Madison's Favorite Books

Hello friends!

I know I’ve been trying to keep up with weekly book reviews for my 2019 Reading Challenge which you can read here, but I wanted to take the time to recommend some of my personal favorites. The books below are in no particular order because there’s no way I could choose a favorite, but here are my current top ten. Know that this list fluctuates here and there as I read more books and don’t remember as much about others, but there are certainly several on this list that have remained in the top ten year after year. Some of these are books you’ve probably heard of before and others may be new. Check out some of them if you’re in need of a recommendation. What are some of your favorites?

My Top Ten

1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

For any of you historical fanatics out there, this was the novel that originally drew me into the genre. One thing to know about me is that I’m a huge period piece girl. I get it from my mother. When my dad is out of town we curl up on the couch together and watch STARZ Outlander or the most recently released historical drama. So, when I sat in on the end of her book club discussing the novel, it immediately went to the top of my to be read list. Unfortunately, I was 13 at the time and my mom was not about to let me read a book with sex scenes in it. So, I patiently waited and the summer after I graduated high school, I tore through the 664 page novel in under a week.

Published in 2001, Gregory, a British author, based her novel on the story of 16th-century aristocrat, Mary Boleyn the elder sister of Anne Boleyn, who later married King Henry VIII and became the Queen of England. As one of the six books in Gregory’s series on the Tudor royals, The Other Boleyn Girl depicts the annulment of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. This politically driven annulment not only threatens the livelihood of both Catherine and her daughter Mary (different Mary) but also attacks the Catholic Church and is one of the most significant times in history where the division of church and state, or lack thereof is questioned.

2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Niffenegger’s novel is another book my mom read in her book club that I became attached to and came back to read when I was a bit older. Published in 2003, this is love story unlike any other. The couple, a man named Henry with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and his wife Clare, learn to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. The two meet at the Newberry Library in Chicago, their first meeting in his chronology, though Claire has known Henry since she was young. Henry then proceeds to visit Clare in her past and the two develop a close relationship evolving from a father daughter relationship, when she is a child, to a romantic one as she grows older.

3. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepety

So, most of the time required reading isn’t often fun and rarely if ever, results in a favorite book. I read this book for a scholarship I applied for as a senior in high school and thoroughly enjoyed it. In 1950 New Orleans, Josie, a seventeen-year-old girl, desperately tries to follow her dream to go to college. She is known among the locals as the daughter of a prostitute but wants more than anything to break free of her family’s past. After a wealthy tourist is murdered when visiting the brothel where her mother works, Josie is caught between her ambition and the life she wants to leave behind.

This book is a favorite for a few reasons. I enjoy the story and characters as well as the relationship between them but what really stood out to me was how Sepety describes the lives and work of the prostitutes without being profane or explicit in detail. I love the setting and the rich narrative and descriptions used throughout. This is definitely a rare setting for young adult fiction, both being set in the French Quarter of New Orleans as well as the 1950s.

4. The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

The following three books are what I would consider fantasy. Heroes of Olympus is the second series of Riordan’s based on Greek mythology and the characters from the preceding series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. We learn in the first series that Greek gods were not faithful romantic partners and had numerous children with humans, resulting in Demi-gods. These children each possess powers of some sort from their godly parent and are the warriors of the gods, sent on missions to protect Olympus. After saving the gods from the Titans in the first series, Percy and his friends are back to save their parents, again, from an older, more powerful race, the Giants.

In order to succeed, enemies that have been hidden from each other for decades must unite forces. Riordan combines both Greek and Roman mythology in this action-packed suspenseful series and introduces exciting new characters.

5. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I didn’t know what binge reading was until my friend a fellow book lover and adventurer, Tianna, introduced me to Vampire Academy. Yes, I was one of those girls who got sucked into the teenage vampire scene, favoring this book series was a result.

In this young adult paranormal romance, Rose, a vampire-human half-blood also known as Dhampir, is sworn to protect her best friend and royal Moroi, Lissa from multiple dangerous, including Strigoi, a race of evil undead vampires. At Vampire Academy, the two study a variety of subjects beyond math and history, including magic for the Moroi and fighting/survival skills for the Dhampir. Rose finds herself in a forbidden romance with her instructor and discovers a rare and unbreakable bond with Lissa.

6. Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

If you were ever interested in why I began a blog, wonder no more. I can’t tell if this is embarrassing or not, but I’m going to tell you anyway. I mention in my commentary for The Fault in Our Stars that one way a book becomes one of my favorites is because I identify with the story or a character in some way. For this book it was Katy. Though Katy is much more of an introvert than I am, we share one thing in common; a huge love for books. While I talk all of my friends to boredom or insanity about the books I read and the crushes I had on fictional characters, Katy, in Armentrout’s series, blogs about them. When I first read about her blog, I thought; “that’s a great idea! I have so much to say about books, I should start a blog, even if no one reads it, I’ll at least have all my thoughts in one place.” So I mentioned starting a blog to Kathy and twenty-something posts later, here we are--I don’t even think Kathy knew this was the reason/inspiration for this blog…

The Lux Series was also recommended by Tianna, thanks girl, and follows an ordinary human high school girl who relocates to a new town right before her senior year. She soon realizes that this town is anything but ordinary. Turns out her new neighbors are aliens who possess abilities that their enemies, also aliens, will murder to steal. Katy is marked by Daemon, the older brother of her alien best friend, and becomes a beacon pointing right to her new Lux friends. This pentalogy follows Katy and Daemon as well as their alien friends, as they inevitably fall in love and save the world.

7. The Lipstick Gospel by Stephanie May Wilson

I think I gushed enough about this book already, as it was one of the books I’ve read for my 2019 Reading Challenge. But, if you didn’t get a chance, make sure to check out my post here.

8. I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch, and Martin Ganda

This is another one that I have written a review for, which you can find here, and is actually the only non-fiction book on my top ten. But I think the reason this is a favorite for me is because of the relationship between the two pen pals and how it loosely reflects the pen pal relationship I have with my friend who currently resides in Paris. Love you EJ!

9. Identical by Ellen Hopkins

As I transition one more time in genre, to young adult fiction, I’d like to introduce you to Ellen Hopkins, most famous for her verse novels. A verse novel is exactly like it sounds, poetic in style, but due to the prosaic story line and character development, her writing isn't considered poetry. All of her verse novels expose teenage struggles such as drug addiction, mental illness, abuse, and prostitution. Before going any further I would like to put a parent advisory on all of Hopkins books, because of the subject matter. I was 16 when I read Identical and though I consider it one of my favorite books, I spent a while digesting and processing after finishing the novel.

In short, Identical follows two sixteen-year-old girls, identical twins, Kaeleigh and Raeanne. While Kaeleigh is “Daddy’s favorite,” she struggles with cutting and binge eating to deal with the sexual abuse that comes with the title. Raeanne, on the other hand, numbs the pain of not being the favored child with drugs, painkillers, alcohol, and sex.

10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I know what some of you may be thinking, “what millennial girl doesn’t have this on their top ten list?” But hear me out. This book holds a special place in my heart and it’s not because I think the metaphors are beautiful if not pessimistic or that the writing is the best thing I’ve ever read. It’s another young adult love story with some twists and wrenches thrown into the mix. I get that, but Green created a character in his novel that for the first time I actually connected with, and no, it wasn’t Hazel Grace.

I don’t know if you do this as you read, but whenever I’m reading a book, I try to place myself in the narrative--become the main character and share their experiences. Well, for some books I’m more successful at accomplishing it than others and most of the books on my top ten are here because I experienced this is some way. One of my deepest desires is to find myself in a book. I didn’t realize I had this desire until I analyzed my experience reading Green’s book in college. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t find myself in The Fault in Our Stars, but the character of Augustus is the closest character I have ever found that resembles myself. He is quirky, outgoing, sarcastic, has an intense desire to be loved, oh, and did I mention he has a prosthetic leg?

I’m trying to keep this short, but it’s hard for me to describe. There was a sublime moment I had while reading this, my thoughts went something like this:

How can an author so accurately describe my everyday feelings through one character? People actually want to read, let alone write about someone with a disability? Why am I so emotional right now, it’s just a book, but a book that resonates with me on a level I never thought a book could. Is it possible that I could have a love story so full of passion and with someone who looks past what the world considers a blemish?

Maybe that’s a lot for some of you, which is why I put this one last, but I do want you to think, have you ever felt that way while or after reading a book? If so, tell me what book it was and how it made you feel. I’m genuinely curious!

***I would just like to note that I am fully aware that four of the ten books listed have been made into movies, and YES I did read the book before seeing the movie, and though some of the movies were well done, I will ALWAYS side with book over movie.

Happy reading, and have a great week!

~M