2018 Book of the Year: The One Book to Rule Them All

The time has finally come. It's time to reveal my favorite read of 2018...the 2018 Book of the Year! There have been some fantastic competitors along the way and I would highly recommend taking a look at the other books from the bracket.

Before we get to this year's final competition...let's take a look at past winners.

This year marks my eighth year of making a bracket. It's a fun thing that I look forward to every year. I have had some great winners in the past and I always like to give them a little love.

2011 Book of the Year: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

2012 Book of the Year: Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

2013 Book of the Year: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
2014 Book of the Year: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

2015 Book of the Year: The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
2016 Book of the Year: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
2017 Book of the Year: Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

These are all good reads, but I will admit that some are better than others. Maybe at some point I could pit them all against each other to find the best of the best. Eight books could fill a small bracket...I'm just saying.

But...back to the task at hand. This year's bracket. Here's where we sit currently:

And the challengers are:


Representing the left side of the bracket:

The Hate You Give

Angie Thomas

I grabbed this book on a whim after hearing good things from other readers. I entered the book with pretty low expectations, I have no idea why. But boy was I proven wrong. I started off mildly uncomfortable and struggled a little with the dialogue. It was something completely different from my regular reads. Pretty immediately, I felt like reading the novel caused me to do a bit of internal reflection and evaluation. That was fairly impressive.

Once I got myself a little more used to the speaking style of the characters, I was fully immersed in the story. The plot was painful, insightful, beautiful, and shocking. I'm sure that there are many different takes on the environment depending on a reader's personal experience. Personal history likely plays a larger role in the reader's response to the book, but I think most people would still feel emotionally involved. 

The Hate U Give had so much more of an impact on me than I expected. It is some seriously strong social commentary and really strips bare the fact that racial imbalance is still a major issue in the current social climate. It is such a raw and honest read and I think it speaks its message quite efficiently and powerfully. When I finished reading, I just felt that reading high. The one you get from knowing that you have just been witness to something magical, something great. 

Representing the right side of the bracket:

I'll Give You The Sun

Jandy Nelson

I finally read I'll Give You the Sun after having it sit on my TBR for a few years. Originally drawn to it because of the lovely cover, I soon found that other readers were singing its praises. It wound up being a Goodreads Award nominee for YA fiction in 2014.

This was a terribly emotional read. Nelson has a knack for beautiful prose and her characters are terribly endearing. I rode quite the roller coaster with this one. It made me happy, it made me mad. I found myself disappointed and angry. And...there were tears. It was just so gut-wrenchingly wonderful.

I always say that you can tell a book is great if one of a few things happen: I read it all in one sitting, I stay up way beyond my bedtime to read it, or I feel like I should just wrap my arms around it and give it a hug afterwards. This one is a hugger. It ripped out my insides and then put them back together. I just loved it so, so much.

The Faceoff:

I let a few really fantastic books go along the way, but these two really were among the cream of the crop for the books I read in 2018. Both really emotional reads in such different ways. They both land somewhat in the YA spectrum, but their motivations are nothing alike. Both authors have an ability to strip a story down and make it incredibly personal and moving, but their styles are hard to compare. Thomas is more of a blunt writer, forcing you to look at everything, regardless of whether it is comfortable or not. Nelson is a lyrical writer, making everything move fluidly, and taking you smoothly through the tale. In both cases, there is a bit of a feeling of having your insides scraped with a spoon.

What it really came down to for me this year was impact. While I very much enjoyed both of these novels, one just stuck with me so much stronger. I can't ignore that feeling. To have a book move me in such a way that I continuously consider it's story and message for several months afterwards speaks very strongly as to how good of a read it is. And so, the winner was really quite clear.


The 2018 Book of the Year is...

The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas

Great books and a great bracket. Do yourself a favor and check some of these novels out. I was lucky, once again, to read some amazing books last year. Let's hope that 2019 bodes the same!

Congratulations to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 
the Erratic Project Junkie 2018 Book of the Year!

Don't forget to keep track of your reads this year so you can participate in the next bracket challenge. If nothing else, help me find more stellar reads for my ever burdgeoning TBR.