Happy New Year! Today I want to share the top 5 book (series) that I read in 2019 and a few of my thoughts on each of them.
Here they are, in no particular order:
Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill
This was a sweet yet thought provoking historical romance set during WW2. In
1940s San Francisco, Evalina Cassano, an Italian-American, falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, a Japanese-American just before the Japanese are forced to leave to the internment camps. Both struggle to stay grounded in what they believe in and hold on to their love during the turbulent times of 1941.
I‘m not a super huge fan of romance novels, but I really enjoyed this book. It combined romance with history, fiction, action, suspense, politics, and coming of age. This was a great read and I would highly recommend.
Out of Time Series by Nadine Brandes
I’d been coming across this Christian dystopian series so much online, I decided to finally give it a try. Parvin Blackwater has exactly one year to live. In a world where everyone has a clock telling them exactly when they’ll die, she desperate to make her name stand out and be remembered. However, her effort get her sent across the Wall, the death sentence for outlaws. On the other side, while struggling to survive, she learns surprising truths about herself, her world, and her God.
I absolutely love this series. Filled with deep
Biblical truth, action, suspense, and romance, it was hard to put down. I will say it took me a little bit to get into it but the series gets better the farther you get into it and by the end of the last book I was reluctant to read another book, as I didn’t think anything could be as good. You can check out my review for A Time to Die here.
Polar Explorer by Jade Hameister
This was the very interesting autobiography of Jade Hameister, an Australian teen, and her journey of becoming the youngest person to complete to 'polar hat trick', skiing to the North Pole, skiing across the Greenland icecap, and skiing to the South Pole. It was really amazing what Jade did to accomplish her dreams and I always love a good (auto)biography. There wasn't anything that really wowed or moved me about this book, and I didn't always exactly agree with Jade's beliefs, but nonetheless, it was a very cool story.
Keeper of the Lost Cities Series by Shannon Messenger
This series was introduced to me by a friend about a year ago. She told me I had to read the first book, and I was pretty skeptical but decided to try a few chapters. Since then I've read all nine books, re-read them, survived the torture of waiting for a new book to come out (which ended in another cliffhanger), and had countless conversations about theories and favorite parts. I'm obsessed.
Twelve year old Sophie Foster has felt out of place since she developed the ability to read minds when she was five. When one days she discovers she is really an elf, she finally feels like she fits in in the elvin world. What she doesn't realize is that she plays a vital role in this amazing world and has many adventures ahead of her. (For a much better summary, click here 😆)
While this is a middle-grade fantasy series, it is so much more. It is a broken yet beautiful story of belonging, true friendship, good and evil, standing up for what you believe in no matter the costs, being yourself, and it's hilarious. Shannon Messenger has an amazing way of making all the characters, places and story feel vividly real.
Anomaly Series by Krista McGee
Another phenomenal Christian dystopian series. I read this early in the year and while I don't remember all the specifics, I remember I really liked it. That being said, here is the summary of this book, since I don't feel like I can do it justice in a few sentences.
This series was so much. Thrilling utopian turned dystopian. Very emotionally heavy. Deep Biblical truth.
This series did a very good job of presenting hope throughout the story that’s often lost in these grim, post-apocalyptic settings. It had a lot of Biblical truth on death, but if this is a topic you don't want in such big doses, this might not be for you. Otherwise I would highly recommend.
These were some of my favorite reads of 2019 and I can't wait to see what my favorites of 2020 will be! Two I'm especially looking forward to are:
A Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds by Suzanne Collins
Book 10 of Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger
Thanks for reading! What was your favorite book you read in 2019?