The completed list of top books in 2015 by the Washington Post consist of books like “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates and “Purity” by Jonathan Franzen and several others. While these are excellent and award winning books, they are also books I didn't get the chance to read. I’ve compiled a list of the best books that I read in 2015. While some of these aren’t award winning, they are fun and a good book to relax with after studying for hours.
1. "Carry On," by Rainbow Rowell
This book is like a love story and a soft critique to “Harry Potter” rolled up into one book. It’s filled with dragons, magic, friendship, and two angsty teenage boys who are in denial about their feelings for each other. If you love “Harry Potter” at all, this is a book to invest in.
2 & 3. "The Diviners" and "Lair of Dreams," by Libba Bray
Libba Bray finally released the sequel to "The Diviners" this year, which means that I had to re-read the first book to fully appreciate the second. Bray’s style of writing is quick and sarcastic and it’s filled with details that you don't think are important until it becomes a sub-plot to the next book. Bray takes the world of New York in the 1920’s and adds magic, evil, ghosts and flappers with powers to read objects. These books are funny as much as they are intense.
4-6. "The Shiver Series," by Maggie Stiefvater
Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors of all time, and I bought one of her older series this summer at a second hand book shop. Let me tell you, you didn't know you could love a fictional character that much until you’ve read her books. Stiefvater likes to put magic into modern settings and in this series she wrote about werewolves—most interestingly, the science of werewolves (at least, as it exists in her head). This isn’t your typical story about monsters.
7. "The Language of Flowers," Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I was shocked by how much I liked this book. My grandmother recommended it to me, and to be honest, I was a little nervous. However, the novel was extremely well written for a debut novel and it was one of the truest love stories I have ever read.
8. "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer
This book was written a little unconventionally; it was written in a series of letters between a group of friends that have a love for literature. The book is set post World War II, and shows the nations healing from the war, as well as their citizens.
9. "Tell the Wolves I’m Home," by Carol Rifka Brunt
This novel was beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful novel that I read in 2015. Brunt writes exceptionally well, and she writes about the love of family, of art and the love of godfathers. It’s a great tear-jerker, if you’re looking for a good book to cleanse out your tear ducts.
