Goodreads Choice Awards 2017

So, Goodreads surprised at least me today by starting their 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards before November officially starts. But you know what? That just means the fun will begin a little earlier this year.

Voting has officially begun, so you can go ahead and start making your opinions known by supporting your favorite books of the year. These awards are decided completely by readers, which makes it the only book award of its kind.

As usual, I must start with the Best Fiction category, which for me ends up being tricky because while two DSN books made the cut, neither of their posts has gone up yet. I have read Exit West by Mohsin Hamid and can absolutely attest to how good it is, so it will be getting my vote. It is a story of two refugees whose adventure takes magical turns as they enter through doors that take them to different locations around the world. Unfortunately, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward is still in my perpetually growing "to read" queue and will have a post in early January. I am sure it is fantastic, but voting for a book I have not actually read feels incredibly wrong. 

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins will get my vote for Best Mystery & Thriller, but only because it is the only one of the nominated books that I have read. It is not a bad book, it just is not as good as it could be. Also, it seems to suffer from readers remembering just how good The Girl on the Train was. Usually I do not have any books to vote for in this category, so getting even just one is a good showing for me.

Finding historical fiction that I actually wanted to read was a bit of struggle for me this year. Even so, I managed to pick two novels that have shown up in the Best Historical Fiction category. Lisa See's The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane explores the deeply revered tradition of tea making in China, but my vote will actually be going to The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. Sure, it is another women in World War II book, but it is a good one. However, I can see fierce competition coming from both Moonglow by Michael Chabon and Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. 

Best Science Fiction is another category I tend to be hit or miss on, but this time I managed to pick American War by Omar El Akkad and Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. One is a story of the U.S. after its second civil war, while the other takes place in a sort of post apocalyptic Europe where a giant bear terrorizes everyone (no, really). Although I did not place it under the science fiction heading when I wrote about it, I will go with American War on this one.  

I am pleased to see Dot Hutchison's The Roses of May in the Best Horror category, a sequel to The Butterfly Garden, which was nominated last year. Once again Hutchison has created a mysterious and terrible serial killer that puts its victims in seemingly impossible situations. Her ability to create realistic, but strong heroines is one of the many reasons I have become a faithful follower of her work. I have high hopes for this one, but with Stephen and Owen King's Sleeping Beauties also nominated, I have to admit that chances of a win for Hutchison are slim.

There will be a write-in vote for Jenny Lawson's You Are Here for the Best Memoir & Autobiography category. Part self-help, part graphic novel, and part adult coloring book, Lawson provides coloring pages that she herself created and used in the past when she was feeling particularly out of control or lost. It makes for a fantastic travel companion.

And for what is possibly the first DSN to make it into the Best History & Biography category ever, I pick The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. It is the story of the women who worked as dial painters during World War I, using radium to do so. Today we can all immediately realize the problem with this, but at the time, radium was still being billed as a wonder substance that was even safe enough to ingest. Yeah, awful.  

Choosing for Best Graphic Novel is tough because I have to choose between Sarah Andersen's Big Mushy Happy Lump, and Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer. Andersen's second collection of comics once again explores life for the modern book-nerd animator as she hilariously attempts to ward off procrastination, self-doubt, body-image issues, and unwanted body hair. Wires and Nerve is the first entry into a new graphic novel series that follows the events of The Lunar Chronicles. I actually think I will go with Andersen on this one, though both have the potential of making a decent showing.

The Best Debut Goodreads Author category is always fun, and this year proves to be no different with El Akkad's American War making its second showing in the nominations, and it is joined by Caraval by Stephanie Garber - the story of a young woman attempting to navigate a dangerous game in order to find her sister - as well as The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - the story of a young unarmed black man killed by a police officer and the tense aftermath that follows. For me, and I imagine for many actually, it is no contest. Thomas gets my vote and I pretty much expect it to win, though I could be proven wrong.

And of course, my favorite category ends up having the most DSN books nominated. Best Young Adult Fiction has a record seven books nominated, with Thomas' The Hate U Give leading the way. The first to join it is Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. In his latest novel, Green explores mental health in today's youth as his protagonist almost constantly fights the urge dress and redress a wound she herself recreates so as to avoid infection. And then there is Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner, a book that follows Carver Briggs as he attempts to live his life without his three best friends after they were tragically killed in a texting and driving accident. Sandhya Menon's When Dimple Met Rishi is such an utter delight that it makes me wish I could vote for two books. Rishi is a boy who cannot wait to meet someone, get married, and start a family, all of which are things that Dimple would rather stay away from. So when these two must work together at a camp for students interested in coding, it is a near constant push and pull as they attempt to make it through the summer. YA queen (at least to me) Sarah Dessen also makes a showing with her latest, Once and for All. Louna Barrett knows from working for her mother's wedding planner business that happily ever after is hard to come by, and she is no less skeptical when distracted and unreliable Ambrose attempts to change her mind. A List of Cages by Robin Roe is a bit of a heart breaker, but it is worth braving Julian's troubled life at home and Adam's ADHD to experience this one. And finally, there is One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, which I actually do not have a post for, but one will be coming in early December. After high school student Simon dies mysteriously during detention, the primary suspects are the four other students that were in the room. But nothing is as its seems, and everyone has a secret that Simon was ready to expose.

Oh goodness, so many choices that I had to start a new paragraph. I may have already voted for it in the Best Debut Goodreads Author category, but even so, I will once again go with Thomas' The Hate U Give. It is just that good.    

Garber's Caraval shows up again in the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category and is joined by Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer. While I had to make the difficult decision to not continue with the series, I will still vote for the latter as it is incredibly imaginative and unique. Lazlo Strange gets the amazing opportunity to travel to the city of Weep as part of a team attempting to save it. But it turns out that while he knows a lot more than people realize, he actually knows very little about who he is.

And there you have it: 20 books over 11 categories have made it from the DSN family. Plus, the second round will see the addition of five more books for each category, so that will be interesting. 

The first round of voting ends Sunday, November 5th, with the second round starting the following Tuesday. Happy voting!

Horror Fiction: The Roses of May by Dot Hutchison

I was excited to find out that last year's The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison had a sequel, The Roses of May. While The Butterfly Garden had a definite ending, it does make sense to continue the story, even if it is in a different way with new lead characters, while the reader is able to learn about what is going on with the other ones. Either way, I knew I would be treated to a suspenseful story and some decent follow-up for the previous one.

The Situation: Priya Sravasti is a fairly ordinary high school student currently living in Huntington, Colorado, though she is taking her classes online, mostly in preparation for her eventual move to Paris. She is used to moving every couple of months due to the nature of her mother's job, so not being able to establish roots or make lasting friendships is nothing new to her. Also, since her sister's gruesome murder nearly five years ago, Priya has not felt much need to reach out to people. Her small circle contains her mother, the small group of military veterans who play chess in the park, and the three FBI agents that worked her sister's case, along with the cases of the other women that were killed by the same guy. The three FBI agents happen to be Victor Hanoverian, Brandon Eddison, and Mercedes Ramirez, the same three that are still working on the Butterfly Garden case that came to light four months before.

The Problem: Priya's sister's murder was never solved, and the killer is still loose, managing to give the FBI another victim every May for the last 16 years. Agent Eddison has stayed close to both Priya and her mother after being assigned to their case five years ago. So while he has the still very much active case of the Butterfly Garden, he also stays worried about Priya and how she is doing. Now it seems her sister's killer has followed Priya and her mother to Colorado, and intends to continue his streak. With the FBI agents stationed on the east coast, it is difficult for them to guarantee Priya's safety, even while coordinating with authorities in Colorado. They would love nothing more than to arrest this guy and put him away forever. But after watching the aftermath from the Butterfly Garden, Priya is not sure if that is the kind of justice she can be satisfied with. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a fiction novel that most would categorize as a thriller, and it certainly is, but I like it under the horror subheading, because it is indeed horrifying. While the Gardener liked to collect girls, mark them as his own, and then rape them until they reached adulthood, when he decided to kill them and preserve them, the man who killed Priya's sister stalks his victims, and decides that they are either too pure to continue living and risk corruption, or they are corrupted already and deserve to die. Either way, whoever he locks onto is almost guaranteed to be dead before summer. The narrative switches between a third-person account of Eddison's life, and a first-person account of Priya's. Eddison is still his anxious and somewhat emotionally closed off self from The Butterfly Garden, but now the reader gets to see what he is like around people he genuinely cares about, and not just his colleagues or the suspects they haul in. As hurt and crushed as Priya was after her sister's death, she has managed to grow up to be almost as fierce and terrifying as her mother. She is certainly not interested in being a victim, whether that means ending up dead like her sister, or having to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life. While the novel is certainly tense and suspenseful, it is also a good look at how the hurt and pain of a tragic event can continue long after the actual event is over. It also looks at just how much girls and women have to put up with from creepy men from a young age. 

My Verdict: This is a story. I may have said the same thing about The Butterfly Garden, but whatever, it is true. The nice thing about The Roses of May is that it was not as hard to read as its predecessor, but was still just as powerful, if not more so. Priya is a fantastic protagonist, and getting to follow her around was a pure delight, even with the danger coming closer and closer, making the book all the more tense right up until the end. Also, it was nice to be allowed a view into Eddison's world, even though the seemingly obvious choice for that space would have been Hanoverian. In many ways, Eddison is the smarter choice, as he was almost an antagonist in the first book, but now we get to see why he is the way he is, and that ultimately, he is one of the good guys. Thriller and suspense lovers would enjoy this series and the direction it is going in. I also loved hearing from Bliss and Inara and getting even more closure from the events in the first book. 

Favorite Moment: It comes from one of the updates regarding a villain from the previous book. I will not say more in a restrained effort to not let out any spoilers. 

Favorite Character: Priya's mother reminds me a little of my own, perhaps without the disarming smile and grace. Everyone seems to know to stay out of Ms. Sravasti's way as soon as she enters a room. 

Recommended Reading: Obviously, it would help greatly to read The Butterfly Garden before picking up this one. But also, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton would be a strangely appropriate choice.  

Young Adult Fiction: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Feels a little unreal to say, but today's post is actually going to be about a new John Green book. Turtles All the Way Down came out a little over a week ago, but it has been five years since his previous novel, the incredibly popular and deeply moving The Fault in Our Stars. To say I was excited would be an understatement, and I know I am not alone.

The Situation: Ava and her friend Daisy have decided to take on the latest scandal to hit Indianapolis. Construction billionaire Russell Pickett has disappeared, shortly before he was to be arrested by authorities. The two teenagers are not usually so interested in white collar criminals, but there is a $100,000 reward for any information leading to his whereabouts, and Daisy has decided that they could be the ones to earn that money. Ava and Daisy are already thinking about college, which is expensive, and Ava actually knows the oldest Pickett son, Davis. Well, she went to camp with him once, years ago, but it is enough. 

The Problem: Ava decides to go along with Daisy's plan, and it kinda works. The two make in onto the Pickett property; Davis remembers Ava enough to invite her in and the two reconnect; and the two girls even manage to collect clues and find some interesting information on the infamous Russell Pickett. The things is, Ava has a different narrative going on in her head that may not be as exciting or interesting as the one Daisy is insisting they play out. It would be fun to focus on the mysterious whereabouts of a missing millionaire, if she could simply stop worrying about getting sick. Actually, that is putting it a bit too simply. What Ava is worried about is getting Clostridium difficile. And once the worrying starts, she has a hard time stopping it, no matter what else is going on. It is the reason she keeps band-aids in her jeans pockets; it is the reason she obsessively cracks open an ever-present cut on her finger to, in her mind, prevent infection (hence the band-aids); it is the reason the simple act of eating can gross her out; it is the reason she sometimes drinks hand sanitizer. Ava wonders if she is truly in control of her life, because if she was, this is not what she would have chosen.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult novel that takes place in modern-day Indianapolis, Indiana. There are several instances where Indianapolis is noted to be a decent city, though not a great one (I've never been so I really cannot argue for or against it), but the setting does play an important enough part so that the book would be a bit different if it were set somewhere else. The primary theme is certainly mental illness, and while Ava's diagnosis is never said outright, she seems to suffer from anxiety, with sides of obsessive compulsive disorder (or OCD) and mysophobia (commonly known as germaphobia). For most of the novel, Ava's focus is on not getting Clostridium difficile, or C. diff. However, once she thinks she has it, or is in danger of getting it, it is difficult for her to think of anything else. Ava is the first person narrator of the book, so the reader is allowed complete access to how these thoughts play out, but there is also considerable insight into how her behavior affects those around her. She has a mom who worries, and a friend who adores her, but as much as they care for her, sometimes it is not enough, for any of them.

My Verdict: We can never be inside of someone's mind so much so that we know exactly what it is like to be them. I will (maybe) never fully know what it is like to have anxiety...to have thoughts I cannot control and threaten to consume my everyday life. I do have OCD tendencies that mostly involve things like checking and rechecking doors that I know I closed and locked, and touching the knobs on the stove when I know they are off, and have been for hours. What Turtles All the Way Down has done is given me a glimpse of what it would be like if this was all I did and I could not fight through the thoughts enough to function in my everyday life. At first I found the way Ava thinks and talks to be jarring, then I found it despairing, and then, eventually, there was hope. In other words, I think Green has done it again. 

Favorite Moment: When Ava and Daisy actually take a canoe out to an island in order to have better access to the Pickett estate.

Favorite Character: Russell Pickett's son Davis has not had it easy, but manages to stay grounded enough that he can still be there for his younger brother. Also, it does not seem that he has let his access to incredible wealth make him spoiled or unable to appreciate the things money cannot buy.

Recommended Reading: Naturally I recommend both The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. But I will also recommend Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton, A List of Cages by Robin Roe, and You Are Here by Jenny Lawson.     

Young Adult Fiction: Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton

I was intrigued by Julia Walton's Words on Bathroom Walls as soon as I came across it on Goodreads. Add in yet another unplanned trip to Half Price Books, and here we are. I was not exactly sure what I had signed up for when I picked this story following a teenage boy diagnosed with schizophrenia, but at the very least, I figured it would be interesting.

The Situation: It is the start of a new school year and Adam is preparing to attend St. Agatha's, a private K-12 Catholic school where he will have to wear a school uniform, attend Mass, participate in an Easter play...the full deal. New schools are always a little intimidating and cause for some anxiety. But if meeting new people, making new friends, and getting around a new campus were not enough to worry about, Adam also has the knowledge that every adult in the building knows he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He attends weekly therapy sessions (where he refuses to talk) and is even on a new experimental medication known as ToZaPrex that is supposed to help with the hallucinations. Still, he is worried about the other students finding out about his secret, and even a little bit about the people who already know. 

The Problem: Everything seems to be going fairly well...or at least about as well as life in high school can go. School is what it is; Mass is boring; Adam's mom and stepdad are always supportive and there for him; he has met a cute girl; made a talkative friend; and made his way onto the school bully's hit list. All fairly standard stuff. But then the ToZaPrex does not seem to have the same effect it used to, and when the doctors managing the study recognize that Adam's body is building an immunity to it, they decide to bring him off of it, slowly. Since his diagnosis, Adam has been well aware that there is no cure for what he has, but he would like to at least be able to manage to a point that he does not hurt anyone, or give anyone reason to be afraid of him. Even at the height of ToZaPrex's effectiveness, the hallucinations do not go away completely, but he could handle them. Now, he risks losing everything he has spent the school year working so hard to gain, things that he never knew he needed or wanted until now. 

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult novel set in the 2012-2013 school year, which is Adam's junior year. The setting of the private Catholic school gives Adam some opportunity to talk about religion, though often the discussion is just him criticizing the Catholic church, their beliefs, and how they do things, rather than simply criticizing Christianity or religion in general. Since he refuses to talk in his therapy sessions, the story is told through the journal entries he writes to his therapist, telling everything important that is happening to him. Even the poor therapist is not free from Adam's scrutiny, as he often calls him out for his clothes, hair, even the line of questioning he sometimes chooses in an attempt to get Adam to open up. But given what Adam has been through, and what he is still going through, it is understandable that he would be unwilling to talk, even angry. Walton acknowledges that ToZaPrex may not be a real drug, and that this story is fiction, but schizophrenia is not. The book may be a peek inside of the mind of a fictional person diagnosed with schizophrenia, but it is still a window into someone who is hurting and makes a point of acknowledging that he may never be "fixed."

My Verdict: This one left me a little bit on the fence, but I am certainly leaning more towards the positive. Adam is a great character who embodies that always fascinating issue (at least it is fascinating to me) of how much support can be given to someone who is legitimately suffering, when a lot of what they offer back is pain and heartache. Adam is not quite to the point that the people in his life want to walk away for good, but he has his moments, and these moments sometimes made the book difficult to get through. Of course, that could have been the point. The format of reading the story through Adam's entries to his therapist works extremely well. It may be a one-sided conversation, but not allowing the therapist to interrupt works to let Adam say everything he wants, albeit only in written form. If there is any issue I have with the story it is that the villain, Ian, is almost a little too over-powered. He is not necessarily physically strong, but he has a little too much power and access. Because of his position as the son of the wealthy head of the school board, he does what he wants and gets away with it, right down to being able to know confidential information about his fellow students. But other than that, this is a solid story that would be good reading for anyone who is afraid of being found out for who they are.

Favorite Moment: When Adam's mom confronts her mother-in-law regarding things she said about Adam and his condition.

Favorite Character: Often in YA novels, parents are non-existent, completely useless, or part of the problem. In this case, Adam's mom and stepdad are none of those things. They are helpful, present, and by his side whenever he needs them. 

Favorite Quote: "It doesn't really matter that no one else can see what I see. That doesn't make my experience any less real."

Recommended Reading: You Are Here: An Owner's Manual for Dangerous Minds by Jenny Lawson is an awesome combination of self-help and an adult coloring book. In between the coloring pages, Lawson talks about her own struggles with mental illness. For a fiction book, I recommend All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.  

Contemporary Fiction: The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

Once again, shout-out to Half Price Books and their section of discounted new titles, coupled with their coupons and sales. I always feel better about the impulse book purchase when paying less than full price, and Hannah Tinti's The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley was on the right shelf at the right time. 

The Situation: Louise "Loo" Hawley has never lived in one place for long. She and her father, called "Hawley" by most everyone he knows, have had to pick up and leave quickly from many locations over the course of her life. When they do make their temporary home somewhere, Hawley has the same ritual of turning the bathroom into a makeshift shrine to his dead wife, Lily. Loo would note the strangeness of such an act if she was not so used to it. It is just something Hawley has always done. Now the pair have settled once again in Olympus, Massachusetts, which happened to be Lily's hometown. For the first time in a long time, Hawley and Loo manage to stay put for a few years, with Loo going to school and Hawley finding steady and legitimate work. The locals may be suspicious and wary of the strange pair, but like always, they are able to make it work.

The Problem: Hawley has a past, one that he would do anything to protect his daughter from. But his attempts to keep her safe, while also keeping his many secrets, has made her curious, suspicious, and socially awkward. From how she reacts to bullies at school, it is clear Loo has inherited her father's temper, something he is not that excited to learn. Being the way he is has only earned him multiple bullet wounds, endless grief, and a life spent constantly looking over his shoulder, waiting for his past to catch up to him and his daughter. Now that Loo is older, she decides to start learning for herself about Hawley and her mother. Such knowledge may provide answers to questions she has had all of her life, but it will threaten to create distance between herself and the only person she has ever truly trusted. And while his daughter grows up into her own person, Hawley cannot seem to change who he has become, or avoid those who want to find him.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a fiction novel set in present day Massachusetts, though stories from Hawley's past come from various locations all over North America. Loo's story begins when she is 12 years old and Hawley teaches her how to shoot a gun, and carries through to her 17th birthday. But in between snapshots of their life in Olympus, the story between each of Hawley's bullet wounds is told. To say that the man has led a hard life would be an understatement. Hawley is man who always has a gun on him. He is careful to the point of paranoia, and if a situation is even slightly off from what he thinks it should be, he is prepared to take action. Even so, such a high level of caution has not helped him avoid being shot multiple times in different situations, with those who are with him getting hit as well. It is his past that has caused him to be so careful and worried when it comes to his daughter. And it is his temper that causes everyone in town to be careful about him. Even without knowing his past, people quickly become wary about him due to how he prefers to dole out his own justice instead of waiting on authorities. Hawley is not only a difficult man who has lead a hard life, but he is also a father drowning in grief and running from fear. And one of those fears is that his daughter will end up just like him.

My Verdict: This is a book with thoroughly fleshed out characters whose fear and suspicion can be felt on almost every page. Hawley is a man not to be messed with; Loo has grown into a young woman not to be messed with, but can still be undone by a local boy; and then there are various others in the community, such as Loo's hardened grandmother, the well-meaning high school principal, Hawley's old partner in crime, and the widow still dealing with her own grief in a way that would only hurt the local economy. The problem for me is that it is hard to root for any of these people, including Hawley and Loo. The former should be dead, and the latter is headed towards the same fate if she is not careful. But ultimately, it becomes clear that everyone is simply doing their best to manage their own pain and failing at it. 

Favorite Moment: *spoiler alert* When Lily is revealed to be the reason behind one of Hawley's gunshot wounds.

Favorite Character: Principal Gunderson may be annoying, but he ultimately has Loo's best interest in mind and does what he can to help her. 

Recommended Reading: American War by Omar El Akkad tells a story of a woman hardened by war and the little boy who wished to learn her story.