My Favorite Reads 2018 - YA and Adult

Here are some of my favorite reads for 2018.

Young Adult:

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhouser. This is a story about a teen dealing with her mother's drug abuse. I think he captured the problems well.

A Troubled Peace by L.M. Elliot. This is the second book after Under a War-Torn Sky. This book tells about a soldier trying to deal with PTSD after WWII and his journey back to Europe to try to heal.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. This book is an adult book, but it will probably appeal to teens as well. This book is about the Apocalypse, only the anti-Christ has been misplaced. There are angels, demons, witches, witch hunters, and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse along with laugh out loud fun.

Counting Wolves by Michael F Stewart. I enjoyed this story about mental illness and how the author used the story of Little Red Riding Hood as an allegory for his story.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson is told in verse and is her autobiography. Because I am finishing up my own autobiography told in verse, this one let me know that my story is valid and could be published.

Adult books I loved during 2018:

Wild Seed by Octavia Butler is an amazing fairy tale of a woman who can't be killed and a man who can take the body of anyone around him who dies. The writing is incredible, and I loved every word.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is a book that shows what being Black in America is like for some. Tayari's writing is amazing, and even though I didn't particularly care for most of the characters, I couldn't put it down.

The Kite Runner by Hosseini Khalid. I've learned that all of his writing is good writing that pulls me into his stories and makes me feel what his characters feel. This story about childhood guilt, punishment, and redemption is completely beautiful.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy explains the importance color and all the varying shades of color in our society. Her relatives were put in some really bad situations because of slavery and because of color.

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich is a beautifully told story about a rare moose skin and cedar drum made by an Ojibwe artisan. The story is set in current day, and goes back in time. I look forward to reading this one again. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.