My Favourite Reads From 2020
“It’s such an odd thing, the way you can know someone so perfectly through what they read.”
This post has been a long time coming. It took me more time (than I would care to admit) to decide how I should pick my book recommendations, and even longer to narrow down my final choices. Initially, I created a shortlist of my favourite books and then created a ranking. However, I gravitated towards certain genres and the list became saturated with contemporary literary fiction. So instead, I tried to create a wide-reaching list, albeit still entirely fiction. I find that when it comes to nonfiction, people generally know why they are reading a book and what to expect. What one person enjoys, another person could find impractical or boring. That being said, I hope there is enough variety in my final list to include something for everyone to enjoy. Happy reading!
Looking for some historical fiction with a side of romance and scandal?
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This is the story of Evelyn Hugo and her life in the limelight. Evelyn Hugo recounts the events of her life from her start in showbusiness: how she found herself in Los Angels in the 1950s, why she left an unrelenting and unforgiving career, and the critical friendships, loves, and many husbands in-between. Evelyn handpicked Monique Grant, a relatively unknown reporter to write her biography. Although Monique and the rest of her peers in journalism cannot comprehend why she got the job, Monique decides to dive in headfirst and make the absolute most of the fortunate opportunity. As the story unfolds, we hear about the trials of Evelyns life, her tenacity, her unwavering determination, her one true great (but forbidden) love, the friendships that sheltered her through hard times, and ultimately the connection she has to Monique.
This book is a most beautiful depiction of life with the ultimate message being that life itself is too short. Taylor Jenkins Reid writes with an understanding of how to intertwine humanity and poetry in an honest and soul-bearing way. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was made to make you feel. It touches on such topics as misogyny, feminity, sexuality, family, friends, motherhood, and love. It was a page-turner that I couldn’t put down; addicting, enthralling, and heartbreaking all at once.
Looking for literary fiction with a side of drama and a whole lot of suspense?
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Lydia Quixano Perez and her son Luca survive a violent massacre where they were targeted for murder. Drug lords kill 16 of their family members before fleeing the scene thinking they had killed Lydia and Luca too. With no family, and the inability to trust the authorities, they are forced to flee the life they know, leaving their town of Acapulco and the bookstore that Lydia owns behind.
Lydia and Luca begin their journey as migrants, fleeing to the United States. Full of suspense and terror, the story takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of emotions - an exploration of love, grief, friendship, happiness, and survival, this story will leave you hanging on every word in anticipation of what’s to come. Cummins masterfully weaves in historic elements to help the reader understand Lydia and Luca’s motivation, before introducing new characters that add layers of depth to the story. Ultimately, the core of the story details the extent to which a mother will go to protect her child and the love between them. This makes the story highly relatable, building attachment between the reader and the characters. We are hoping for safety, for a promise of a better future, and are invested in what we wish will be a happy ending.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the controversy surrounding the story in American Dirt. I have done some digging on the author's research before writing the story, before forming my ideas. I urge readers to understand that this is a work of pure fiction. The author owes nothing to anyone. A beautiful story does not require directly living the experience - this is not every migrant’s experience and it never claims to be.
Looking for fantasy, an escape from reality with a touch of whimsy?
The House in the Cerulean Sea - T. J. Klune - Fantasy
Linus Baker is a forty-year-old man who lives life by the books. He follows the rules and enforces them through his job as a Case Worker at the “Department in Charge of Magical Youth”. He lives a typical life, in a normal world, except for the inherent risks of magical beings living among humans. The humans see these magical creatures as dangerous threats that need to be monitored, secluded, and ostracized from the regular world. Linus is an exemplary caseworker and uses a lackluster, detached approach, to his job in which he ensures that magical creatures are fostered with a reasonable standard of care while protecting the ‘normal’ citizens by following all of the regulations to the letter. Linus’ quiet, solitary, and by the books life is shaken up when Extremely Upper Management enlists him to a highly classified assignment. He is expected to travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where 6 dangerous magical children are being kept to determine their threat to society at large. Upon arrival, Linus meets Arthur Parnassus, the enigmatic and alluring caretaker, and is given insight into the secrets of the island, where he learns all that The House in the Cerulean Sea has to offer. Linus Baker must make choices about the orphanage, the children it houses, and the upheaval to society that looms.
Let me start by saying that fantasy is typically not my favourite genre. This book is one of the few exceptions because Klune brings together the elements of fantasy with reality and humanity through this fantastical story. The House in the Cerulean Sea is bursting with charm and pleasure. Linus reads as the quintessential tightly wound individual, getting through life by staying in his lane and following the rules. When he is forced on assignment, his whole understanding of fairness and truth is shaken. Readers can’t help but be drawn in by the characters we meet on the island and Linus’ transformation because of their relationships. Although Linus tries to avoid personal investment, he slowly gives in to the overwhelming draw from the magical children. Linus becomes acutely aware of what’s missing from his life and grapples with the fight between what he knows is right and what he knows is expected of him.
In a world that is in turmoil with political strife, where white supremacy is on the rise and the fight for equality is ongoing, the BLM movement continues to push, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights wages on, and the disparity between classes seems larger than it’s ever been, The House in the Cerulean Sea delivers the message that all people deserve freedom and decency. A welcome message that is quite frankly all too necessary. The subtly and nuance with which Klune approaches some of life’s hardest topics is so beautifully captured in the story and its characters. This is hands-down my favourite fantasy novel ever, touching on the most human topics in ways I never expected. The ultimate message is one of kindness, decency, and love; and if you can’t get behind a message as good as that, I don’t know what you can get behind.
Looking for an easy, fun, romantic beach read?
Beach Read by Emily Henry
This is the story of January Andrews and Augustus Everett - the former, a bestselling romance writer and the latter, being a serious literary fiction writer. January is an eternal optimist whose childhood was greatly affected by her mother’s cancer and the turmoil that it caused. While Augustus (Gus) tends to see the sadder side of life, having his childhood traumas that include an abusive father. These college rivals end up as neighbours in the same town as the deadlines for their next books loom heavily over their heads.
Their reintroduction to each other starts on shaky grounds but their friendship evolves, resulting in a bet to write in the other’s genre as a way to break their respective writer’s blocks. Gus takes on a romance story while January tackles bleak literary fiction. Through this wager, their chemistry ramps up as they go on dates to experience the other person’s field of writing. January takes Gus to typical romance novel settings like the carnival and beach while Gus takes January to interviews with a grief-stricken woman and on graveyard hikes. As Gus and January develop their relationship the reader is left to wonder if they can overcome their childhood traumas and what seem to be polar opposite personalities to create a lasting relationship.
Now and then I love a good romance novel and an easy read to lighten the mood before I press on to books with “harder” topics. The joy of Beach Read is that it has all of the elements of a great romantic comedy - romance and you guessed it, comedy - that makes it a sweet read. Ultimately, however, it is so much more than that. Henry weaves in elements of grief, dysfunction, and trauma to give this story more substance. The characters are developed with extra depth than a typical romance novel and readers get attached to their whole story: past, present, and future. There are intriguing layers of plot and heartfelt conversations about mental health that elevate the story, yet enough steamy scenes to keep it spicy.
Looking for a thriller that will have you white-knuckling your book and checking your closets before bed?
The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
The Good Daughter opens with a chilling scene in which sisters Samantha and Charlie watch their mother brutally murdered in their own home. If that wasn’t enough, they are then heartlessly terrorized and tortured by the same home invaders. Somehow, they manage to escape but Sam is left near death, taking months to recover. Blaming her father, Rusty, a rich defense attorney who is well-known as a manipulative scumbag for having defended individuals accused of the most heinous crimes, Sam leaves town and starts her own life separate from everything she once knew.
Fast-forward 28 years to Charlie, now a defense lawyer herself, being a first-person witness to a school shooting in their hometown of Pikeville. The case reunites the Quinn family as 74-year-old Rusty, takes on the legal defense. The twists and turns leave the Quinn family in turmoil as memories from long ago are unearthed. How long can the truth stay hidden and how do the events of their past link to the present-day murder?
If you are looking for a light murder mystery where pieces fall into place, and the final scene is tied up with a pretty bow, this is not the book for you. Karin Slaughter meticulously details the most horrific scenes that will leave you with chills running down your spine. She does no “glossing over” for the sake of keeping the story safe. Slaughter details disturbing and gory scenes that will leave you stunned but enraptured all at once. Although the story can become shocking and overwhelming, the plot twists make it impossible to put the book down for a break. This story is driven by the well-thought-out characters and their relationships - a constant reminder that family can be at the heart of the best and worst of times. Slaughter’s ability to weave disturbing scenes with heartbreak and humanity makes her one of my favourite thriller writers and I already have more of her work lined up on my to-be-read list.
Looking for contemporary fiction that will provoke thought and make you feel and laugh all at once?
Anxious People by Fredrick Backman
A desperate parent trying to make ends meet sets out to rob a bank to pay the rent. Unfortunately, they rob a cashless bank leaving them to make the split decision to run from the police and into a nearby open house at an apartment building, where the robber realizes they are in a room with a cast of potential buyers that creates a very unfortunate and unwanted hostage situation. The novel spans the day of the incident with glimpses into the lives of each hostage: there’s the awkward real estate agent, a wealthy banker suffering from a trauma whose’s only interest in the apartment is linked to her past, a young couple pregnant with their first child who can’t seem to agree on anything, an elderly woman who is missing her recently deceased husband, and an older couple who buys and flips real estate with the hopes of keeping their marriage alive. Oh and a half-naked man wearing a bunny head whose job is to deter people from wanting to buy the apartment (hired by one of the potential buyers). When the situation ends, the robber is missing and a father/son police duo is left to solve the case by interviewing the hostages and trying to figure out exactly what happened.
This was my favourite read from 2020. A bold statement indeed considering all of the fantastic literature I consumed. However, it is the first book I typically recommend when people ask for my opinion. It is one of those books that I constantly quote and go back to reread passages that I found meaningful. It is nearly impossible to characterize this book in a short blurb - there was so much to love that I feel no amount of raving about it would do it justice.
Sure, it is about a bank robbery but more than that, it is a story about people, life, love, loss, and the lengths we go to sustain the relationships that mean the most to us. The narrator of this book plays a key role in the tone of the story. The omniscient narrator is Backman’s way of telling the story while also interjecting thought-provoking observations about humanity into the book. Backman draws us in with such perfectly flawed human characters that we can see parts of ourselves (or those we know) in each one. He uses dark humour to add depth to heartbreaking situations and lightens the tone of the book with quick wit and quips that will leave you awe-struck at the truth of his words. For instance, this quote about growing up hits a little too hard,
Because the terrible thing about becoming an adult is being forced to realize that absolutely nobody cares about us, we have to deal with everything ourselves now, find out how the whole world works. Work and pay bills, use dental floss and get to meetings on time, stand in line and fill out forms, come to grips with cables and put furniture together, change tires on the car and charge the phone and switch the coffee machine off and not forget to sign the kids up for swimming lessons. We open our eyes in the morning and life is just waiting to tip a fresh avalanche of "Don't Forget!"s and "Remember!"s over us. We don't have time to think or breathe, we just wake up and start digging through the heap, because there will be another one dumped on us tomorrow. We look around occasionally, at our place of work or at parents' meetings or out in the street, and realize with horror that everyone else seems to know exactly what they're doing. We're the only ones who have to pretend. Everyone else can afford stuff and has a handle on other stuff and enough energy to deal with even more stuff. And everyone else's children can swim.
In the end, the heartbeat of the story lies in the characters and the relationships they forge with one another. Each individual has their anxieties and traumas that become evident the more you read. What was a terrible accident becomes an act of fate, linking what would be perfect strangers forever. This story serves as a reminder that we are all connected and that what we do has the potential to impact another human. You won’t understand the power of this story until you read it for yourself. Trust me - it’s worth the read.
Books that were part of my 2020 favourites list that just missed the cut: This is How it Always is by Laurie Frankle, The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo, Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
My favourite nonfiction: Becoming by Michelle Obama
Other books I loved and would recommend: 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, Vox by Christina Dalcher, The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, and They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.
Books that were highly rated, loved, or recommended that just didn’t live up to the hype for me: Untamed by Glennon Doyle, My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
