Top 8 Reads of 2018

Hello again honeybees! I haven’t posted since December 10th because I subsequently failed Blogmas and took a break from blogging to focus on my exams.  But I’m back with a list of my favorite reads of 2018. I was going to do “top 18 of 2018” and then realized that my favorties list was significantly small.

So here are the eight titles that I have absolutely loved this year, and a short description of why I love them. I hope you enjoy and had a good year of reading yourself!

in no particular order:

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

I had to start with this book because I read it on January 1st of this year and it changed my life. The general consensus seems to be that this isn’t anything special when you compare it to his other novels. I have to disagree. The message behind DeathCast and Mateo’s character really resonated with me. Of course this has LGBTQ+ and Latinx rep, so I was bound to love it either way, but it was one of those novels that I read exactly when I had needed it. I will forever be thankful to Adam for writing TBDATE, because it was so much more than a book for me.

everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by jomny sun (jonny sun)

This book. Ugh my heart. I’m a really emotional person and I read super deep into what I’m sure most people only think is a cute story about an alien. All the lessons Jomny learns hit close to home for me. Particularly “the eternal darkness isn’t eternal.” At that part I was trying not to sob.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I read this one within a couple hours and I really felt for Ponyboy. There wasn’t one aspect I didn’t relate to and I felt so immersed in this surprisingly short story. This caught me by surprise as I really had no intention of liking the book, let alone loving it.

Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda, illustrated by Jonny Sun

This is literally a book full of Lin’s tweets, which goes to show that he is an utter genius and his talent is ridiculous. I’ve listened to this countless times on audiobook (it’s narrated by Lin and if you are familiar with him at all then you  know his voice is a dream) and I never get tired of listening to it. 

Yes, Jonny Sun is on this list twice because I love his content.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This one broke my heart. That’s all.

But seriously I’m still not over it and this book was beautiful.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

I really enjoyed this book. If you know me, then you know Simon vs. by Becky Albertalli is one of my favorite books ever and this companion novel/sequel gave me everyting I ever wanted. All I need in my life is more Simon. Please and thank you.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I listened to the audiobook for this one and I loved it, mostly in due to the narrator, Wil Wheaton. But I’ve also read very few books that feature video games and 1980s pop culture. I loved all the different references and the story itself was great. The pure enjoyment I had while listening to this book puts in in my top eight for sure.

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Steifvater

I accidentally borrowed the audiobook from the library and I loved it! Okay, so I loved all of these books but this was great. Latinx rep and magic—enough said. The narrator was Latino as well and I will never tire of a Spanglish in books.

Honorable Mentions:

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

These are honorable mentions because as of writing this, I haven’t finished these two but I know they will be long time favorites of mine.

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Burning Questions:

What were your favorite reads of the year? Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think?

Bye for now honeybees!

Love, Destiny