September 2024 Superlatives

September is one of my favourite months, and I always feel that it offers a new beginning with the start of the academic year. This mood is reflected in the books that I have most enjoyed reading this month. Although some deal with difficult times, I found all of them ultimately cheering or positive.

Most Impressive Novel

The Booker longlist has not always madly appealed to me in recent years, but I am much more interested in this year’s selection.  I have read a few and enjoyed them, but my favourite so far has been Yael Van Der Wouden’s The Safekeep. Set in the Netherlands at the start of the sixties, this definitely has a fair amount of suffering in it, but I found it redemptive and hopeful by the end. It is a compelling read and I was very impressed by it, particularly as it is a debut novel.

Most Interesting Thriller

I have started to get more interested in thrillers this year, and I really liked Harriet Crawley’s The Translator. It is set in a very slightly different world with different leaders of Russia and Britain but is basically the same as our world apart from that. There is a good amount of action which works to an exciting climax, and I appreciated the inclusion of interesting relationships and characters.

Most Enthralling Fantasy Novel

Alix E Harrow’s Starling House is an intriguing book which can be described as a Gothic fairytale or romance, and contains elements of fantasy and horror. Opal is in her twenties and is desperate to help her younger brother escape their disadvantaged background. She takes on a job as a cleaner at a decaying haunted mansion in Kentucky. I loved her developing relationships with both the house and its owner. I found it hard to put it down.

Most Positive Non-fiction Book

Books about climate change can be very depressing and imply that we are doomed. Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World, however, argues that while there are serious problems, we should not give up hope. She provides facts and figures to show that some situations are improving, and encourages her readers to feel that they can still do something to help. I also found her style engaging and whizzed through the book.

Best Children’s Book

Anne Fine has been writing children’s books for years and is probably best known for Madam Doubtfire and Flour Babies. She has just written another one, On the Wall (10+), which I think is as good as both of those, though I feel it would appeal most to a thoughtful child. It follows a class through their first year at secondary school, and focuses on Finley who is happy in himself, and, almost inadvertently, helps both fellow students and teachers. It cheered me up!

Most Entertaining YA Novel

Lex Croucher’s Gwen and Art Are Not in Love was one of my favourite YA books last year so I was keenly anticipating Not for the Faint of Heart (12+). This draws on the Robin Hood legend, and is concerned with his granddaughter and her fellow Merry Men, including Clem, a healer they kidnap. It took me a little while to get into it, but I then found it  a very good read with lovely characters and much dry humour.

I hope one or more of these appeals to you. There are so many good books out at the moment.

Happy Reading!

Frances

Please note that I have taken the idea of ‘superlatives’ from the excellent book blogs Elle Thinks (https://ellethinks.wordpress.com/) and Laura Tisdall (https://drlauratisdall.wordpress.com/).