2018 Book of the Year: Final Four

In the last round, I thrashed out another great handful of books and whittled things down to eight contenders. Most of them are pretty strong ones, so today is an interesting (and mildly painful) round. This is where we start...

When it gets down to this level of the competition, it's only fair to give everyone a little attention. So...since they've all paid their dues, I'm going to go through each elimination one by one. Everyone gets a little love today.

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng v. P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is a contemporary novel which won the Best Fiction category of the 2017 Goodreads Awards. Before reading this, I hadn't heard much about the synopsis. I just had heard the title passed around and new it had a reputation for being good. I'm pretty sure I read the whole thing in just a couple of sittings. It was incredibly well written. The characters were fully developed and complex. Though they were believable, they weren't always likable...I consider an author who can write a character I don't like, but a book that I enjoy to be quite talented. This one passed that test. It also left me hungering for a sequel.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han is the second in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy. It could easily have stood alone, but also furthered the plot in the trilogy quite strongly. It didn't fall to the tendency of solely being the bridge between the first and third books. It's YA fiction, but it's also a good read for adult YA softies like me. I was impressed by the first book, but I really enjoyed how much more depth this one brought to the trilogy. I very much fell in love with Lara Jean.

This honestly felt like an awkward pairing. It's difficult to pit such different books against one another. Both were wonderful reads. I would happily qualify both of them for rereads and I would easily recommend both of them to others. I simply had to go with my gut. If these books were sitting side by side and I had to pick only one of them to reread at this moment, I would choose Little Fires Everywhere. Yes, this may be a factor of how I am feeling in the moment, but it also falls in line with my prior ratings, so I think it is a solid way to decide. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng moves forward into the Final Four.

2. The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas v. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I was hesitant to read The Hate U Give. I had heard good things about it, but I wasn't sure it would be up my alley. Holy cow was I wrong. This book was powerful and amazing. The writing was great; she made it feel as if writing a novel should just flow naturally from a person. I was drawn in very early, recognizing my own need for diversity and an understanding of life from a different point of view. I loved these characters. They felt so real. The story felt real. I was just so moved. 

I love Fredrik Backman's writing. He is very talented and I immediately become immersed in his stories. Beartown was not at all what I was expecting, but it hooked me. It tore at my heart and it stole my breath in certain moments. I felt for these characters. I felt sick to my stomach and I felt joy. I felt anger and confusion. It was an amazing roller coaster ride.

Both of these books spoke so strongly to me. They both held such immense social power. I felt that either of them could be beneficial reads for so many people. They both are so poignant for the current cultural status. But The Hate U Give felt particularly powerful. It reached out to me from beyond my usual cultural comfort zone and it provoked thought. It was simply wonderful. It had to be the winner here, though I was incredibly sad to eliminate Beartown. The Hate U Give moves on to the Final Four.

3. Us Against You by Fredrik Backman v. The Wonderful World of Oz by L. Frank Baum

First off, how impressive is it that Fredrik Backman has two books that have made it this far in the competition? It makes me incredibly happy. He is such a lovable author. Us Against You was a great follow up to Beartown and took the tale so much further. It explored many aspects of society with incredible transparency and did not shy away from the awkward or uncomfortable. It was lovely.

The Wizard of Oz was on my to-read list for a long, long time. I was apprehensive and had put it off for a very long time because of the film. In my historical experience, if I see a movie first, it tends to ruin the book for me. Though I tend to think that the books are always better than the movies when

I read first, having seen such an iconic film over and over endeared it to me. The bar was set high. And I was very pleased. The Wizard of Oz was lovable, whimsical, and very different from the movie. I found that very pleasing. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more of the series.

Again, as in the first elimination, this was a very odd pairing. It was incredibly difficult to compare and contrast these two competitors. They are so very different in genre and in purpose. It took quite a bit of debate once again and I'm still not 100% comfortable on my decision. This could have gone either way given another day. But...I'm just going to rip the Band-Aid off. The Wizard of Oz moves on to the next round.

4.  I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson v. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I'll Give You the Sun is a YA novel with amazing heart. I got sucked in quickly with this one and just had all the feels. I didn't want to put this one down and felt so deeply for the characters. It was a well-written family drama from the YA perspective, able to be both heavy and light at the same time. I'm not sure how to explain that feeling...it's just something you have to read. It is among the best books I have ever read.

Rebecca was actually a reread for me. It had been over a decade since my original read and I found I remembered very little of the story. It is a fantastic gothic style novel and I enjoyed it very much. Frequently, I find that rereads of books I don't remember fall very disappointing. That was certainly not the case here. du Maurier's writing is magnificent, especially considering how well it has stood the test of time. Rebecca could easily be a purposeful reread for me in the future.

Both of these books were read early on in the year, which is always (I think) a bit of a disadvantage to competitors. They aren't as fresh in my mind, so perhaps they loose a little bit of the impact they held early on. This was probably the easiest decision this round. (Thank goodness, because I needed something that felt simple.) Yes, they're both good books, but one just feels so much better. I'll Give You the Sun was much more solid throughout, whereas I felt that Rebecca faltered in the ending. And...overall...I'll Give You the Sun was just one of those reads I felt like hugging. That's always a win in my book. So our final entry into the Final Four is I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson.

And then there were four! It's getting brutal now. You can't go wrong with any of these reads, but only one will eventually take the crown. Have you placed your bets for a winner of the 2018 Book of the Year Bracket Challenge? Next time, we cut it down to two.