These are my tried and true, can't-put-down, palate-cleansing, masterpieces of a book that I came across this year. The books that made me fall back in love with reading, and I hope by the time this year is through, I'll be adding some more to the list. All books are linked to purchase (click the pictures) at Cafe Con Libros, an intersectional feminist bookstore.

NO SPOILERS AHEAD:

1. The House in the Cerulean Sea

By T.J Klune

This one is a sucker punch to the heart, it healed some of my childhood trauma and I can't explain why but I'll try my best. The House in the Cerulean Sea is about Linus Baker, who is trapped in a dreary 9 to 5, as a caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He goes on a work trip to visit an orphanage and by the end breaks free of the previous monotony of his life..

Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook. The voices of the kids in the book melt my cold, cold heart. And there is so much love! Something about these magical children being truly loved, understood, and cared about by a man named Arthur, further fuels my hatred towards Dumbledore in the Harry Potter Series.

It's found family, it's LGBTQIA+, and it has a sprinkle of magic, please I beg you if you're never going to read a book again, just read this one and let me know how that works out.

2. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

By Gabrielle Zevin

This is a book that is a book about loving books which usually I roll my eyes about because get more cliche ms. author please I dare you. But maybe the books that hit me the most are about fathers who love their daughters, I won't read into that if you won't.

A.J. Fikry is a widower who is in despair, can't find the will to live, and survives off of microwavable dinners, which in my opinion shouldn't indicate depression but I digress. He runs a small town bookstore, which is on the edge of closing down at the start of the book. His life changes when he adopts the baby he finds on his doorstep. This is a book of second chances, sweet moments, and heart wrenching tragedy.

It goes through the whole rest of his second life, and it doesn't pull punches. You'll feel like you experience his whole life. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams has a very similar premise, but I'd give this one a read over that one.

3. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

By Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle Zevin gives Gabs everywhere a good name by making this list twice, an obvious marker of the epitome of the cultural zeitgeist.

Sam Masur, a junior at Harvard when this book opens, is closed off to the world. He is disabled, stemming from medical issues as a child, and Gabrielle does a good job of showing how much his disability influences his self-esteem. Sam runs into an old childhood friend, Sadie Green. Through a compelling series of events, their lives intertwine. I don't want to spoil too much but I wouldn't classify this as a love story.

Gabrielle Zevin does a fantastic job of creating rich characters who come to terms with their own identities, with disability, and redemption. This is another one that after reading it, you feel like you've lived another full lifetime. It also gave me more compassion for my college-aged self, who was trying to make her own mark on the world.

4. Yellowface

By R.F. Kuang

THIS BOOOOOOK. Is infuriating. In a great way. It was why I couldn't call this list: My Most Heartwarming Reads. It is not heartwarming, but it is righteous anger. R.F. Kuang dropped a diss track on all white women liberals. It just wraps up everything I want to scream as a ~fellow minority~ in a beautiful written book. This is another one I'd recommend listening to via audiobook, the author says she picked someone with a specifically bitchy voice because it fits the character so well.

Both in her own head and in the book, June is the main character. Her friend Athena dies in a freak accident, and June steals Athena's book manuscript. Athena was a very successful Asian author, and the manuscript concerns her heritage. June publishes under her first name and middle name (Song), omitting her very clearly white last name. It's egregious, and she falls deeper in the web she weaved herself all the while calling everyone else racist.

This whole book is a fantastic ethnography in how these people (white women) justify their "not racist at all" actions, it's the inner monologue that I never knew I needed. It also hurt a bit to hear how they actually think, but I needed to know. This book validated all of my feelings and I will always recommend it.

A fun fact, if you purchase the UK copy of the book, on the inside title page there is a tiny typewriter icon. It's labelled "by Athena Liu" and is crossed out to say "by Juniper Song", andddddd when the author signs this version, she crosses out the Juniper Song and signs her own name. Plus obviously the book slip is yellow, but take it off to reveal the hardcover...allll white. I love it.

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

By Taylor Jenkins Reid

This one was pleasantly surprising, I guess because it's not my usual cup of tea. Reclusive Hollywood movie icon, Evelyn Hugo shares her story with newbie reporter, Monique Grant. They strike a deal to give Monique exclusive rights to her memoir. As Evelyn paints the picture of her life, her rise to fame, her fall, Monique reflects on her current predicament.

Usually, I find this particular genre quite shallow and out of touch with reality. Which is sometimes exactly what your mood calls for, but not this book. This one was another old woman finds love in her later years but in a way you wouldn't roll your eyes at. It also emphasizes how short life is and how complicated we make it by being too scared to live authentically. But it did span from the 1950s-1980s, so I can't really blame her.

These book reviews are really very difficult because I just want to talk about the whole thing. But it is downright evil to spoil these books, so I want you to read them yourself and then we can talk.