2007 redux

Instead of appending my top 10 as a comment, I'm going to start a new post - hope that's okay. Every year for Christmas I create a list of book recommendations for my sisters-in-law, so I have my list ready-made. It's a bit imperfect, since I left out a few things that might otherwise have made the list because I knew that they had already read them, like Harry Potter 7 and Water for Elephants, or because I was worried about suggesting books with lots of sex (Tipping the Velvet, The Crimson Petal and the White). I also cheated a little bit by including some series, so there are more than 10. But I know if I agonize over it any more, I won't ever get around to sharing my list, so here it is (in no particular order):

The Confessions of Max Tivoli, Andrew Sean Greer
Max is born an old man in the late 1871, and as he ages, his physical appearance becomes younger. The novel is a first-person account by the older Max, whose body now looks like a child’s. There’s some common ground with The Time-Traveler’s Wife, with the sense of being displaced in time, and the bittersweetness of a love that is doomed, and yet seems somehow fated to be. I also enjoyed the glimpse of turn-of-the-century San Francisco, where it is set.

Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
This is both sweeping in scope – from early 20th century Turkey, through Detroit during the Prohibition and in the 70’s race riots, to present-day Berlin – and microscopic in its narrative of the genetic anomaly that gets passed through this Greek family to create Calliope (later Cal) Stephanides, a hermaphrodite.

The Ha-Ha, Dave King
The narrator and protagonist is a middle-aged man who was brain damaged during his very short stint in the Vietnam War. He can no longer speak, read, or write, but he has normal intelligence and hearing. The novel starts with a call from Sylvia, his ex-girlfriend, who needs him to take her son, Ryan, while she is in rehab. Despite the depressing setup, it is beautifully told and very affecting.

Bitten, Kelley Armstrong
Elena is living in Toronto, trying to distance herself from her werewolf family when she is summoned back to the Pack. Armstrong writes convincingly of a complicated, strong, believable character, whose supernatural strength and cool confidence shield her inner turmoil. Her relationship with her Pack is also compelling – it is her foster family, and she feels a deep connection and loyalty to it, but she also resents it because it symbolizes her separation from the human world. There is some fairly graphic violence.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Patricia Wrede
This is a great series, set in a magical, fairy-tale world, in which all the inhabitants know the tropes of fairy-tales; they know, for instance, that youngest sons are most likely to succeed in quests, and princesses need to be rescued. In the first one, Dealing with Dragons, we meet Cimorene, a princess who runs away and ends up living amongst the dragons. The subsequent books continue her story and the inhabitants of her magical world.

The Wednesday Wars, Gary D. Schmidt
Holling Hoodhood is a 7th grader on Long Island in 1967 who ends up reading Shakespeare every Wednesday afternoon with his teacher. At first he feels it is torture, but Mrs. Baker turns out to be an amazing teacher, mother figure, and track coach; Holling learns to figure things out for himself and to become a good person. Holling’s voice is absolutely believable.

Gregor the Overlander series, Suzanne Collins
Gregor is an immensely likeable boy who, in the first book, follows his baby sister through a grating and into another world below NYC. There he and Boots meet the Underlanders, plus a number of non-human allies (giant bats, cockroaches) and enemies (giant rats), and he is believed to be the Warrior in the Underlanders’ prophecy. Each book brings more challenges both in the Underland and above ground; Collins develops nuanced characters, and eschews easy solutions.

The True Meaning of Smekday, Adam Rex
This is an account of an alien invasion of Earth, written by 11-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci for a time capsule contest. Her journey across the country with an alien named J.Lo. in a car that is souped up with alien technology would be harrowing if it weren’t so funny. Adam Rex punctuates the story with drawings and drawn “photos.”

Summerland, Michael Chabon
Although this is categorized as a young adult novel, the only thing that really conforms to this categorization is that the protagonist is 11 and the plot follows a coming-of-age narrative. However, the story is too complex and sprawling to be described simply. Chabon borrows from Native American mythology to create an alternate world; he then grafts baseball on as the common currency across all the worlds.

Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
Klutzy Bella moves from sunny Phoenix to tiny, rainy Forks on the Olympic Peninsula to live with her father. There she meets Edward, we know from the book jacket that he is a vampire, so some of his inexplicable actions are perfectly clear to the reader, but there are still mysteries to be cleared up. Despite some clunky writing, I was swept up in their star-crossed love story.