Top 18 books of 2018

Hello again. It's me.

It's the end of the year as I type this, and what better way to end the year than to reflect on your favorite reads? The books that left you with a stupid grin plastered to your face. The books that left you unable to recover for days or even weeks. Some that even made you return to your infant days and bawl your eyes out or that made you explode into uncontrollable rage at the unforeseen cliffhanger that left you dangling just inches from knowing what happened to your favorite character. I know you recognize this feeling (and if you don't I sincerely feel sorry for you). I felt many of these things and more this year with some specific books.

Now I read a lot of books in 2018- 139 to be exact. But these are my top 18 books of 2018, starting with #18:

#18: Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli.

This YA contemporary novel is the companion novel to the famous Simon Vs the Homosapien's Agenda (which you may know though it's fantastic book-to-movie adaptation: Love, Simon) and it follows one of my favorite characters from Simon, Leah Burke. I love Leah Burke. I was skeptical at first when I heard what relationship this book is centered around, but I was surprised with how much I actually loved it. This book was a delight from start to finish and I 10/10 recommend.

#17: Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend.

This wondrous middle-grade book is the 2nd book to the delightful Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow which I also read this year and thoroughly enjoyed. However, Wundersmith takes everything I loved from book 1 and amplified it to a ten fold. I adored this book. Jessica Townsend's series is being compared to Harry Potter because of the amount of wonder and magic it instills in the reader and I have to say I quite agree. Wundersmith and Nevermoor hold that special feeling that you only get from reading about children and magic and Townsend does it really well. The magic school setting of book two also dramatically increased my enjoyment as well. This series is perfect for you if you want to get into middle-grade, but don't want anything too immature. Morrigan is a lovely and relatable MC for all age groups.

#16: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi.

Another middle grade book! This book holds special value to me since Aru and I are the same in terms of ethnicity. My Indian culture is very important to me and seeing it represented in a book that is widely read due to it being published under Rick Riordan's imprint. That's another thing. Aru Shah holds the same feeling and humor as one of my favorite series of all time- Percy Jackson and anyone who loves that series will definitely love this one too. Chokshi paints detailed pictures of her world and her characters and the story will pull you in right from the start. Aru, despite being a lier, is a protagonist you want to root for. Hindu mythology, found-family, and a talking pigeon! What more do you want from a middle grade?

#15: Scythe by Neal Shusterman.

Thunderhead, the sequel, is also fantastic but of the two of them, Scythe is my favorite. It takes place in a world where humans have vanquished all forms of death and scythes are those chosen to "glean" or kill people to control the population. This book wowed me from start to finish. It made me think which is one of the best things a book can do. It provided wonderful commentary on good vs evil, mortality, and the idea of taking lives even for the greater good. The plot twists and likable characters also helped my enjoyment. I have no idea when book three is coming out, but I need it now.

#14: A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi.

Wow. This book is wow. It follows the life of a Muslim teen a year after the tragic events of 9/11 and how she is immediately unfairly judged and treated because of her religion. Mafi tackles rough issues like Islamophobia, biracial relationships, double standards with women and men, and more in this book all while maintaining a bitter and beautiful story. Sharin (the MC) is a joy to read from and you'll fall in love with her from the start. The romance in this book was also fantastic. Ocean is a breath of fresh air for the YA community. I will recommend this book forever.

#13: The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan (book 3 to the Trials of Apollo).

Rick Riordan will always be one of my favorite authors. Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus are two of my favorite series of all time, but he's proved he's still got it with the Trials of Apollo series. This book is the bridge book. It shows the growth and how far we've come since book 1. Apollo has grown a lot. This book was fantastic. I can't even explain it. I will never forgive Uncle Rick for what he did in this book though. Never. Someone spoiled it for me a few days before I started reading, but when the time came I was still crying. Won't forgive him, but still love him.

#12: Geekerella by Ashley Poston.

A modern Cinderella retelling, need I say more? But seriously, I read this in early January this year and it stuck with me till now. Actors, fandoms, and con-culture, what more do you need? And we're getting a sequel following one of the characters from this book in a f/f romance so even more reason to read this one!

I'm getting tired, so the last 11 are going to be quick as the flash.

#11: Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

An all time favorite for sure. Eliza's a comic writer and she struggles with anxiety (TW by the way). Her love interest is the biggest fan fiction writer for her story. Trouble and perfection ensue. Love. Love. Love. Just read it. The author has also published the comic and another series mentioned in the book on Wattpad so when you're done and sad because it's over, it's not!

TOP TEN:

#10: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

The third and best book to the fantastic dystopian Shatter Me trilogy. Can't say too much about this one without spoilers, but I love Juliette and Warner and Kenji and everyone so much.

#9: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.

I hear the movie adaptation is bad, but the trilogy is amazing. Bracken is a talented writer. The characters are the best part in my opinion: Ruby, Chubs, Zu, and LIAM. My sweet heart, Liam. Another dystopian trilogy that is a must-read.

#8: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (another favorite author)

This is the first book to the prequel trilogy to the Mortal Instruments (another favorite series) and let me just say HOLY CRAP. It's fantastic. Utterly and completely fantastic in every way. Tessa is perfect and so is Jem, but WILL HERONDALE. I kind of hate him and want to marry him all at once. I need more. I don't know how I haven't gotten my hands on book 2 yet but it's a must for 2019.

#7: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

There's been a lot of buzz for this one in the bookish community and for a good reason: fae, politics, plot twists you won't see coming, haters-to-lovers- well maybe not lovers, more like haters-to still haters but haters who are attracted to each other. I need the Wicked King now.

#6: Hunting Prince Dracula (book 2 to one of my favorite series: Stalking Jack the Ripper series) by Kerri Maniscalco.

Forensics- specifically powerful female forensic scientist in the 1800s (not exactly common obviously) and her partner the fantastic and oh so wonderful THOMAS FRICKING CRESSWELL that work together to solve murders. This one takes place in Romania dealing with a string of murders resembling the work of Vlad the Impaler. These books are addicting and magnificent.

TOP FIVE:

#5: A Torch Against the Night (sequel to the almost as fantastic Ember in the Ashes) by Sabaa Tahir.

Nothing much I can say about this without spoiling but: fantastic world-building and characters (LAIA AND ELIAS), roman-inspired, politics, and East-asian mythology (I believe). Oh and LAIA AND ELIAS.

#4: To all the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

The whole trilogy is spectacular. Lara Jean and Peter KAVINSKY. Love love love. The movie is just as cute and spectacular.

Almost there.

#3: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This deals with a really important and really relevant issue in the US right now and it's worth the read. It's been #1 on the NYT bestselling list for nearly 100 weeks (or something like that) and it deserves the spot. It's so raw and powerful. Read it.

#2: Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Another important book dealing with important issues: sexism, intersectional feminism, girl power, and consent. I love how it includes guys in the conversation too. I loved all the girl supporting girls, go read it now!!!

And finally for my favorite book of the year:

It's actually two books but....

#1: CROOKED KINGDOM (the Six of Crows duology) by Leigh Bardugo (another favorite author).

Magnificent. My favorite book of all time from my favorite series of all time. I could spend hours talking about this book but everything about it is perfect: the world, the characters, the complicated plot and politics, the atmosphere, the themes, the messages, and the exploration of morals and what's wrong or right. I cried in this book because of one really really sad thing. I laughed. I smiled. I held my breath (especially in that bathroom scene if you know what I'm talking about). It deals with important issues too like human trafficking. If you like complex fantasy novels then I highly recommend this duology. Six of Crows is about a heist. I love heist stories. I will never stop talking about these books. Love. Love. Love. Forever.

Okay, I'm done. I highly recommend all of these books and I hope you enjoyed the books you read this year too. I also hope 2019 is just as great or even better in terms of reading, writing, or anything for all of us. Here's to 2019.

No mourners, no funerals (that should be my ending),

-Sureena Writes