Features | My Favourite Books of 2017 So Far

Features | My Favourite Books of 2017 So Far

• Friday, 21 July 2017

I don't even want to think about the fact that we're already over half way through 2017 but what I am perfectly happy to think about are all the great books I've read so far this year! For today I've chosen just the top five books I've read in the first half of the year to share with you and I'd love to hear your favourite books of the year so far in the comments!

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumour has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Rebel of the Sands is the kind of story that made me want to read it all at once, and I almost did. If you're looking for a fast paced story with an interesting fantasy world and a kick-butt female protagonist then you can't go wrong with this one.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with the London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation.

Mansfield Park was one of the few Austen works that I went into knowing very little about it and I was incredibly pleasantly surprised. If you've read and enjoyed any of Austen's other novels but have yet to read this one, don't put it off any longer!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist.

Six of Crows is a fantasy novel about a plucky gang of convicts and misfits on an impossible heist. I knew I would love it before I even looked at the first page. This novel has adventure and interesting characters in spades. And the sequel is even better.

Wing Jones by Katherine Webber

With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing Jones is often caught between world. But when tragedy strikes, Wing discovers a talent for running she never knew she had.

I know Wing Jones is set in the 90s but I was alive then so please let me call it a contemporary novel... Wing Jones is hands down the best contemporary YA novel I've read so far this year. It's a story full of sadness, and hope, and magic, and running. If you want to find out more you can read my full review of it here.

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

Through the lens of Link's vivid imagination, nothing is what it seems, and everything deserves a second look. 

Pretty Monsters is a collection of YA short stories where everything is just a little off. From a boy who digs up the wrong body, to an entire village living in an old woman's handbag, or a magical girl trailed by ghosts, these stories are all unique and interesting little glimpses into other worlds.