Photo cred: Brenna Lee Photo

It's the last Top Ten Tuesday of the year!  Can you believe it?  I'm having trouble grasping the fact that 2020 is over as well as the idea that my oldest will be getting married on Saturday.  So surreal!  It makes sense that the final TTT of 2020 is a list of our top reads of the year.  Although I'm still hoping to sneak in another finish before January 1, as of now I've read 191 books this year.  Of those, I marked 25 with asterisks, indicating they were favorites.  Not including re-reads of past faves like A Christmas Carol, I narrowed my list down to the best of the best—my ten most loved reads of the year.  Although you can't tell from this list (which features mostly fiction by women, the majority of whom are white), I actually read a fair amount of non-fiction as well as lots of books written by men and women of various ethnicities, nationalities, and backgrounds.  These are just the books I happened to like most.  

I'd love to know what your favorite reads of 2020 are.  You should definitely make your own list and join in the TTT fun.  Hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

My Top Ten Reads of 2020 (in no particular order):

1.  Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley—This is a devastating, but important and impactful MG novel about domestic violence.  My review.

2.  Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar—Vivid and searing, this MG novel-in-verse about a family torn apart by controversial U.S. immigration policies is heart-breaking and eye-opening.  Another gutting but essential read.  My review.

3.  The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson—Part mystery, part family drama, this is an engrossing read about a (real) famous jewel and how its (fictional) discovery impacts an ordinary family.  My review.

4.  The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper—This is an atmospheric historical novel set in Australia that also features a mysterious jewel.  My review.

5.  Beyond the Horizon by Lois Lowry—A moving memoir-in-verse, this slim book recounts the author's experiences as a young girl in Hawaii during the bombing of Pearl Harbor and in post World War II Japan.  My review. 

6.  Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain—Set in North Carolina in 1960, this heart-wrenching novel focuses on poverty and the routine, forced sterilization of the poor and mentally challenged that took place at that time.  My review.

7.  The Last Blue by Isla Morley—If you loved The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, give this historical novel a try.  It also features the Blue people of Kentucky and is an immersive, intriguing, and tender novel.  My review.

8.  The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson—Speaking of ... I'm not alone in loving this popular book.  It deserves all the accolades it has received.  My review.

9.  The Split by Sharon Bolton—Bolton's newest is a bit of a departure from her usual crime fiction and I loved it.  It's part mystery/suspense, part survival story.  My review.

10.  Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon—I love a good pioneer novel and this is exactly that.  It concerns a group of people traveling along the Overland Trail.  My review.

There you go, my ten favorite books of the year.  What were your most-loved reads of 2020?  Have you read any of mine?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!    

Every child needs a fierce protector.  Ten-year-old Della has her older sister, Suki.  It was Suki who cared for her while their mother cooked meth; Suki who watched out for her when their mom went to prison, leaving the girls in the care of her abusive boyfriend; Suki who got the evidence that convicted him for molesting Della; and Suki who still shields her even though the sisters are finally safe with Francine, their forthright but loving foster mother.  It's only now that Della is beginning to realize that while she's always had Suki as her older, wiser guard, Suki's never really had anyone to fulfill that role.  And she's needed a protector.  Desperately.  When Suki tries to take her own life, Della discovers just how broken her she-wolf sister really is.  Can Della find a way to nurture her sister the way Suki has always done for Della?  Will the two ever find the healing they so need and deserve?

As you can no doubt tell, Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is a raw, gut punch of a novel.  While it's not graphic, it's still honest and hard-hitting.  The thing that saves it from being unrelentingly grim is our heroine, Della.  She's tough, irrepressible, and hilarious.  Her voice is absolutely pitch-perfect.  For all these reasons, it's impossible not to root for her and Suki.  While Fighting Words is about so many things—sexual abuse, consent, bravery, resilience, etc.—it's really about two sisters and their unbreakable bond.  Despite its touch subject matter, I loved this beautiful, empowering novel.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a bit of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Unlike the children she watches from the window of her London flat, 10-year-old Ada Smith has never gone outside.  Because of the club foot with which Ada was born, Ada's mother calls her a "cripple" and insists she stay inside where no one can see her shameful deformity.  There's nothing Ada wants more than to flee her filthy, roach-infested apartment; escape from her mother's cruel taunting; and run around outside with friends.  Her little brother gets that privilege every day; it's difficult not to envy 6-year-old Jamie his freedom.  

When the fear of German bombs dropping on London starts propelling concerned parents to send their children out of the city, Ada seizes the opportunity to forge a new life for herself and her brother.  But Mam will only agree to send Jamie away.  Refusing to be left behind, Ada sneaks out to join him.  Soon, the siblings find themselves in the Kent countryside under the care of Susan Smith, a lonely spinster who insists she isn't fit to be their guardian.  And yet, Ada and Jamie thrive under her watchful eye.  

As the months fly by and London remains untouched, children are being sent back home.  That's the last thing Ada and Jamie want.  Can they hold on to the stable, peace-filled life they know with Susan or will they be forced to go back to the miserable squalor that used to be all they knew?  

The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is the heart-wrenching story of a young girl's triumph over abuse.  As Ada rises above her pitiable circumstances, tackling every obstacle in her path with courage and compassion, she comes to realize that strength of character has nothing to do with physical appearances.  For the first time in her life, she knows that not only is her twisted foot nothing to be ashamed of, but also that it doesn't have to keep her from living a life that is as full and happy as anyone else's.  Chock-full of important lessons, The War that Saved my Life is a poignant tale that preaches acceptance and love as antidotes to overcoming adversity of all kinds.  It's a different kind of WWII story, not my absolute favorite, but one I've found difficult to forget.  

(Readalikes:  Hm, nothing's really coming to mind.  Suggestions?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and disturbing subject matter (child abuse/neglect, the horrors of war, discrimination against the disabled, etc.).  Homosexuality is also alluded to, albeit vaguely.

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find