I have to admit, I was more than hesitant to pick up Celeste Ng’s sophomore novel, Little Fires Everywhere.  Her first novel, Everything I Never Told You, left a bad taste in my mouth with the narrative style, the characters without redeeming qualities, and just the plot as a whole.  When my in-person book club chose it as the November pick, I begrudgingly picked up a copy to read.  I even put off reading it until the day of the book club, but by the time I was through the first chapter I was kicking myself for waiting so long.  Little Fires Everywhere shines everywhere I felt Ng’s first novel fell flat.  I’m not usually a fan of complicated family novels, but this is one I truly enjoyed.  There’s at least one character in here for everyone, and the plot was built for discussions.  It only took me 24 hours to read this book, and it’s going to be in my top ten of 2017 at least.  I’m going to spoil my review and tell you that I’m giving it 4.5 stars, but you can check out the full review to see why.

Inspired by the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale, The Wish Granter is an adventure like I’ve never experienced before.  Teague is the infamous and titular Wish Granter, a fae who grants people their greatest desires in exchange for something quite valuable: their souls.  The exchange leads to nothing but misery for now King Thad and his sister, Ari.  Their mother was murdered, the former king and his family were killed, all in exchange for Ari’s safety.  When Ari learns about the magical contract between her brother and Teague, she’ll stop at nothing to save her brother and her community from the reign of the Wish Granter.  She gains a friend, Sebastian, along the way, who may not be exactly who he says he is.  Everything is on the line for both Ari and Teague, and if Ari can’t outwit him she’ll lose everything, including her soul. I loved this one so much that I’m giving it a full review on the blog! Read more to see my rating and full review. 

Books like The Hate U Give are important to read not just because they’re timely, but because the fill a gap.  They make waves.  They make you think about how you view the world.  Angie Thomas writes in a way that makes you immediately engage in this novel, so much so that I could imagine her quietly coming up and putting her arm around me saying, “I know this makes you uncomfortable, but let’s think about why.”  It’s uncomfortable because it’s supposed to be.  Many of you will shy away from that, choosing to read books that make you feel good.  That’s great!  As for me, I’m finding that I take more from a book that makes me think, feel, and wrestle with some difficult issues.  This book fits the bill.  The Hate U Give is a young adult novel and one that I would have as required reading in my classroom.  I think I might make it required reading for my friends and family as well.  Read more to find out why…