Books of 2017

As the year starts to draw to its end, it's time to reflect on all the books I've read this year, and to pick my favourites.

If you're looking for a book to curl up with when everything gets a bit much over Christmas, then hopefully among the following 10 books - all released for the first time in the UK in 2017 - you'll find something to your tastes.

American War by Omar El Akkad (Picador)
This is the story of Sarat, who is a young girl when the second American Civil War breaks out. She is forced to move into a refugee camp, which sets her on a path to becoming a weapon of mass destruction. Utterly compelling, I had a huge book hangover after I finished this.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (Hodder & Stoughton)

This YA novel brought me such joy - it's the tale of a young Indian girl pursuing her love for technology and falling in love along the way. When Dimple Met Rishi is fun, funny, and shows that love stories don't always have to centre white people.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (Bloomsbury)

This book really lives up to the hype. The form takes a short while to get to grips with, but persevere, this is an engaging story, full of great characters and emotional highs and lows. It just happens to be extremely cleverly structured.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (Little, Brown)

This is Ng's second novel, and I absolutely adored it. Little Fires Everywhere is a look at a privileged society, a family drama, and a mystery. And Ng's observations about family and race are really, really smart.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Viking)

The only thing I don't like about Gyasi's Homegoing is that it didn't get enough recognition on awards' shortlists. Homegoing follows the descendants of two half-sisters - one a slave, one married to a slave owner. Effecting and absorbing, Homegoing is a stunning read.

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (HarperCollins)

Psychological thrillers are 10-a-penny, but Pinborough really takes the genre to another level with this unsettling novel, following a woman who gets drawn into a friendship with the wife of her boss, who also happens to be someone she's sleeping with. But there's something not quite right...

Swimmer Among the Stars by Kanishk Tharoor (Picador)
This short story collection is beautiful and charming - the story behind the title of the collection is heartbreaking and poetic. More fables than short stories, Swimmer Among the Stars gives you lots to think about.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Walker Books)

Taking inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement, Thomas weaves the compelling tale of a teenager who witnesses police shooting dead a black teenager, and the way the waves of that ripple through the communities she is part of.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Bloomsbury)
Required reading for anyone interested in race in Britain, and especially those who think Britain is post-racist. Eddo-Lodge writes clearly and succinctly about how people of colour are systematically discriminated against, and why a solution can't be sought until white people learn to engage.

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell (Tinder Press)
On the surface this is a book about death, as O'Farrell recounts 17 brushes with death. But this breathtaking read is really about living and it's completely life-affirming.

What were your favourite 2017 books? Let me know in the comments.