best books of 2020 (so far)

Let’s be real: 2020 is fixing to be the longest year EVER. Thinking back to January feels like reminiscing on something that happened at least five years ago. Given that we’ve already dealt with several years’ worth of excitement in just six months, it felt fitting to reflect on my favorite books of 2020 so far.

Having so much time on my hands has also given me the opportunity to read wayyyy more than I normally would. I’m definitely on track to hit my goal of reading 52 books obnoxiously early, which means I’ll have more books to talk about at the end of the year. This is my attempt at dividing up the work, which I’m notoriously horrible at, while also having a sweet moment to think about all the wonderful things I’ve read so far.

SIX OF CROWS BY LEIGH BARDUGO

Y’ALL. Let me make an abridged list what I loved about this book: a HEIST, morally gray characters, a kickass ensemble cast, a Dutch-inspired setting, characters with really cool names, a unique magic system, and star-crossed/slow-burn romances. Six of Crows has it ALL. I’m a little bit mad at myself for waiting so long to pick this book up and am excited to read the sequel, Crooked Kingdom.

My rating: 4/5 stars

THE SEA OF MONSTERS BY RICK RIORDAN

I’ve been planning a reread of this series for a while now, but once I heard the news that Percy Jackson is going to be a Disney+ show, I sprinted up to my room to grab this book. The Sea of Monsters is a classic for my generation, plain and simple. I grew up on these books, so reading them is like reliving my childhood.

My rating: 5/5 stars

ILLUMINAE BY AMIE KAUFMAN AND JAY KRISTOFF

I read Illuminae for my young adult literature class (yes, that’s a real class and it was one of my favorites EVER) and this book really stands up to criticism. The epistolary style (meaning it’s made up of documents instead of straight text) was absolutely perfect for the content of the novel. If you’ve never read a novel like this before, Illuminae is a great place to start because there is still so much personality, character development, and INCREDIBLE world building.

My rating: 5/5 stars

THE POET X BY ELIZABETH ACEVADO

This book really hits different. The Poet X is a beautiful long-form book of poems about Xiomara and how religion, love, and family interact in her life. The language is just beautiful and, like Illuminae, The Poet X is a great introductory book for its subgenre.

My rating: 5/5 stars

CODE NAME VERITY BY ELIZABETH WEIN

What’s really ironic about this is that I originally removed Code Name Verity from my TBR a couple years ago, which was straight DUMB because I loved this book. It’s a tale of friendship during wartime and what two women will do to support each other and support their cause. The ending is so heartbreakingly beautiful that I wish I could forget it so I can experience reading it for the first time.

My rating: 5/5 stars

That’s all for this post! What do you think about my picks? What are your favorite books of 2020 so far?

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