Top Nine Books of 2018

I got quite a bit behind in my reading in 2018. I only managed to finish my reading challenge by reading a lot of picture books and comics (most of which I would have read anyway, but maybe not all at once). So it's not surprising that I didn't add ten books to my all-time favorites list. It's not the first time that's happened, and I still have a pretty solid list. I don't love that this is a top 9 list instead of a top 10 list, but I guess that's just how things worked out!

These nine books, though, were incredible. I am so happy that I read them all, and I think that these made it a really great reading year. It's an interesting assortment of books, and most of them are ones that I have strong feelings about that I struggle to put into words, so prepare for me to say mostly "it was GREAT PLEASE READ IT."

Honorable mentions: other books that I gave 5 stars to this year (alphabetical order)

Children of Blood and Bone - The Day the Crayons Quit - A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo - Down Among the Sticks and Bones - Every Heart a Doorway - Final Draft - Heretics Anonymous - How to Disappear - Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed - Nimona - Save the Date - Scarlet Witch, Vol. 3: The Final Hex - Star Wars, Vol. 4: Last Flight of the Harbinger - They Both Die at the End - A Torch Against the Night

9. LEAH ON THE OFFBEAT by Becky Albertalli: I'll be the first to admit that I didn't love this quite as much as SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA, but really, that's a very high bar, and I in no way hold that against this sequel/companion. I really enjoyed it! I pretty much devoured it in one sitting, and I was smiling the whole time. I can definitely see myself rereading this in the future.

8. THE SUMMER OF JORDI PEREZ (AND THE BEST BURGER IN LOS ANGELES) by Amy Spalding: This is the queer girl rom-com we DESERVE! I loved the romance, I loved the friendships, and I really just love that this exists. I was in a very romcom reading mood for a lot of this year - you'll see quite a few on this list - but the romcom genre is generally very straight. We need more books like this, and if they're even half as good as this, they will be great.

7. HERE WE ARE: NOTES FOR LIVING ON PLANET EARTH by Oliver Jeffers: I did not expect any of the picture books I picked up basically to complete my reading challenge to make it onto this list, but this really surprised me. I got this as an ebook with read-along narration, and it was a really great way to experience it. I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone.

6. THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL by Maurene Goo: I'm fully prepared to crown Maurene Goo the next queen of fluffy contemporary. I had high hopes for this after loving I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE last year, and it exceeded them. This had so many amazing parts - a great father-daughter relationship, a rivals-to-friends subplot, a fantastic romantic storyline - and when you put them all together, it made something even better. This has become one of my go-to recommendations for fluffy contemporaries!

5. MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE by Nisha Sharma: I had absolutely no expectations for this - I didn't even have it on my TBR, but i kept seeing it everywhere and thought that maybe I should check it out. I am so glad I did. This was so much fun from start to finish. I was rooting for Winnie and Dev the whole time, and I laughed out loud so often. I can't wait to see what Nisha Sharma writes in the future!

4. YOU ASKED FOR PERFECT by Laura Silverman: This is a love letter to overachievers. I wish that I had this book in high school, but at the same time, I don't think I'd have appreciated it as much, because I bought into the your-GPA-defines-your-life thing pretty heavily. I saw so much of myself in Ariel, and I couldn't stop thinking about this book for a good week after I finished it. I'll definitely be recommending it to everyone once it releases next year.

3. DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone: This is one of the first books I read this year, and it was amazing. It's such a short book, but it packs such an emotional punch. Every word has to count in a book this short, and they absolutely do. Even though I flew through it, I'm still surprised that it's not longer, because the world and the characters are so well-developed that I really don't know how it was all fit into so few pages.

2. OUR YEAR OF MAYBE by Rachel Lynn Solomon: I'm just taking this book as proof that anything Rachel Lynn Solomon writes will be my next favorite book. Peter and Sophie are two more characters who will stay with me forever, and their relationship gave me so many feelings that I can't elaborate on because spoilers, so I'll just sit here keeping all my emotions to myself for another few weeks. I'm so excited for this to be released next month so that I can officially shove it at everyone!

1. THE SPY WITH THE RED BALLOON by Katherine Locke: Exactly the book I needed. Queer Jewish siblings, Nazi-punching, twists and turns, and just a little bit of magic. I feel bad that I can't express my feelings about this book more eloquently, but everything I could ever say about it boils down to: please read it. You won't regret it.

What were your favorite books of 2018? Tell me in the comments!