This is what I believe might be the start of a new series here on The Best of It: Three Books That…
During my hiatus from blogging, I kept thinking back to all the great books I shared in my My Week in Books posts, and especially through thinking about those, I realized how much I’ve missed sharing with you. But I wanted something different, a focus on some theme or concept that struck me, without the constraint of a timeframe.
These will show up when the time is right instead.
Here are three books that took me apart and put me back together. They may be books I’ve mentioned in other posts, but for this purpose, they fit together. If you need to read a book like this, here are three for you to choose from. Except you ought to read them all.
The Game of Love and Death, by Martha Brockenbrough
Each word in this exquisite book paints a picture. Each character in this exquisite book steps off the page. The inevitability of each act, each consequence, is heart-wrenching, and I could not stop reading.
The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The cruelty dealt to Ada, the main character, broke me. And it didn’t only break me the first time she endured some piece of it, but every single time. I listened to the excellent audio version narrated by Jane Entwhistle and even so, I sobbed aloud more than once, and particularly through the… end (oh, almost spoiled it there). I’m not accustomed to crying aloud when listening – that usually happens with print books – but oh, this one took my heart.
The Way Back from Broken, by Amber J. Keyser
This is a book about characters who have been taken apart, and who somehow discover a way through, each one for themselves. So many moments made me fear for their ability to rise up from the ashes, and yet…
Three books, all for young people. Each one shows the way through fear, and pain, and grief. And each shows the way back, with beautiful stories you all should read.
The Best of It 