Discussion: Do These Books Deserve 5 Stars?

 

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I’m going to make some book predictions! At the start of 2020, I chose 10 books that I hadn’t read yet but thought I’d love. Over the course of the year, I read the books, then shared my reviews in December. I’m going to do that again. These are my 2021 5-star predictions.

I currently have 50-something unread books on my to-be-read (TBR) shelf. I think all of them have the potential to earn a 5-star review from me. (They wouldn’t be on the shelf if I didn’t think I’d love them.) But, I’m extra excited about the books in this post because they have mostly positive reviews on Goodreads. I hope I love them as much as everybody else does.

 

Do These Books Deserve 5 Stars?

 

 

 

 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

 

Adult Historical Fiction

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: Let’s start with a controversial one. I know this book gets criticized for how it portrays Black characters. If the characters are stereotypes, that will kill my enjoyment of the book, but I’m going to be optimistic and put it on my prediction list. I love historical fiction, and people have been recommending this novel to me since it came out in 2009. The overwhelming majority of my Goodreads friends have given it 4 or 5 stars. If my Goodreads friends love a book, I usually will love it too. (That’s why we’re friends.)

 

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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

 

Adult Historical Fiction

 

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: The structure of this book intrigues me. I love family sagas that follow generations of characters. Usually family sagas are fat books, but Homegoing is scrawny! How is the author going to pack a whole saga into a tiny book? I’m interested to find out. If it works, it could be brilliant. I’ll get to read a saga without spending a month slogging through a 1000-page brick.

 

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SIX OF CROWS BY LEIGH BARDUGO

 

Young Adult Fantasy

 

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone.

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: Because everyone else loves it. Bookworms go wild for this series. It’s a perennial favorite that always shows up on “Best Books” lists. I feel like I’m the last person on Earth to read it. I hope it lives up to the hype for me. The characters do seem to be a memorable and unique bunch of people. (Or magical creatures? I’m not sure.) I’m always searching for new characters to become obsessed with.

 

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WHY I’M NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE BY RENI EDDO-LODGE

 

Sociology Nonfiction

 

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren't affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' that led to this book.

Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of color in Britain today.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: It’s about racism, which is a topic that interests me, and I want to learn more about it. All the other books I’ve read about racism were US-focused. This one is UK-focused. I’m interested to see a conversation about race from a different perspective.

 

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NEVER SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE: NEGOTIATING AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT BY CHRIS VOSS

 

Psychology Nonfiction

 

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues to succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles—counter-intuitive tactics and strategies—you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: While wallowing in boredom during virus lockdown, I found an interview with the author. I immediately bought his book. He seems like a confident dude who knows a lot about how people think. The stories he told about his high-stakes negotiations were fascinating. I’ll probably never have to negotiate with a terrorist, but I’m curious about how it’s done.

 

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INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF A CACTUS BY DUSTI BOWLING

 

Contemporary Middlegrade Fiction

 

Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.

Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: All my friends love it, and I’m susceptible to peer pressure! I also love middlegrade fiction because it’s usually funny and quick to read. This book is supposed to be a sweet story with spunky, realistic child characters. Also, it’s set in Arizona. I love deserts! If I could handle the heat without turning into a raving psycho bitch, I’d move to Arizona.

 

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THE BUTCHERING ART: JOSEPH LISTER’S QUEST TO TRANSFORM THE GRISLY WORLD OF VICTORIAN MEDICINE BY LINDSEY FITZHARRIS

 

History Nonfiction

 

In The Butchering Art, the historian Lindsey Fitzharris reveals the shocking world of nineteenth-century surgery on the eve of profound transformation. She conjures up early operating theaters—no place for the squeamish—and surgeons, working before anesthesia, who were lauded for their speed and brute strength. These medical pioneers knew that the aftermath of surgery was often more dangerous than their patients' afflictions, and they were baffled by the persistent infections that kept mortality rates stubbornly high. At a time when surgery couldn't have been more hazardous, an unlikely figure stepped forward: a young, melancholy Quaker surgeon named Joseph Lister, who would solve the deadly riddle and change the course of history.

Fitzharris dramatically recounts Lister's discoveries in gripping detail, culminating in his audacious claim that germs were the source of all infection—and could be countered by antiseptics. Focusing on the tumultuous period from 1850 to 1875, she introduces us to Lister and his contemporaries—some of them brilliant, some outright criminal—and takes us through the grimy medical schools and dreary hospitals where they learned their art, the deadhouses where they studied anatomy, and the graveyards they occasionally ransacked for cadavers.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: This book should be a good addition to my weird collection of medical nonfiction. (How did I acquire so many books about plagues and Victorian surgeries?) I’m endlessly fascinated by the history of medicine because it’s full of geniuses, criminals, quacks, and experiments-gone-wrong. Goodreads calls this book “eerie and illuminating.” I hope so.

 

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AN EMBER IN THE ASHES BY SABAA TAHIR

 

Young Adult Fantasy

 

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: Whenever I ask for fantasy recommendations, someone tells me to read this series. I swear I’ll get to it in 2021! The fictional world in this book is inspired by ancient Rome. How awesome is that? I hope it’s detailed and well-researched.

 

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THE 57 BUS: A TRUE STORY OF TWO TEENAGERS AND THE CRIME THAT CHANGED THEIR LIVES BY DASHKA SLATER

 

True Crime Nonfiction

 

If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

 

Why I think I’ll love it: It gets phenomenal reviews from book critics and from random Goodreads users. Almost all of my Goodreads friends have rated it 4 or 5 stars. It has been nominated for a ton of awards. I like true crime and books about young people, so I’m interested to see what the hype is about.

 

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MOONRISE BY SARAH CROSSAN

 

Young Adult Contemporary Novel-In-Verse

 

Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn't seen his brother in ten years. Ed didn't walk out on the family, not exactly. It's something more brutal.

Ed's locked up—on death row.

Now his execution date has been set, and the clock is ticking. Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with his brother, no matter what other people think . . . and no matter whether Ed committed the crime. But did he? And does it matter, in the end?

 

Why I think I’ll love it: It’s been a long time since I read a novel-in-verse. I usually love them because they strip all the frilly stuff out of books and get right to the point. Sarah Crossan’s work tends to get positive reviews. I’m interested to find out what I think.

 

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Have you read any of these books? Did you love them? Is there an unread book on your shelf that you think you’ll give 5 stars?