I try to read a lot of books every year, and I like to think I do a pretty decent job of that. With reading many books comes having many favorites, but I did my best to narrow it down to five favorites for the year.

#5

Aziz Ansari's first book takes a great look into modern dating, most specifically dating on the internet. Aziz approaches the different aspects and issues with online dating in a refreshing way, while also presenting us with seemingly thorough research. Like many other people, I found Modern Romance was a lot different than I expected. I initially thought this book would be full of hilarious quips, but it is actually really lacking in them. Not that it hurts the book at all; I know it’s just something most of us tend to expect from comedians like Aziz Ansari. I know Modern Romance was actually published in 2015, but it was one of my favorite books that I read this year.

#4

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves?

A Shadow Bright and Burning is an interesting magical read. I’ll admit, it’s nothing too new or extremely creative compared to the countless other books out there in the same genre, but I guess the whole idea of being magical and finding out your true potential and identity are nice additions to a good story. I suppose I also love how there’s an air of Pride and Prejudice to the whole thing. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series to where this story goes.

#3

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

Gemina is an intense second installment to the Illuminae chronicles. These books are set up with a bunch of different documents. Chat transcripts, radio conversation transcripts, and security camera video descriptions. At times the format can be a bit much, but it also adds a lot to the story and makes it a bit more interesting. Gemina is a companion piece but also a continuation of Illuminae, although it is features different characters. Reading these is definitely worth the experience and the end of the trilogy should definitely be intense.

#2

It’s 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson—college professor, stalled writer—has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn’t seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she’s re-appeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the internet, and inflames a politically divided country. The media paint Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart. Which version of his mother is true? Two facts are certain: she’s facing some serious charges, and she needs Samuel’s help.

To save her, Samuel will have to embark on his own journey, uncovering long-buried secrets about the woman he thought he knew, secrets that stretch across generations and have their origin all the way back in Norway, home of the mysterious Nix. As he does so, Samuel will confront not only Faye’s losses but also his own lost love and will relearn everything he thought he knew about his mother and himself.

The Nix is a story centered around two people, mother and son. Split between 2011 and 1968, we follow Samuel Andresen-Anderson and his mother Faye as they deal with things from their past, present, and things they need to get through to get to the future. I think what really drew me into this story was the aspect of the protests in Chicago in 1968 and how everything connected 1968 to things happening with Sam and Faye in 2011. It helped that Allen Ginsberg was given a small fictional cameo.

#1

Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell.

It begins with the death of Vic’s father.

It ends with the murder of Mad’s uncle.

The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it.

But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.

Kids of Appetite was the best book I read over the summer. It presents us with a group of kids who don’t really fit anywhere but with each other. This book brought back my faith in YA literature. I haven’t read a book that made me feel the way I did after reading it in a very long time. Kids of Appetite was my number one read of 2016 and I wouldn’t have it any other way.