Ten[ish] Books I loved in 2017

2017 has been a stellar year for children’s literature. Picking 10 books was a challenge I was not worthy of, so I have divided my choices into MG and YA. Even then a sneaky extra worked its way onto the YA list. I left one or two off the MG list, but *deleting* an extra impossible.

To narrow the choice further, I decided only to include:

• novels – there have been some great short story anthologies, but I will give these a seperate post
• Books with a 2017 publication date

 

Picking favourites is so subjective, and difficult – are you judging the most literary? Those you enjoyed most? Those which best suit their target audience?  I have called this ‘books I loved in 2017’ rather than ‘favourite books’.  There are still books I could include, but I am pleased with the range of books I settled on, and hope no offence is caused. 

I would like to highlight the number of debut authors on this list. Every book on this list is fantastic, but it is especially encouraging to see that children’s literature is producing new talent.

Thank-you to every author on this list for writing me a wonderland. 

 

Middle Grade

The Midnight Peacock by Katherine Woodfine

Kick by Mitch Johnson

Michael’s Spear by Hilton Pashley

Nevermoor – The Trials Of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

The Elephant Thief by Jane Kerr *

A Girl Called Owl by Amy Wilson *

The Amber Pendant [The Rose Muddle Mysteries]  by Imogen White

Letters To The Lighthouse by Emma Carroll 

Evie’s Ghost by Helen Peters

Where The World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean

 

Young Adult 

A Pocketful Of Crows by Joanne Harris

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

A Semi-Definitive List Of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus

S.T.A.G.S by MA Bennett

Piglettes by Clemantine Beauvais

The Stars At Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard

Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell

Ink by Alice Broadway *

The Jungle by Pooja Puri*

 

• On old blog – link will take you off this site.

 

What is your top read of 2017? Let me know in the comments below.

Review: Bookworm by Lucy Mangan

Do you spend most of your time indoors? Feel unsettled when your reading time is disturbed? Would you be happy to live your life in the pages of books? All these are signs you might be a bookworm. The happy news is you’re not alone.

Lucy spent her childhood reading, aided by her Dad and chided by her Mum. Here she runs chronologically through her childhood reading, giving us information about books she remembers, reflections of reading and hilarious anecdotes about how people reacted to her book addiction.

 A warm and witty memoir, Bookworm will make you desperate to curl up with a pile of old paperbacks and read. If you needed an excuse, that is …My hobbies include:

• Reading
• Amassing books
• Browsing second hand bookshops
• Talking about books with my equally bookish friend Christina over afternoon tea/bookshop shelves/Twitter as possible. 

Bookworm is a treat wrapped up in a delight. As a teenager, Lucy Mangan’s column in the Guardian weekend magazine assured me I was not the only person who would rather hide with a second-hand Puffin than socialise. I loved the recurring anecdotes about Lucy’s bookish behaviour, and about her very Northern extended family.

Bookworm works for me on three levels:

• Discussion of favourite books
• Memoir
• Reflections on reading

There is no snobbery. Sometimes these memoirs feel more like a run through of the schools and libraries 100 most approved books than a reflection on genuine childhood reading. As a 9 year-old, for example, I read The Hobbit, and the first part of Lord-of-the-Rings. To say this alone exaggerates my childhood literary tastes, because yes I read Tolkien fairy early, but I went through my Sleepover Club stage the same year. Bookworm shows that young readers enjoy a range of books at different times, and that is healthy.

The memoir is well written. As well as painting a vivid picture of her family, it situates Lucy’s childhood reading in the context of the 1980s. What state was her local library service in? Her school library? Given recent cuts to libraries and school library budgets, these discussions need to be opened, and the first place to start is with how people benefited from them in the past.

Lucy’s reflections stem from her memories, but go deeper into what reading means at different times in our lifes. Reading for solace. Reading to recognise ourselves. To experience adventure, to binge on words and to think more deeply about the world. This is what non-bookworms fail to understand – reading is about so much more than holding a book.

I enjoyed Bookworm because I related to it, and for the wide selection of children’s books discussed. It is an enjoyable memoir, and I hope it will give other people the urge to amass books. 

 

Bookworm by Lucy Mangan

March 2018

Square Peg – Penguin Random House

 

Huge thanks to Square Peg for sending a copy in exchange for honest review.