10 on the 10th; My 10 Favorite Books That I've Read This Year

Today I am finally participating in the monthly link up at Simple Purposeful living.  I have been wanting to join these lovely ladies each month this year but have never remembered in time, or had other blog posts scheduled already for the 10th of the month that I had never gotten around to it.  (Though you should be prepared for me to use some of these topics in future blog posts!)

Now without further ado here are my 10 favorite books:  

Oh I had such a hard time with this one!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE books and read all the time.  I finally decided the only way to tackle this was to list 10 of my favorite books I've read so far THIS YEAR. I've already read 40 books so picking 10 made it a bit easier.

In no particular order:

1.  What Remains True: A Novel-- A heartbreaking story told from all sides in a family where their 5 year old son died.  Each of the family members blames themselves and it isn't until they begin going to family counseling that the whole story comes out.  Told in bits and pieces with an inside look at how everyone is feeling and faring this was a very compelling story.

2.  The Great Alone-- This story takes place in the 1970's.  Leni's father is a changed man after he returned as a POW from Vietnam.  Restless and unable to hold down a job her father drags her and her mom everywhere until finally settling in Alaska.  The family is unprepared for the harsh realities of an Alaskan winter and her father find the long nights unbearable.  A very moving story about one family's fight for survival in the wilds of Alaska.

3.  Between Shades of Gray-- The story of a girl and her family who are taken from their homes in the middle of the night by the Russian NKVD.  Reading about their journey from their home in Lithuania to a Siberian work camp.  I have read many books about World War II and about the Nazi concentration camps but this was the first time I read about the Russian camps that were run so very much like the Nazi camps.  I just can not say enough good things about this book and learned even more by reading the author's notes in the back.  It was a really riveting story and so very moving.

4.  Pretending to Dance-- I just love Diane Chamberlain and this book was amazing.  When Molly and her husband turn to adoption Molly is afraid that secrets from her past will come to light. We get to glimpse back into Molly's past and learn about her own birth and adoptive mom through many flashbacks.

5.  The Storyteller-- When I picked up this book at Christmas I had no idea that I was going to love it so much!  I have always loved Jodi's books but this book was mainly about the Nazi concentration camps and the story was told from several different points of view.  It is the only book about World War II that I have ever read that also included a view of the camps as being told by a German Officer.

6.  Nantucket Wedding-- Nancy Thayer's books always make me fall in love with Nantucket and this one made me determined to try and get there this year.  Alison is preparing for her wedding on Nantucket and wants to seamlessly pull together her family and her new husband's family for a summer they will never forget.  Alison, however, did not count on a new stepdaughter that seems determined to thwart her at every turn, a stepson that hits relentlessly on her daughters, or the struggle that both her daughter's are having with their own husbands.  Filled with love, drama, and family strife it was a great read.

7.  Come Sundown-- This book started out as two stories in one and I spent a good half of it wondering how they would wind together.  The Bodine family runs a ranch and family resort in Montana.  Bodine's aunt Alice ran away from home so many years ago that the family never even talks of her anymore.  They assumed she found a new life and has forgotten all about them but they don't know that she had been about to return home when she was kidnapped and has been held prisoner all these years.  It was a gripping and heart wrenching story.

8.  Shelter In place-- I was in tears by page 30 and wasn't sure I was going to be able to read the whole story but I did and I am so glad too; this was a fantastic book! The book begins with a mass shooting at a local movie theater/mall and follows the lives of a few of the survivors afterwards showing how they grow, change, and persevere... until someone starts picking off survivors one by one.

9.  Matched--  This dystopian novel reminded me a lot of the Divergent series (which I also loved).  Cassia is matched with her best friend and society- chosen perfect mate on her 17th birthday but is accidentally shown a second match; Ky.  As Cassia begins to question all that the Society decrees and dictates she begins to wonder just what kind of world is is when there are no choices left.

10. Dark in Death--  I have read all the books in this "In Death" series.  In the latest installment of her Eve Dallas books; Lieutenant Eve Dallas is investigating a string of murders based on a popular murder mystery book series.

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