10. What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
I loved the atmosphere of this novel, perhaps because I've worked in a huge British shopping centre in the recent past. The story first follows Kate, a ten-year-old detective keeping tabs on the goings-on at Green Oaks, a mammoth shopping mall near her home in England. The longer second part of the story follows Lisa, a record store employee who works in the same shopping mall twenty years after Kate disappears. O'Flynn captures the bleakness of working in retail perfectly, and adds an element of mystery and a pinch of the supernatural (is the little girl who appears on the security cameras at night Kate's ghost?) to create an original, slightly creepy, poignant look at modern life.
9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
One of the first books I read this year and I absolutely loved it. A classic tale about four sisters with very different personalities—bashful, musical Beth; worldly artist Amy; literary tomboy Jo (my favorite); and serious, responsible Meg. With the support of their ever-patient mother, their army chaplain father, and their neighbors, Mr Laurence and his grandson Laurie, the girls grow into young women, enduring hardship, love, heartache, and lots of other life lessons along the way. I seriously love this book! I could not put it down. The characters are unique and sympathetic, and their adventures funny, sad, and heartwarming.
8. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I am in awe of this author's writing. After being traumatized by Half of a Yellow Sun (a tale of the brutal Nigerian civil war), I knew Adichie's powerful way of storytelling wouldn't disappoint when I picked up her second novel, Purple Hibiscus. Again set in the author's native Nigeria, this novel tells the story of Kambili and her brother Jaja, who live under the shadow of their fanatical Christian father, who is both physically and emotionally abusive. Then a visit to liberal Aunty Ifoema's house in Nsukka changes everything. This novel has a wonderful sense of place; I found the settings rich and the characters complex and interesting.
Sue Trinder is raised in a den of thieves in 19th Century London. She knows all about scams, so when a mysterious man called Gentleman asks her to pose as a lady's maid in order to swindle an innocent girl out of her fortune, she jumps at the chance. Her job is simple—gain Maude Lilly's trust and persuade her to elope with Gentleman, who will then have Maude committed to a mental asylum, keeping the fortune himself and paying Sue a cut of it. But what is really going on at Briar, where Maude lives in seclusion with her austere uncle? And is Maude really as innocent as she seems? I love the clever way this books is written, revealing alternate perspectives that change the way the reader sees key scenes. A fun read.
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
It took me a long time to get around to reading this Newbery-award-winning novel, but I was so glad that I finally did. The Graveyard Book tells the story of Bod Owens, a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his parents and sister are murdered by an enigmatic figure referred to only as "the man Jack." Modeled after Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, each chapter tells a story about Bod and his adventures with his undead friends. At the end of the book, Bod finally confronts his family's killer, and learns the truth about what happened that night. A funny, imaginative, and surprisingly moving book.
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I found it truly hard to put this book down. Set in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, the story is told from the points of view of three different women—white, rich Skeeter, a recent graduate of Ole Miss; Minny, a young black maid with a habit of speaking her mind—which usually ends up getting her fired—and Aibileen, a middle aged black maid who has taken care of white babies for all of her professional life. When Skeeter gets the idea to write a book about racial injustice, focusing on the lives of black domestics who work for white families, she has a hard time at first convincing any black maids to collaborate with her—this is Mississippi after all, and arguing for desegregation in any form is generally met with shocking violence. As the maids' stories begin to emerge, though, the hypocrisy of "separate but equal" is thrown into stark relief, much to the horror of Jackson's rich white families. What I love about this novel are the characters, especially their relationships with one another. I found all three women compelling, funny, and relatable.
Nota bene: There has been some criticism of this novel in regards to historical accuracy, so read with a grain of salt.
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Page-turner of the year. Seriously. Wow. I read the entire series this year (I finished the first book on my lunch break at work and genuinely had to stop myself running down the road to Waterstone's and buying the second book), and I am honestly in awe of Suzanne Collins's skill. The world she builds in The Hunger Games is terrifying—in the futuristic society of Panem (in what used to be North America) if you're not starving to death or dying in a mine collapse, you've still got to worry about being chosen as a tribute in The Hunger Games: a televised fight to the death between twenty-four young tributes from each of Panem's twelve districts (yes, the series does have the same basic premise as Battle Royale, but the worlds and characters are entirely different). When Katniss Everdeens's twelve-year-old sister is picked for the Games, Katniss has no choice but to volunteer in her place. What follows is pretty much all edge-of-your-seat goodness.
3. Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine
Men can't empathize, and women are born wanting to be princesses...right? Um. No. And all that stuff we read in the 90s in Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus? Complete bullsh*t, actually. In this informative and engaging book, neuroscientist Cordelia Fine dissects popular conceptions of the feminine and the masculine. Conclusion: the differences between men and women are slight, and nowhere near as big as the popular media would have you think. In fact, perceived differences are often entirely socially constructed (i.e. I am a woman, and society tells me that women are good empathizers, therefore I am a good empathizer). Great sources and well cited, this is a book I wish I could make everyone read.
Who doesn't love a good Sherlock Holmes tale? Something strange and sinister is happening in London—but what do Boston gangsters, art dealers, and a school for orphaned boys have to do with it? And why are there bodies turning up with white silk ribbons tied around one wrist? Oh, it's worrying, all right. But don't worry. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are on the case. This book is another I couldn't put down. Fast-paced, complex, and harrowing, with an ending you'll never guess.
1. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
I read this book having seen and loved the Studio Ghibli film a couple of years ago. And while they start of similarly, by the end the book and film are very different stories. It starts out with Sophie Hatter, a lonely young hat-maker who lives in the land of Ingary. After the bitter Witch of the Waste casts a spell on Sophie that turns her into an old woman, Sophie runs away from home—only to meet Howl, a flamboyant wizard who lives in a moving castle with his fire demon, Calcifer, and his teen apprentice, Michael. Bargains are struck, spells are cast, magic suits are sewn, and hair is (meticulously) styled as Howl hides from a king, woos a young teacher, visits Wales, and battles the Witch of the Waste—all with Sophie at his side. Diana Wynne Jones is an amazing author with amazing imagination and a huge amount of talent. I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would, and I would definitely put Diana Wynne Jones up there with JK Rowling as a YA fantasy writer. She passed away earlier this year, at great detriment to the world of British fantasy writing. I'll be reading a lot more of her books in the future.
So there you have it! My favorite reads from 2011. What were your favorites? Tell me in the comments!
Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2012!
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