Hello everyone,
Every year in December, I like to look back and share lots of top five lists based on my last 12 months of reading. I am a bit late starting it in 2023, but here we go again!
First of all, I am reflecting on the most powerful books I have read. These are basically the ones that explore the most sensitive subject matters, contain strong overarching messages, or elicit a profound response from me as the reader.
To be honest, there were not loads of standouts for 2023 in this category, but still enough for a top five.
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The writing style and atmosphere made this book so immersive, but the horrors that are unleashed upon a group of divided women in historical Norway are so tragic that it genuinely moves you. Some of the events towards the end are quite harrowing, even more so when they are inspired by real events.
It is also effective because of the characterisation, as you are really made to connect with Ursa and Maren and their relationship.
If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude
This is a book with heaps of powerful and positive LGBTQIA+ representation from across the spectrum, using an end of the world concept not only to bring together two teenage girls who are in love, but gain the acceptance of their parents. It struck a chord with me and so many others on the blog tour.
The Book Of You by Claire Kendal
While I did not love the writing style and format of this book, there is no doubt that the subject matter and the way it is portrayed packs a punch. It focuses on a stalking victim and how the offender’s behaviour escalates from unhealthy obsession to violence. The message that the author was trying to convey was very strong indeed.
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
This is one of the last books I am finishing this year, listening on audio. The sequel to the heartrending The Tattooist Of Auschwitz, it follows Cilka who went through a terrifying ordeal in the aforementioned book and finds herself persecuted again. Heather Morris writes these stories so well, but they are unsettling by their nature.
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
Another book I finished recently, this is an uncomfortable read but it tells an incredibly compelling story about a group of women who work at a brothel in ancient Pompeii. To say they are treated like second class citizens is a major understatement; more like mere commodities. That in itself makes it sad while being a total page turner.
Have you read any of these books? What are some of the most powerful books you have read in 2023? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading 🙂
Stephen Reads Books 