Hello fellow bookworms! It’s Tuesday and that means it is time for another Top Ten Tuesday post!
What is TTT? TTT is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Check out their blog for more info and to see upcoming themes.
This week’s theme is…
December 27: Top Ten Best Books Of 2016 (you choose — best books overall of what you read regardless of pub date, of a particular genre, 2016 debuts, 2016 releases, etc)
It has been a hot minute since I last participated in a TTT, so I decided to hop back on the wagon. As the year draws to a close, everyone will be selecting their best reads of 2016. I decided to share with you all my favorite 2016 new releases that I’ve read this year..
In order of release date…
*All titles link to Goodreads
» The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Release date: February 16, 2016
Genre: Young Adult > Fantasy
Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.
As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.
But the end to it all looms closer every day.
Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.
For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.
She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.
Or she could disappear.
» Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
Release date: March 29, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
When Dr. Catherine Bennett is wrongfully accused of murder, she knows her fate likely lies with a noose unless she can disappear. Fleeing with a bounty on her head, she escapes with her maid to the uncharted territories of Colorado to build a new life with a new name. Although the story of the murderess in New York is common gossip, Catherine’s false identity serves her well as she fills in as a temporary army doctor. But in a land unknown, so large and yet so small, a female doctor can only hide for so long.
You can read my review here → Book Review: Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
» The One-in-a-Million Boy by
Release date: April 5, 2016
Genre: Contemporary
So says 104-year-old Ona to the 11-year-old boy who’s been sent to help her out every Saturday morning. As he refills the bird feeders and tidies the garden shed, Ona tells him about her long life, from first love to second chances. Soon she’s confessing secrets she has kept hidden for decades.
Ona is set to discover that even at her age the world can surprise you, and that sometimes sharing a loss is the only way to find yourself again.
» June by Miranda Beverly-Whittmore
Release date: May 31, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction • LGBT+ Fiction
Twenty-five-year-old Cassie Danvers is holed up in her family’s crumbling mansion in rural St. Jude, Ohio, mourning the loss of the woman who raised her—her grandmother, June. But a knock on the door forces her out of isolation. Cassie has been named the sole heir to legendary matinee idol Jack Montgomery’s vast fortune. How did Jack Montgomery know her name? Could he have crossed paths with her grandmother all those years ago? What other shocking secrets could June’s once-stately mansion hold?
Soon Jack’s famous daughters come knocking, determined to wrestle Cassie away from the inheritance they feel is their due. Together, they all come to discover the true reasons for June’s silence about that long-ago summer, when Hollywood came to town, and June and Jack’s lives were forever altered by murder, blackmail, and betrayal.
As this page-turner shifts deftly between the past and present, Cassie and her guests will be forced to reexamine their legacies, their definition of family, and what it truly means to love someone, steadfastly, across the ages.
You can read my review here → Book Review: June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
» Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Release date: June 2, 2016
Genre: Contemporary • LGBT+ Fiction
Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman―fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves―must confront long-hidden scars. From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.
» And I Darken by Kiersten White
Release date: June 28, 2016
Genre: Young Adult • Historical Fiction
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
» The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
Release date: July 26, 2016
Genre: Literary Fiction
Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.
Sal seems to appear out of nowhere – a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he’s welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he’s a runaway from a nearby farm town.
When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him.
As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be.
While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever.
You can read my review here → Book Review: The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
You can read my interview with the author here → Author Interview: Tiffany McDaniel, Author of The Summer That Melted Everything
» Harry Potter and the Curse Child by John Tiffany
Release date: July 31, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
You can read my review here → Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne (J.K. Rowling & John Tiffany)
» The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Release date: August 2, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all the slaves but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood – where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned and, though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.
In Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor – engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar’s first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven – but the city’s placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. Even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.
As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.
You can read my review here → Book Review: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
» The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Release date: September 20, 2016
Genre: Young Adult > Contemporary
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence.
While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways.
But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex over the years, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her.
So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for.
Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.
You can read my review here → Book Review: The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
» Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Release date: October 11, 2016
Genre: Contemporary
Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?
Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.
With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn’t offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.
Which 2016 releases were your favorites?
*Feel free to link to your own TTT post!
I loved Small Great Things as well and have included in my TTT post ☺
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It really gave me a new perspective on things like white privilege and unintentional racism. I think Jodi Picoult did a wonderful job with it!
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I’m surprised I’ve only read two of these books (Harry Potter and The a girl From Everywhere). It looks like I’ve got a lot of books to read in 2017.
I am also soooo glad to see As I Darken on this list. I think it’s important to end the year on a positive note. I can’t wait to read your review!!
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I probably only read 25ish 2016 releases total, and these were my top picks. I know a few of these (particularly Sawbones and June) are not well known books.
I have so many reviews to work on it’s not even funny. If only these awesome books would quit taking all my attention I could sit down and write a few 😅
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Upon reflecting on my reading this year, I only read a handful of 2016 releases myself, so I guess that isn’t too surprising. Probably around a dozen? I feel like with reading I am constantly behind. Oops.
I can completely relate about the stockpile of reviews. I typically keep them on my Goodreadd “Currently Reading” list, but that got overwhelming. I wrote mini reviews for all the books I had already finished. My list is much more manageable now. Hopefully we will catch up soon!
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Great list! I’m happy to see The One in a Million Boy on it. That was my number 11!
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I really enjoyed it! Have you read A Man Called Ove? It gave me a similar feel 😊
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We only share one book in common!! LOL And it’s Harry Potter, surprise surprise! Great list 🙂 Mine’s at http://www.tomesandtequila.com/2016/12/top-reads-of-2016.html
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I have a feeling it will make a lot of the “Best of 2016” lists…and probably a fair amount of the “Worst of 2016” lists too 😅
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Underground Railroad has piqued my attention as a possible book club read. I am considering Small Great Things as my 1st read of 2017.
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Oh some tempting reads! I am making a list as I visit and I know I want to try Sawbones for sure. Hadn’t heard of it but going on my list. June, One in a Million Boy and Small Great Things are on my radar and hope to get to.
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Sawbones is not a well known book. It is a debut novel, so that plays a big role. I had requested it because the cover and the title were so alluring. It is a western style historical fiction, and I enjoyed it very much 😊
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Great list! The Summer That Melted Everything is without doubt on my list of favorites as well.
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I wish more people would give it a go!
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Loved your picks, Amanda! 2016 was such a long year for me that I am not really sure anymore which books were released this year and which were released last year – I’ll totally have to make some researches for my annual wrap up post HAHAHAHAHA
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I read 82ish books this year and 25 (I think) were 2016 releases. I can thank Goodreads for making it super easy to keep track of all that 😊
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I haven’t read a single one of these. 😲
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About half of them aren’t as well known!
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Wow you read a lot of new releases this year, I think I’d struggle to just find 10 books that were released this year let alone then narrow to favourites 🙂
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I ended up reading about 25ish! Most were review copies 😊
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Great list Amanda! I finally received my copy of Small Great Things from the U.K smh FINALLY! lol. I also just picked up Here Comes The Sun, 2017 is going to be the year I get to all these great reads you’ve listed here 😉
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Enjoy!!! Can’t wait to see what you think. I hope you love them as much as I did!
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Great list! I can’t wait to read The Girl from Everywhere, The Underground Railroad and And I Darken!! Everyone is raving about those – I feel so behind!
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I think you will particularly love The Girl From Everywhere… it seems right up your alley 😉 I’m working on my review now!
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Sawbones looks interesting! Always looking for more historical fiction for my TBR. Nice list Amanda!
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I really enjoyed it! I think if more people gave it a shot, they would enjoy it but it is a debut author, so she doesn’t have the reputation yet. If you try it I hope you enjoy it!
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