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Best Books From 2013
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.Whether you are participating in our In Case You Missed It Backlist Reading Challenge or simply found this post searching for the best books of 2013, you’ve come to the right place! Our list includes a mix of the best-selling novels of 2013 as well as highly-rated books published that year that flew a bit more under the radar.
There are so many great books released each year that it’s impossible to keep up. The Book Girls typically read about 200 books a year between the two of us, but nonetheless, our TBRs (to-be-read lists) just keep getting longer. And we know we’re not alone! With that in mind, we decided to take a look back at some of the best books that we missed from past years.
In Case You Missed It…
We’ve compiled a list of highly-rated books from 2013, including a wide variety of genres, from contemporary and literary fiction to mystery and romance. Our goal was to make these recommendations much more than just a list of the 2013 best-seller books. In addition to popular titles, you’ll find hidden gems that we think should have been more popular.
While researching 2013’s best books, we also had fun reminiscing about some of the pop culture moments that defined the year.
Five Things We Were Talking About in 2013
- Anna Kendrick’s version of “When I’m Gone” from the movie Pitch Perfect became a cultural phenomenon, with people everywhere trying to teach themselves the “Cups” routine. The song was not originally supposed to be in the movie, but Kendrick wowed the directors when she used it in her audition, and they later added it to the film. The song “When I’m Gone” was first recorded in 1931 by The Carter Family and was initially paired with the cup rhythm routine in 2009 by the band Lulu and the Lampshades (later renamed Landshapes).
- Oxford Dictionaries named “selfie” the word of the year in 2013, and more than a decade later, we still haven’t perfected our duck faces.
- French chef Dominique Ansel introduced the world to a delicious new pastry – the Cronut. A mashup of a croissant and a donut, it became a viral sensation and was named one of Time magazine’s 25 Best Inventions of 2013.
- Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis posted an absurd but catchy electronic dance song to YouTube in September of 2013. “What Does the Fox Say?” quickly became a worldwide hit, even making it as high as number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Norwegian influence continued in 2013, with Disney’s Frozen taking the top spot in the box office charts.
- One year after its initial release, Candy Crush became the most downloaded app in 2013, crushing the competition. The game was downloaded onto more than 500 million mobile devices and was played 150 billion times across the web, Facebook, and mobile platforms. The game was especially popular with women ages 35 and older.
Best Books of 2013
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Book Summary
The summer of 1961 started out full of hope and innocence in New Bremen, Minnesota – a new young president, the Twins baseball team playing their debut season, root beers at the soda counter, and comic books on the barbershop magazine racks. But the summer soon turned grim, with multiple deaths. Accident? Natural? Suicide? Murder?
When the tragedies occur in town, 13-year-old Frank Drum is thrust into adulthood overnight. The novel is part mystery and part coming-of-age story, told by Frank himself as a 40-year-old adult looking back on that fateful summer.
The Book Girls Say…
Our readers say that this book deals with spirituality without being overtly religious.
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Order of William Kent Krueger Books
25 Books Like Where the Crawdads Sing
Books Set in the 1960s
The Rosie Project
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Book Summary
Thirty-nine-year-old Don Tillman is a charming but awkward genetics professor at a university in Melbourne, on the southeast coast of Australia. He is trying to find love, and true to his academic roots, he approaches the challenge scientifically. He creates a 16-page survey designed to find his perfect match called “The Wife Project.”
The Chicago Tribune sums this book up perfectly: “Filled with humor and plenty of heart, The Rosie Project is a delightful reminder that all of us, no matter how we’re wired, just want to fit in.”
The Book Girls Say…
Although it is not explicitly stated in the book, it is implied that Don is on the Autism spectrum (likely with what was formerly known as Asperger’s Syndrome). Don, however, does not seem to recognize this about himself.
Both of us Book Girls also look forward to reading the next two books in the Don Tillman trilogy – The Rosie Effect and The Rosie Result. Autism Spectrum Disorder takes center stage in The Rosie Result.
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Books Like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Books with Characters In Their 30s
And the Mountains Echoes
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Book Summary
The story begins in Kabul in the 1950s when a poor family sells their youngest daughter to a wealthy family in Kabul. The decision devastates her brother Abdullah.
From there, the novel spans 50 years and four generations, following its characters and the ramifications on their lives, their choices, and their loves around the globe – from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco and the Greek island of Tinos.
The Book Girls Say…
This is a beautifully written and emotionally complex novel that is hard to summarize in a short synopsis because it takes every one of its 400 pages for the story to unfold.
The Perfume Collector
Book Summary
Grace Monroe doesn’t fit the picture of a London socialite in the 1950s, and her new marriage is already falling apart. When she receives an inheritance from a woman she’s never heard of before – Madame Eva d’Orsey – Grace is compelled to travel to France. She seeks to uncover the mystery of who this woman was and why she left her money to Grace.
The story weaves through both pre- and post-WWII, from New York to Monte Carlo and London to Paris. Grace learns about the extraordinary woman who was the muse of one of the greatest perfumers in Paris. Madame Eva d’Orsay is immortalized in three evocative perfumes. Discovering this history changes Grace’s life, and forces her to choose whether to stay confirmed to expectations or live the life she truly desires.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Historical Fiction in 2013. Reviewers praise the imagery of the scents and foods described throughout the novel. Some reviewers, however, say that they found Grace’s storyline a bit less compelling than that of Madame Eva d’Orsay.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
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Book Summary
Three friends – dubbed “The Supremes” by pals – have been meeting at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat diner in Plainview, Indiana since their high school days in the tumultuous 1960s.
For more than four decades, they’ve been by each other’s side through life’s ups and downs and the book follows their evolving friendships over the years. Now, Clarice struggles to keep up appearances as she deals with her husband’s humiliating infidelities. Barbara Jean is rocked by the tragic reverberations of a youthful love affair. And fearless Odette is about to embark on the most terrifying battle of her life.
The Book Girls Say…
Readers describe this book as The Help meets Fried Green Tomatoes with a dash of Steel Magnolias.
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Books Spanning a Character’s Lifetime
Books that Span Multiple Decades
Americanah
Book Summary
Young and in love, Ifemelu and Obinze want to leave military-ruled Nigeria in search of a better life in the West. Smart and self-assured, Ifemelu heads to America, where she finds academic success but is confronted for the first time with what it means to be Black. Obinze planned to join Ifemelu in America, but when the borders are closed to him after 9/11, he instead finds himself undocumented in London.
Fifteen years later, Ifemelu and Obinze are finally reunited in a newly democratic Nigeria. There they will rediscover a passion for their homeland, and for each other.
The Book Girls Say…
Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s earlier novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, has been very popular with our readers who chose it as their book set in Africa for the Book Voyage Reading Challenge (with an average rating of 4.5 stars and 100% saying they would recommend it to a friend). We are looking forward to exploring more of her work, starting with Americanah!
Whistling Past the Graveyard
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Book Summary
Starla is only nine years old when she makes a series of decisions that change her life overnight. It’s 1963, and she lives with her strict grandmother in Mississippi. Despite being grounded, Starla sneaks out to see the annual 4th of July parade. When she’s caught, she believes her grandmother’s threats of reform school and sneaks out again with the intention of finding her mom all the way in Nashville.
Starla is offered a ride from a black woman, Eula, traveling with a white baby, quite the controversial scene in the 1963 South. Their journey is full of adventures, sometimes dangerous, and long chats that help Starla redefine family and understand more about the world she lives in.
The Book Girls Say…
This book is described by many as The Secret Life of Bees meets The Help meets To Kill a Mockingbird.
Heads Up: This book does include some domestic violence.
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Books with a Child Protagonist (Bildungsroman Novels)
Books Set in the 1960s
Book Summary
Cecilia has a beautiful life – a happy marriage and children, a successful business, and a wonderful home in a great community. She likes her life like she likes her home – organized and spotless. But all that is about to change…
Her husband wrote her a letter that he intended to be opened only after his death. It contains his deepest, darkest secrets. Secrets that have the potential to destroy the life that Cecilia built with him, as well as the lives of others. Cecilia, however, has discovered this letter, and her husband is still very much alive.
The Book Girls Say…
We’ve enjoyed many of Liane Moriarty’s other books because she creates such interesting and morally complex characters. You may not always like them or agree with them, but you will want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next!
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The Promise of Stardust
Book Summary
Matt and Elle were meant to be. He was just two years old the first time he hugged her, seventeen when they first kissed under a starry sky, and thirty-three when she agreed to marry him. In their late 30s, they were longing for a baby when a tragic accident left Elle brain-dead.
Matt knows that Elle always feared a long, slow death, so he resolves to take her off of life support until he learns that she is pregnant. The doctors aren’t able to offer any guarantees, but they tell Matt that if Elle remains on life support, their baby has a chance at survival. Matt wants to take that chance, but his mother, Linney, feels strongly that it’s the wrong decision. She’s willing to fight her own son in court to fulfill Elle’s wishes as set forth in her living will.
The resulting controversial legal battle will stretch far beyond their family.
Orphan Train
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Book Summary
During the 80 years leading up to the Great Depression, so-called Orphan Trains transported children from cities on the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest. The fates of the children on board – whether they would end up with loving families or end up with a childhood of hard labor – were determined by pure luck.
Vivian – now 91 – was one of those children, and the memories of her childhood are now tucked inside trunks in her attic. Eighteen-year-old Molly is aging out of the foster care system and is assigned community service helping the elderly Vivian clean out her home. She will soon learn that the two have much more in common than she ever expected.
The Book Girls Say…
Melissa read Orphan Train a few years back and was shocked to learn about the Children’s Aid Society trains. While some have criticized the book as seeming like a young adult novel, Melissa enjoyed the story and characters.
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Books Set in the 1930s
Intergenerational Novels: Books that Connect Generations
Crazy Rich Asians
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Book Summary
Rachel is a New Yorker who agrees to spend the summer in Singapore, her boyfriend Nick’s home country. He just failed to mention one crucial aspect of his life. He is considered Singapore’s most eligible bachelor, and his family is crazy rich. The family is essentially royalty, with younger generations expected to comply with the older generations’ wishes for their life (and spouse) choices.
This book is rich with descriptions of Singapore’s sights, sounds, and tastes. It gives a very entertaining look at the lifestyle of the 1% from both the inside and outside perspectives. According to Angela’s Singaporean friends, these crazy stories are actually not so far-fetched.
Crazy Rich Asians is the first book in a trilogy written by Singaporean-born Kevin Kwan, and you can pick up the complete box set here. The second book is set in China, and the third brings us back to Singapore.
The Book Girls Say…
We both laughed through this whole series and even loved the movie based on the first book. This book/series is an excellent pick if you want something entertaining, but be ready to pay attention because there are a lot of characters!
Reading the trilogy back to back is a great choice, as you won’t have to relearn all the relationships. We also highly recommend the audiobooks, because the accents add to the stories. We enjoyed the second book a little less, but the final book is just as good as the first, so keep going!
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Calling Me Home
Book Summary
Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle needs a big favor. She needs a ride from Texas to Cincinnati, Ohio, to attend a funeral… tomorrow. She asks her hairdresser, Dorrie, to drop everything to take her there, but she gives few details as to why it’s so important she be there. Over the years, Dorrie, a 35-year-old Black single mom, has developed a friendship with Isabelle and agrees to drive the elderly woman across the country.
Dorrie has a lot on her mind between the new man in her life and her teenage son’s irresponsible decisions. But she’s also curious about Isabelle’s guarded past and hopes that along the way, she may be able to unlock some of her friend’s secrets. And she does…
Isabelle confesses that as a teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell madly in love with a would-be doctor and the son of her family’s Black housekeeper. In the sundown town, where African Americans weren’t allowed after dark, theirs was a forbidden relationship with tragic consequences.
The Book Girls Say…
This highly-rated debut novel is described as a very emotional read, so keep the tissues handy.
The Good Lord Bird
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Book Summary
The Good Lord Bird is a unique work of historical fiction that offers a fresh and sometimes humorous perspective on the abolitionist movement and the notorious John Brown. The novel tells the story of Brown and Henry Shackleford, a young slave who is nicknamed “Onion” by Brown after he is mistaken for a girl.
Onion joins Brown’s ragtag army, which is preparing to raid the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Along the way, Onion witnesses the horrors of slavery and the violence of Brown’s abolition campaign firsthand. Despite its serious subject matter, the Good Lord Bird is also a coming-of-age story that follows Onion’s journey of self-discovery.
The Book Girls Say…
Readers note that the audiobook narrator is fabulous, so be sure to listen if you have a chance! There is also a Showtime TV adaption of the book, starring Ethan Hawke & Joshua Caleb Johnson.
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The Longest Ride
Book Summary
Ninety-one-year-old Ira crashed his car into an embankment. He’s injured, stranded, and struggling to retain consciousness. Suddenly, he sees his wife Ruth beside him. He knows she can’t really be there because she passed away nine years earlier, but her presence is a comfort to him as she keeps him alert with stories of their life together. He recalls both the joyful and sorrowful moments, from how they met and the art they collected to the dark days of WWII.
A few miles away, Sophia meets a young cowboy at a local rodeo. Luke has little in common with the frat boys she’s met during her four years at Wake Forest College. She thought she had her future planned out, but as she gets to know Luke and is introduced to his daily life and death world, she begins imagining a whole different future. But Luke is keeping a secret.
The Book Girls Say…
The novel alternatives between the two different love stories of Ira and Ruth and Sophia and Luke until the two eventually intertwine.
Whether you’re already a Nicholas Sparks fan, or you’ve never read one of his books before, this might be your next great romance read. It was both a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Romance as well as an Audie Award winner for best romance audio narration.
The Boys in the Boat
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Book Summary
This is the non-fiction story of nine working-class boys – sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers – who beat all the odds to become the American rowing team. They weren’t expected to win at home, let alone defeat others on the international stage. Out of the depths of the Depression, these unlikely young men shocked the world by defeating the German team at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
In writing this story, Brown drew upon the boys’ own journals and vivid memories to paint a portrait of an era.
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The Aviator’s Wife
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Book Summary
This historical fiction novel traces the life of Anne Morrow, who was a shy college senior the first time she met Colonel Charles Lindbergh shortly after his famed 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic. Their wedding made headlines, but that was just the beginning. In the following years, Anne was the first woman in the US to become a licensed glider pilot and one of the first licensed radio operators. Still, despite her intelligence and accomplishments, she remained known as just the “aviator’s wife.”
Throughout the decades, the Lindberghs’ marriage took them to new highs and devastating lows, including the tragic kidnapping of their first son and Charles’ affairs. Through it all, the Lindberghs became fodder for the earliest paparazzi.
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The Lost Husband
Book Summary
After the unexpected death of her husband, Libby and her two children moved in with her hypercritical mother. When her crazy Aunt Jean finds out about this, she offers Libby that chance to stay at her farm in the Texas Hill Country.
While the goat farm requires strenuous work, Libby also finds peace in the deep quiet of the country. Between the gruff farm manager, formerly-famous feed store clerk, and eccentric aunt, Libby realizes that family can look different than she expected. But this might be just what she needed to thrive again.
The Book Girls Say…
Katherine Center has become one of our auto-buy authors and we know many of our readers love her work, as well. We are eager to dig into some of her backlist titles.
Also Featured on These Book Lists:
The Signature of All Things
Book Summary
Spanning much of the 18th & 19th centuries, this book tells the story of the fictional Whittaker family. The patriarch, Henry, begins life as a poor Englishman before making his fortune in South America. He rises to be the wealthiest man in Philadelphia.
His daughter, Alma, gets his money and his great mind. She becomes a botanist who studies the mysteries of evolution while falling in love with a man obsessed with the spiritual realm. She is scientific while he’s an artist. Follow this unlikely couple as their story soars around the globe.
The Book Girls Say…
If you loved the writing style of Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls, pick up her 2013 return to fiction, The Signature of All Things. Like in City of Girls, you’ll find the side characters just as compelling as the main characters.
Also Featured on These Book Lists:
The Pieces We Keep
Book Summary
Audra lost her husband two years ago, and she thinks that it’s time for a fresh start. As she makes plans to relocate from Portland to Philadelphia with her 7-year-old son, he becomes nervous about flying. Soon, his fears escalate into recurring and violent nightmares. Before long, Jack has become so anxious and introverted that Audra barely recognizes him.
After searching for information related to snippets that Jack recalls from his dreams, Audra is introduced to a US Army veteran who was wounded in Afghanistan. Together, they begin to unravel a mystery dating back to WWII.
The Book Girls Say…
Some readers say that the past and present storylines feel disjointed at the start of the book, but that the author weaves them together seamlessly as the story progresses.
An Inquiry Into Love and Death
Book Summary
Oxford student Jillian Leigh is called on to travel to the English seaside village of Rothewell to collect the belongings of her late uncle, Toby. A renowned ghost hunter, Toby, died after falling off a cliff. It was deemed an accident, but Jillian will come to question if perhaps something more sinister happened to her uncle.
Almost immediately after arriving in Rothewell, Jillian begins to experience odd events that quickly escalate from unsettling to terrifying. When a handsome Scottish Yard inspector named Drew arrives, Jillian is left with more questions than answers. To complicate matters further, there’s a mutual attraction between Jillian and Drew. Will she be able to uncover the secrets that someone seems determined to keep buried?
The Book Girls Say…
This gothic thriller and paranormal ghost story is one of Simone St. James’ lesser-known works, but reviewers say that her sophomore novel lives up to everything readers have come to love about her writing.
A Hundred Summers
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Book Summary
It’s Memorial Day 1938, and New York socialite Lily Dane has returned with her family for another summer in the oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island. But when Lily’s former best friend shows up at the beach, newly married to Lily’s former fiance, the summer no longer looks to be as peaceful and relaxing as planned.
Amid gossip and an impending hurricane, buried emotions and unexpected truths bubble to the surface.
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Out of the Easy
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Book Summary
Despite her rough start to life as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, 17-year-old Josie has big dreams of escaping New Orleans to attend an elite university. However, her careful plans are turned upside down after a mysterious death in the French Quarter. She becomes tangled in the investigation, which will test her conscience, allegiance to her mother, and the madam of Conti Street.
The Book Girls Say…
While Ruta Sepetys’s novels are classified as YA, the characters and subject matter are very well-researched and complex, making them very enjoyable for adult readers. Like the author’s other historical fiction, you’ll find a strong female character trying to make the best of a difficult situation and a great supporting cast.
Also Featured on These Book Lists:
Books Set in the 1950s
Books Set in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas
The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion
Book Summary
In 1941 Wisconsin, Fritzi and her sister are forced to find work when the men are sent off to war. They become experts at everything from fixing flats to driving the tow truck. They put their own spin on these tasks, including short skirts and roller skates. Before long, however, women were also needed to fly planes for the war effort.
In 2005 Alabama, Sookie’s last daughter has just married, and now Sookie is looking forward to relaxation. Her plans are turned upside down when a package arrives that sends her right back to the 1940s in her memories.
The Book Girls Say…
We always love learning more about what life was like stateside during WWII, and we’re especially eager to learn about the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASP).
Also Featured on These Book Lists:
Books Set in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
The Time Between
Book Summary
Eleanor Murray caused an accident that left her sister paralyzed, and she’s still consumed with guilt. It’s even worse since she fell in love with her sister’s husband. Hoping that a good deed can help atone for her mistakes, Eleanor accepts a job caring for her boss’s elderly aunt, Helena.
After the two women discover a shared love of music, Helena begins to open up to Eleanor about her life in Hungary during WWII. Learning about the relationship between Helena and her sister during the war may finally allow Eleanor to move past her own grief and guilt.
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Book Summary
Regarded as the first flapper, this novel recounts the life of Zelda (Sayer) Fitzgerald from the time she met F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in Alabama in 1918. She was a 17-year-old Southern belle, and he was a young army lieutenant. Scott was not wealthy or prominent, nor was he a Southerner – all of which left Zelda’s father deeply unimpressed with him. But Zelda fell for him nonetheless.
A couple of years after their initial meeting, Scott sold his first novel, This Side of Paradise. Soon after, Zelda boarded a train north and married him at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. What unfolds next is the story of a complex and fascinating woman.
The Book Girls Say…
This biographical fiction is based on the author’s extensive research into the life of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and it was her goal to stay as close to the facts as possible. She acknowledges that much of what is known about these two figures has come from unreliable sources and popular culture myths, and it was her mission to set the record straight.
A fun fact that we learned in the process of researching this novel for our book list – F. Scott Fitzgerald, who is most well-known as the author of The Great Gatsby, was named after his ancestor Francis Scott Key, the author/composer of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Necessary Lies
Book Summary
Ivy Hart lost her parents at just fifteen years old and was left to care for her aging grandmother, her mentally ill older sister, her nephew, and even the tenants on the family’s small tobacco farm. It’s too much for any teenager, but especially one who also struggles with her own epilepsy. Who will care for Ivy?
Jane Forrester takes a job as the new social worker for Grace County and quickly becomes invested in the lives of the residents she works with, including the Hart women. Maybe even too invested, according to her boss and her husband.
Soon, Jane begins to uncover some of the dark secrets of small-town life in rural North Carolina. A decades-long Eugenics sterilization program in the state sought to determine which people were fit to reproduce. Once Jane learns the truth, she must decide whether standing up for what she believes is right is worth the risk.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Historical Fiction in 2013.
Last Train to Istanbul
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Book Summary
Selva could have her pick of nearly any man in Ankara, Turkey, but the only one she loved was the handsome Jewish son of a court physician. Despite the protests of their families, the two marry and are determined to build a new life in Paris. But when the Nazis invade France and begin rounding up Jews, it’s no longer safe for them to stay.
After learning that Selva is among the citizens trapped in France, a group of Turkish diplomats devise a plan to transport Selva, Rafael, and hundreds of Jewish people to safety. From Ankara to Paris, Cairo, and Berlin, The Last Train to Istanbul crisscrosses a war-torn continent in an uplifting tale of love and adventure.
The Book Girls Say…
While only a portion of this historical fiction novel is set on the train, readers say that this is the most impactful part of the story.
This book was originally published in Turkish in 2002 and received an early English translation in 2006 ahead of its widespread US release in 2013.
Also Featured on These Book Lists:
The Storyteller
Book Summary
Sage works the night shift at a bakery, preparing bread and pastries for the next day. As she bakes, she seeks to escape the reality of her mother’s death and the loneliness she feels. By day, she attends a grief support group where she meets an elderly man named Josef. He begins stopping by the bakery, and the two form an unlikely friendship.
Sage never expects the long-buried secret that Josef confesses to her one day. He’s never told anyone else in town, and if Sage agrees to the favor he asks, she’ll face not only moral repercussions but potentially also legal ones. All of the new revelations from her close friend cause her to question her own assumptions and expectations. And where is the line between punishment and justice, or forgiveness and mercy?
The Book Girls Say…
Readers who enjoy foodie elements in their fiction will especially love the way the bread descriptions connect all sections of this dual-timeline historical fiction. Readers also praise the way Picoult uses both Judaism and Christianity to help Sage through the challenges she faces.
Keep in mind that this book has quite long chapters, and it also includes some graphic and difficult-to-read details about WWII concentration camps.
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Fangirl
Book Summary
Cath and her twin, Wren, became huge fans of the Simon Snow series as kids. The books helped them through the tough times when their mother left. They read and re-read the series, hung out in Simon Snow online forums, dressed like the characters for the movie premiers, and even started writing their own fan fiction.
Now that they are heading off to college, Wren has moved on, but Cath can’t let go of the fandom. As they grow in different directions, Wren tells Cath that she doesn’t want to be roommates. This leaves Cath on her own for the first time.
At the University of Nebraska, she’s paired with a surly roommate whose boyfriend is always there, she has a fiction-writing professor who sees no merit or value in fanfiction, and she can’t stop worrying about her dad. Can she make it without her twin sister by her side?
The Book Girls Say…
Two years after the release of Fangirl, Rowell began publishing the Simon Snow trilogy. The three books in her young adult fantasy series about “lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings” are set in the same world described in Fangirl.
The Goldfinch
Book Summary
At the age of 13, New Yorker Theo Decker survives a bombing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that kills his mother. As he escapes through the debris, he takes with him a small painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. From that day forward, he clings to the painting as a reminder of his mom.
Having been abandoned by his father, he goes to live with the family of a wealthy friend on Park Avenue until his life is once again upended.
Eight years later, and now an adult, the painting of the goldfinch pulls Theo into a dangerous world of crime and drugs.
The Book Girls Say…
Many of the 4 star reviews of The Goldfinch say that they would have given it 5 stars but for the length. At nearly 800 pages, some readers feel the story would have benefited from more aggressive editing, while others love the deep dive into the characters that the length affords.
You are welcome to choose any book you’d like to read for the challenge, but we hope this list of books has given you a good starting point.
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