My favourite books of 2018 (so far)

The first half of 2018 has been good to me reading-wise. I’ve read so many great books already and I hope my good luck will continue on in the next half of the year! I have rated all of these books either four or five stars and there was something about each of these books that I really loved reading.

6. A Little Life

by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life was an impactful and heartbreaking book. It is primarily character-driven and does not adhere to a strict plot. Most of the story is centred around Jude, who eventually becomes a successful lawyer, but inside is broken from his difficult childhood.

Although this book was difficult to read, I thought its prose was amazing and its story was beautiful in a depressing kind of way. I originally rated this four stars because this book does have quite a lot of flaws, but they are easy to overlook once you get to the end. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone but overall it is the kind of book you will always remember.

5. Radio Silence

by Alice Oseman

Radio Silence follows Frances, the studious head girl of her high school, who is also obsessed with a podcast called Universe City. The creator of Universe City is anonymous, but Frances finds out who he is and the pair quickly become friends.

I found Radio Silence to be incredibly addictive – I couldn’t put it down. The protagonist, Frances, is also such a fantastic character to read from. She has a quirkiness about her that makes her stand out as a character. The friendship she has with Aled is great and it was really cool to read a YA book where there isn’t really much romance.

4. Starry Eyes

by Jenn Bennett

Starry Eyes was such an amazing read. It is about Zorie, who loves all things astronomy related and hates her next door neighbour, Lennon. However, she is forced to go on a camping trip with him and a few other friends, which makes it difficult for her because she promised herself she wouldn’t talk to him again after what he did last year.

I loved how fast-paced this book is in the beginning and how it set up the characters and events in a very captivating way. It is set it the summer, so it is a very summery kind of read, and one of the good ones because non-cliched events happen to the characters. I thought it is well fleshed-out and the writing is great too.

3. Call Me By Your Name

by Andre Aciman

Call Me By Your Name is about a romance between seventeen-year-old Elio and twenty-four-year-old Oliver. It is told in the perspective of Elio, who is a young boy living with his parents in a picturesque town in Italy. He meets Oliver when Oliver is offered to stay with Elio’s family over six weeks during the summer to help work with his father.

I knew going into this book that I was going to love it because the movie was amazing. The story is so raw and romantic, and I absolutely loved it. The descriptions of Italy and Oliver are present on every page and the writing is very evocative.

2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a YA m/m contemporary that is mostly a character-driven book. Aristotle’s narration is very easy to follow, as the book has a lot of dialogue, which turns it into a quick read. Rather than enjoying the plot, I liked the insightful conversations that Aristotle and Dante had and their initial friendship is really sweet.

1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is essentially about the twentieth century movie star Evelyn Hugo and her seven husbands. The story documents her entire life and how she became famous and what it did to her private life.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is my new favourite book! What I liked about this book is that it was so interesting to read about Evelyn’s entire life, as we get to read about every little aspect. It was almost like reading about the deepest darkest secrets of an actual celebrity. I really adored Evelyn’s true love of her life and they are such a dynamic and beautiful couple.

All the Jan-Jun 2018 Books

These are all of the books that I read between January and June. It was conveniently 25.

I hope that the rest of 2018 is just as good as the first half reading-wise! Also, if you want to know a fun fact, all of my favourite books include LGBTQ+ characters (but in Starry Eyes it’s just the two moms).

What has been your favourite book of the year (so far)?