The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

This book was so much fun!  The Impossible Fortress is a tribute to the 1980s and Jason Rekulak does an incredible job of capturing the atmosphere of the times.  I really, really enjoyed this book.

While trying to find a way to get a copy of Playboy magazine featuring Vanna White, Billy Marvin and his friends venture in to the store of Mr. Zelinsky.  While there, Billy runs in to Mary Zelinsky, the shop owner's daughter.  She is in to computer games and programming as much as Billy is.  As they work on a new game for a big contest, their lives begin to take many twists and turn, some of which will take you by complete surprise.

This is a wonderful debut novel by Rekulak and I can't wait to see what he has for us in the future.  

From Amazon:

A love letter to the 1980s and to nerds everywhere—The Impossible Fortress will make you remember what it feels like to love someone—or something—for the first time.

Billy Marvin’s first love was his computer.

Then he met Mary Zelinsky.

Do you remember your first love?

It’s May 1987. Fourteen-year-old Billy Marvin of Wetbridge, New Jersey, is a nerd, but a decidedly happy nerd. Afternoons are spent with his buddies, watching copious amounts of television, gorging on Pop-Tarts, debating who would win in a brawl (Rocky Balboa or Freddy Krueger? Bruce Springsteen or Billy Joel? Magnum P.I. or T.J. Hooker?), and programming video games on his Commodore 64 late into the night. Then Playboy magazine publishes photos of their idol, Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White, Billy meets expert computer programmer Mary Zelinsky, and everything changes.

“A sweet and surprising story about young love” (A.V. Club), and a “quirky, endearing, full embrace of the late eighties” (USA TODAY), The Impossible Fortress will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you remember in exquisite detail what it feels like to love for the very first time. Heralded as one of the most anticipated novels of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, and InStyle.com, The Impossible Fortress is a surefire “unexpected retro delight” (Booklist, starred review).

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater is a beautiful story and I really loved this book.  This is a story all about love, but not necessarily a romantic kind of love (although there is some of that too).  It is a story about the love of a family.  The love that each of us has for moms and dads, for husbands and wives, for brothers and sisters, cousins, and aunts and uncles.  It is a beautiful story about family and the bonds we share. 

But it is also a story about so much else.  It is about learning from out past and not just following the status quo.  In doing this, it teaches about taking risks and forging our own paths.  The Soria family teaches about not just accepting what has been, but being willing to change the things that always been accepted. 

From Amazon:

Here is a thing everyone wants:

A miracle.


Here is a thing everyone fears:

What it takes to get one.


Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado, is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

The Devils You Know by M.C. Atwood

For me, The Devils You Know, was an okay read.  It wasn't one that I was left thinking about long after it was over, but a decent read nonetheless.  If you are looking for a fun horror novel, you may enjoy this one.

Both on the book cover and the Amazon synopsis, there are references to The Breakfast Club.  I would say that is pretty accurate.  It is a story about 5 very different high school seniors.  A group that would never hang out all together if they were not forced to.  But on a senior field trip to the infamous and possibly haunted Boulder House, these 5 are trapped together and forced to stick together in order to escape all of the strange things that the house's previous owner had collected.

As I said, not the worst thing I have ever read, but also not the finest piece of literature you will ever pick up.  

From Amazon:

In this riveting debut, equal parts Cabin in the Woods and The Breakfast Club, five teens will discover what lies within a local, infamous house is darker, and more personal, than any urban legend.

Plenty of legends surround the infamous Boulder House in Whispering Bluffs, Wisconsin, but nobody takes them seriously. Certainly nobody believes that the original owner, Maxwell Cartwright Jr., cursed its construction—or that a murder of crows died upon its completion, turning the land black with their carcasses. If there were truth to any of the local folklore, River Red High wouldn’t offer a field trip there for the graduating class.

Five very different seniors—Violet, Paul, Ashley, Dylan, and Gretchen—volunteer, each for private reasons, none of which have to do with trip itself. When they’re separated from the group, they discover that what lies within Boulder House is far more horrifying than any rumor they’ve heard. To survive, they’ll have to band together and ultimately confront the truths of their darkest selves.

Reality Boy by A.S. King

Reality Boy is a few years old, but it is another wonderful book by one of my favorites, A.S. King.  In this novel she tells the heartbreaking story of Gerald Faust.  Gerald and his family (but particularly Gerald) were the subject of a reality TV show when he was just 5 years old.  Gerald was tormented by an older sister who seemed to get away with everything.  This torment caused Gerald to act out in ways that made him a TV and internet "star" in a way that he never asked for.

Almost 12 years later Gerald still carries with him that scars that reality TV inflicted upon him.  It continues to boil within him to the point that he is afraid he will snap and wind up in jail, the place that many predicted he would end up.  But Gerald realizes that he doesn't have to be what everyone expects of him.  Gerald realizes that he can take control of a life that has often been so out of control.  Gerald realizes that in order to live the life that he deserves, all he has to do is jump!

I loved this book.  I have been planning on reading it for so long, but just have never picked it up.  Now I am mad that it took me this long.  Reality Boy is another masterpiece by King!

From Amazon:

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child television 'star' struggling to break free of the oppressive anger he's felt since he was five years old. Twelve years later, he's still haunted by his rage-filled youth - which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle - and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts; everyone is just waiting for him to snap. And he's starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that - until he chooses to create possibilities for himself that he never knew he deserved.

My Favorite Reads of 2017

Putting together this list was definitely a difficult task.  I read so many good books over the course of the past 12 months.  Trying to trim them down to just ten books was impossible (that's why I cheated and added another 5 to the "honorable mentions" list).  With that being said, I made a list that I am not entirely sure of.  I think the top two are pretty set in stone, but after that the order (or even the books in the list) could all change depending on the day of the week...or which way the wind is blowing...or what I ate for lunch.....or......

But here it is.  This is my definitive list of the top 10 books I read this past year.  While most of them were published in 2017, not all were.  This isn't a list of my favorite books from the year, but rather my favorite books I read during 2017.  Each title will be a link that you can click on to go the post for my full review of each book.

1.  A List of Cages by Robin Roe
     -This has been my number one since I read it this summer.  So heartbreaking, yet so full of hope.  This was the easy #1 choice for me.

2. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz 
     -I love Benjamin Alire Saenz, and this was such a beautiful novel.  It is an incredible story about family and figuring our where you fit in this world of ours.  

3.  Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds 
     -A wonderfully told story written in verse.  Even though this book is been out for less than two months, it has already been picked up to be made in to a movie.  

4.  The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King 
     -A.S. King's first YA novel was re-released in October and I'm so glad it was.  This is an incredibly fun novel about a modern day teenage girl who was once a famous pirate in the 1600s.  

5.  The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson
     -Another novel that was so much fun to read, but a book that will definitely make you think about the bigger picture as well.  

6.  One of the Boys by Daniel Mageriel 
     -A beautiful, yet heartbreaking story of two brothers who must stick together to endure and eventually escape the abuse of their father.

7.  Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick 
     -A story about the dangers and the lure of growing up in the gang filled border town of Juarez, Mexico.  A wonderfully written story.  

8.  Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
     -A dark and gritty novel about a girl who was convicted of killing a baby when she was just a young child herself.  But is that what really happened?  This one will keep you turning the pages.  

9.  Because of the Sun by Jenny Torres Sanchez  
     -An engrossing novel about family, accepting our past, forgiveness, and resilience.  This one could easily be higher on the list.

10.  The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
     -An intense novel that will make us question whether violence is ever the answer to conflict.  It is dark and heartbreaking, but it is a story worth telling.  

Honorable Mention (I had to find some way to talk about them again):

- The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock   
- Bang by Barry Lyga   
- In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner 
- In the Path of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith 
- Little Monsters by Kara Thomas 

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was a National Book Award Finalist and has been on basically every list for Best of the Year books.  It is one that I have read nothing but great things about.  I really enjoyed it.

This is the story of Julia, the daughter of Mexican immigrants now living in Chicago.  Julia is not the perfect Mexican daughter.  She does not want to just stay at home and be with her family.  She doesn't care about learning to cook or even make tortillas.  When she graduates from high school she wants to go to college, not stick around and take care of her parents.  She is not the perfect daughter, but her older sister Olga was.

Olga was just what her mother wanted her to be until a tragic accident claimed her life.  Now as her death as so heavily impacted her family, Julia starts to learn that maybe her sister wasn't as perfect as everyone thought.  And as Julia learns more about who her sister was , she really begins to learn who she is. 

This is a beautiful story about family and culture and self discovery.  It is a novel about the obligations we have to our family, but maybe more importantly the obligation we have to ourselves, to follow our own dreams. 

From Amazon:

National Book Award Finalist!
Instant New York Times Bestseller!

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home. 
 
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first kiss, first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart was a really fun book.  I loved Lockhart's last book, We Were Liars, so I was really looking forward to reading this one.  It didn't disappoint.

This story was told in a really interesting way, in reverse order.  It starts with Chapter 18 and then works backwards down to Chapter 1.   As the story begins, the reader meets Jule and Imogen and we have an idea of who these girls are.  But as the story line works its way backward, the mystery of who they really are unfolds in a beautiful way. 

If you are a fan of E. Lockhart, this one will definitely satisfy you as a reader. 



From Amazon:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! LENA DUNHAM AND JENNI KONNER OF GIRLS TO PRODUCE MOVIE!

From the author of We Were Liars, which John Green called "utterly unforgettable," comes a unique novel that showcases E. Lockhart’s unmatched ability to play with style and deliver a perfectly plotted, well-written novel with a surprise twist.

Be among the first to meet Imogen and Jule!

"Compulsively readable." —Entertainment Weekly

Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

"You will devour it." —Gayle Forman, bestselling author of If I Stay
“Fans of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars will love this . . . and definitely won’t see the ending coming.”  —HelloGiggles.com

“Tangled secrets, diabolical lies and, ultimately, a mind-blowing outcome are crafted with the plotted precision we expect (and love!) from E. Lockhart.” —Justine Magazine

“Moves at a breakneck speed.” —Marie Claire

“As with E. Lockhart's previous novel, the best-selling "We Were Liars," [readers] will likely finish the last page and flip right back to the beginning to search for clues they missed.” —Chicago Tribune