live on it, of which there are many...so many that it would be easy to lose track, but LaCour makes each one stand out, even the ones with which Mila does not have a lot of interaction. And then there are the ghosts. Ghost stories are tricky, but LaCour gives them enough of a presence to set them firmly in place, while not letting them be the whole story. The book is more about survival and finding a place than it is about being haunted. And LaCour handles it all with her usual delicate grace.

Favorite Moment: When it becomes clear that Lee is warming up to Mila as his new teacher.

Favorite Character: Terry and Julia are both warm, loving, trustworthy, and generous people.    

Favorite Quote: "There was no going back. Never again would I sit next to Grammy at the piano, positioning my fingers as she had. Grandpa would never again turn up the volume. Never ask me to dance. All of that was over. This is what I had now."

Recommended Reading: LaCour's The Disenchantments remains my favorite of all of her books.   

Goodreads Choice Awards 2020 Semifinal Round

The voting in the semifinal round of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards has officially begun. Time to see which books have been written into your favorite categories, and more specifically, if those new entries will prove to be gamechangers in the finals.

Only one category has had a DSN added to the nominees, adding it to the 19 other books that have been in it since the beginning.

 It looks like Hank Green (brother of young adult writer John Green) and his A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor have earned enough write-in votes to be considered in the Best Science Fiction category. Same thing happened in 2018 for his previous novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, though it did not result in a win. I will be sticking with my previous vote for The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez.

This second round of voting will remain open through Sunday, November 15, with the all-important final round beginning Tuesday, November 17. Remember, the votes in this semifinal round will decide which books will be in the top ten in each category for the finals. So let's start voting.

Nonfiction: Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

The decision to read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson was both an easy and a hard one, if that makes sense. From its description, I knew it was a book that I should read...possibly a book that everyone should read. But I also knew it would be a difficult, and often upsetting journey. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book that specifically explores America's history and its consequences by relating it to the idea of a caste: a system of dividing society into hereditary classes. At the mention of the word 'caste,' most people think of the caste system of India, which of course Wilkerson mentions. She also brings up the caste system put into place by Nazi Germany and that characterized Hitler's rise to power. The caste systems of India and Germany are easy for most Americans to point to and recognize, but Wilkerson is making the point that what Americans do no seem to realize is that this country is also built on a caste system that has slavery as its foundation. Yes, racism is a big part of it, but it is not quite all of it. The caste system in American is what allows those in the dominant caste to believe (either consciously or subconsciously) that they are inherently better that the lower caste and that they deserve their place on top. And when that advantage is threatened, tensions arise, as well as disillusionment and even despair. Through personal stories, as well as thorough research, Wilkerson presents her idea, giving a different look at a history we all think we have already learned.

My Verdict: Well, I was correct in my thinking that this book was going to be both difficult and upsetting. However, even more than that, it was interesting, even fascinating, and I learned a great deal more than I expected. I will admit that around 3/4 of the way in, I experienced a sharp sense of despair, partially over our country's history, as well as its present as it seems we are currently in a state of regression (though that may be my own faulty perception as opposed to how things actually are). But thankfully, Wilkerson aimed to have her book offer hope, as well as teach and instruct. Of course, with that hope comes the acknowledgement of the long hard road ahead. Effectively presenting America as a caste system was impressive enough, but Wilkerson managed to go even further and deeper, thoroughly explaining what that means, its effects, and what will have to be done to change it. I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from reading this book.

Favorite Quotes: "Caste is the granting or withholding of respect, status, honor, attention, privileges, resources, benefit of the doubt, and human kindness to someone on the basis of their perceived rank or standing in the hierarchy. Caste pushes back against an African-American woman who, without humor or apology, takes a seat at the head of the table speaking Russian. It prefers an Asian-American man to put his technological expertise at the service of the company but not to aspire to CEO. Yet it sees as logical a sixteen-year-old white teenager serving as store manager over employees from the subordinate caste three times his age."

"If the lower-caste person manages actually to rise above an upper-caste person, the natural human response from someone weaned on their caste's inherent superiority is to perceive a threat to their existence...Who are you if there is no one to be better than?"

Recommended Reading: I recommend Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Historical Fiction: The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

A mystery, spanning 80 years, and centered in and around the New York Public Library and the family who took up residence inside of it. That is the overall premise that drew me to The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis. As a book nerd, I naturally have thought about what it would be like to live in a library or bookstore. What Davis has done is thought that idea through, while also adding a mystery that involves the theft of rare books.

The Situation: Laura Lyons and her husband Jack have been living in the apartment located inside of the New York Public Library as part of Jack's job as the library's superintendent. Laura's small children, Harry and Pearl, immediately took to the stone lions out front, Lenox and Astor, but have a hard time with living within the quiet and peaceful environment that must be maintained for both serious patrons and tourists alike. Laura also misses their life in the country, but when she is accepted into the Columbia Journalism School, she imagines a new kind of freedom for herself. Eighty years later in 1993, Sadie Donovan is working as a curator for the library, and while she is the granddaughter of Laura, whose writings have recently gained significant interest among the public, she has kept the connection to herself. And when rare books begin to go missing, much like they did when Laura lived in the library in 1913, Sadie is determined to find the thief, but is afraid that her connection to the past may cause fingers to be pointed in her direction.

The Problem: In 1913, the first book to go missing is a first edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. The stealing of rare books is nothing new, as some attempt to resell them for a tidy profit, while others only wish to add them to their own personal collection. For the New York Public Library, losing one rare book is terrible, losing more than that is a travesty. Unfortunately, more books begin to go missing, and since Jack is the superintendent, he will ultimately be held accountable. Meanwhile, Laura is attending graduate school, making friends while attending meetings in Greenwich Village held by radical feminists, and discovering that she wants more out of life. This, added to the recent thefts, puts a strain on her relationship with Jack. When Sadie must deal with the thefts in her own time, they threaten the career she has built for herself, while only adding to the mysteries in her family's past. If the thief is not caught soon, it may be more than only rare books that end up lost. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel that takes place during two points in time, 80 years apart. In 1913, Laura is the wife of the New York Public Library's current superintendent. With their two small children, they live in the apartment located inside of the library, but the close quarters inside of the big city eventually prove to be somewhat suffocating, and not only for Laura. In 1993, Sadie is a curator for the library's Berg Collection, a job she absolutely loves, but it is not without its trials, especially when one of the diaries of Virginia Wolf goes missing. She knows there was some sort of scandal that forced her grandmother and her family to leave the library 80 years ago, but she does not know the specifics, and prefers to keep anyone else from looking too closely. Both women value their independence and ability to make their own choices, but both things are much easier for Sadie to hold onto than Laura. She loves being a wife and mother, but she rankles at the idea that she is not to be anything more. While the apartment inside of the New York Public Library did exist at one point, Laura's family and their story is fiction. But rare book theft is of course a reality.

My Verdict: When I started the book, I was absolutely delighted that it focused on and also took place mostly inside of the New York Public Library. I had the pleasure of visiting it myself in 2013 and I know what I imagine to be life inside of it does not come close to reality. I was skeptical that I would be interested in both Laura and Sadie's stories, but both mysteries were intriguing and engaging, and both heroines were interesting and fully realized. It was maybe about two-thirds of the way into the book that the story began to unravel for me, somewhat. While I enjoyed Sadie's story throughout, something about Laura's story did not fit together quite so neatly. Also, it felt as if Laura was searching for freedom to be who she wanted, which was mostly a woman of her own means, but instead of being allowed to choose what path to take, she was still only given a few options as to what direction to go in. I am not sure if I am making any sense there, but it felt she was only given the illusion of a choice. As for the two separate and interesting mysteries, they certainly kept me guessing, and helped to smooth over some of the rougher spots in the novel.

Favorite Moment: *spoiler alert* When Sadie successfully plays a part in recovering two of the stolen books from a book shop.  

Favorite Character: Mr. Babenko, who works in the library's bindery, has sacrificed the health of his hands for his work. Ultimately, this is a point of pride for him, but I love his good nature and his commitment to books.

Recommended Reading: I recommend The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. More books, more history, and another plot split between two points in time.    

Goodreads Choice Awards 2020

For the most part, it is the month of November that is associated with the Goodreads Choice Awards. However, it seems this year the party is getting started a little early, and I for one am fine with that. Time for readers to pick their favorite books of 2020 as voting will remain open through November 8th for the first round.

The Best Fiction category starts off strong with four DSNs making the cut. This category is always tough, and this year is no different with My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, and Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, which will appear in a post in late November. My pick is easily Russell's dark and unsettling My Dark Vanessa, which follows the story of a woman, now in her 30s, as she attempts to reconcile the relationship she had with her 42 year-old teacher when she was only 15. It is certainly upsetting, but Russell's writing makes it worth the trouble.

Best Historical Fiction also has some stiff competition, with Lisa Wingate's The Book of Lost Friends, James McBride's Deacon King Kong, and Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half. Though all three books are strong contenders, my personal choice will be Deacon King Kong. I love Wingate's ability to bring her readers into the past, while also linking it to a separate narrative set in the present. And Bennett's tale of two sisters dealing with the racism of a post-Jim Crow America is engaging as well as fascinating. But something about McBride's colorful characters in 1960s Brooklyn will always stick with me. 

I am usually lucky to have one book in the Best Science Fiction category, and this year I managed to get two in there. Both The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez, and Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi are up for the award. Both are fantastic, but I must go with Jimenez. He presents a future where Earth can no longer support life, and space travel has been more or less conquered. It is one of those books that is just shy of 400 pages, but has so much going on that it felt like it was longer, and I still wanted more.  

One title made it into the Best Horror category, and that is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. When a young debutante heads off to a small town in 1950s Mexico to check on her cousin, it is clear that something is going on in the strange house she is staying in, and the family her cousin married into is certainly hiding something. It was not one of my favorite books of 2020, but I certainly understand the appeal. 

I would recommend both Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett and Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford to anyone looking for a great memoir or autobiography. One is the story of a young man seemingly fighting against destiny to overcome his childhood of being raised by an abusive mother, while longing for the attention of his ex-con father. And the other is about a young girl's experience of sexual assault and the cover-up that followed at one of America's most elite boarding schools. As far as my vote for Best Memoir & Autobiography, I choose Hollywood Park, as Jollett's writing is both lyrical and haunting.  

The post for Caste by Isabel Wilkerson will appear in early November, and I am so pleased to be able to vote for it in the Best History & Biography Category. Both eye-opening and upsetting, Wilkerson outlines how the U.S. operates like a caste system, with slavery as its foundation. It may be hard to believe, but through research, interviews, and personal examples, Wilkerson makes a solid case.

Robin Ha's Almost American Girl is absolutely delightful. This nominee for Best Graphic Novels & Comics tells the story of a young girl whose world is turned upside down when she goes to Alabama for vacation from her home of Korea, only to be told after she gets there that she and her mother are never going back. Confusion, anger, culture shock...it's all there, and Ha's beautiful illustrations and writing capture a tale both hopeful and despairing.   

Russell's My Dark Vanessa makes its second appearance in the Awards, this time in the Best Debut Novel category, and I am all too happy to vote for it twice.

Oh young adult fiction, how I adore you. And the same can be said for the DSNs that made it into the Best Young Adult Fiction category. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson, and One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus are all worth picking up. But I have to give it Acevedo as she once again gives us a compelling story told completely through poetry. 

And finally, we come to the last category with Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction. It should be no surprise to anyone that both Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins have been nominated. And while I loved the former, I was pretty disappointed in the latter. It felt like an odd choice to have an entire book focus on Coriolanus Snow, the devious and plotting president from the first three Hunger Games books. And Adeyemi's follow-up to Children of Blood and Bone was pretty much what readers were hoping for, which for me makes it the obvious pick. 

With 19 books across 10 categories, the DSNs have made a pretty good showing in the opening round of this year's Goodreads Choice Awards. And of course, when the second round begins, readers will see the write-in votes added to the mix.

Happy voting!

Contemporary Fiction: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Today I will be covering the second novel from Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half. Honestly, I bought this one on a whim. It was one of those Amazon purchases I made quickly, before I could change my mind, because I knew this book would be somewhat of a trial for me to work through. 

The Situation: Desiree and Stella Vignes are identical twins born in the small southern town of Mallard: a town founded specifically for light-skinned black people, so light in fact, that many of them could pass for white. After losing their father to a lynch mob while they are still young, the two sisters will grow up under the watchful gaze of their hardworking mother, Adele. But after being forced to drop out of school, something they both enjoy, and made to work cleaning houses, Desiree decides enough is enough, and manages to convince Stella to leave for New Orleans. When Desiree returns to Mallard 14 years later, it will be as much as a surprise as the day she and her sister left, but now she has a small child with her. The people of Mallard are having a hard time believing the little girl to be Desiree's daughter, mostly because her skin is so dark. And as many questions they may have about little Jude, they have just as many about Stella.

The Problem: When Desiree had to convince Stella to leave Mallard when they were teenagers, she had no idea her sister would then leave her while they were working in New Orleans. Both girls always had the ability to pass for white, and it did not require much effort. Given the right circumstance, many people would assume they were white without either one of them saying a word. So when Stella made the decision to pass over, it was not all that difficult, or even surprising. But it would be a secret she would have to keep forever, from everyone, and never again make contact with anyone from her past, including the woman who looks exactly like her. It is only after her own daughter, Kennedy, has grown up and began performing on stage that the past begins to haunt her. It seems Kennedy's life has somehow intersected with Jude's, Desiree's daughter. And now the careful and fragile lie that Stella has maintained all those years is in danger of being exposed.   

Genre, Themes, History: The is a fiction novel that takes place between the years 1968 and 1988, though it jumps back and forth through time between sections. There is plenty going on here, the most obvious of which being race relations, identity, and the idea of passing. Also included are explorations of gender, and the mother/daughter dynamic. The twins are identical, and though they run away together, their lives take different courses. Stella decides to pass for white and disappears for good, and Desiree marries a dark-skinned black man with whom she has Jude, a girl whose skin is so dark she is teased with names like Tar Baby, and ends up returning to Mallard. When each of the twins' daughters grow up, their paths cross with only one knowing the truth. All of the issues in this book are complicated, though almost every character will search for the simple answer, claiming it is out there and easy to hold onto. Stella wants to desperately maintain her lie, despite the effort it takes, the pain it causes, and how it effects her daughter.

My Verdict: As I already said, there is a lot going on in this book. It is not only about a black woman passing for white and the identical twin that returned to their hometown, though I almost wish it had been. There are many points in the book where I felt like there was too much to keep track of; too many issues and threads to follow; and ultimately, not enough resolution. But of course, that is also how life is. The characters are complicated, nothing is straight-forward, and Bennett captures the feeling of confronting someone with the truth, expecting all to be revealed and resolved at once, but instead it is all followed by confusion, sometimes anger, and more lies. Of all of the people that will lie to us in our lifetime, it is perhaps the most problematic when those people come from our own family, the people we are supposed to trust the most. I am not all that fond of the ending, and I would have preferred more focus on Desiree and Stella, and Jude and Kennedy. But it is an interesting story that will keep the reader guessing.

Favorite Moment: Jude experiences a revelation after she has moved away from Mallard that I think is really well-done. I do not want to get more specific for fear of spoiling it, but I think readers will know it when they find it.

Favorite Character: Early may be a bit of a wanderer who cannot stay in one place for too long, but he treats Desiree and Jude well, and is even able to get past the obvious disapproval of Adele.

Recommended Reading: There is not a book quite like this one out there, and I have not read Bennett's previous book, The Mothers. So I will simply recommend Dread Nation by Justina Ireland for those interested in a YA adventure set in post-Civil War America.