Best Book Lists for 2017

Looking for book gift ideas?   Try some of these “Best of the Year” lists:

Notable books from the New York Times: There is also a top ten list on their site.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/books/review/100-notable-books-2017.html   

From School Library Journal: http://slj.com/bestof2017/ Adult books for teens and much more. 

http://www.slj.com/2017/11/reviews/best-of/best-adult-books-4-teens-2017/#_  

Plus Publishers Weekly:  https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2017  And there is a children’s list which splits into picture books, middle grade and young adult.

Or Kirkus Reviews https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/best-of-2017/section/fiction/lists/  which also has a separate list of best teen books

And Goodreads has released its Choice Awards across several categories for 2017: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2017  

LibraryReads: Primarily for Public libraries, listed top favorites for 2017.

http://libraryreads.org/favorite-favorites-2017/   monthly updates throughout the year

NationalBook Awards: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2017.html#.WjQcjOHz6Xd  

Chicago Public Library Recommendations -- with suggestions for all ages: https://www.chipublib.org/news/cpl-best-of-the-best-books-2017/

National PublicRadio lists 374 titles and shows their covers in a fun, interactive way. https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2017/    PBS’NewsHour bookshelf has interviews with many authors.

Enjoy!!! Happy Reading!!!

Huck Finn’s America by Andrew Levy

I already have a list of teachers who are waiting to read the newly published Huck Finn’s America: Mark Twain and the Era that Shaped his Masterpiece by Andrew Levy.  Once I began enthusiastically recommending this scholarly work they, too, were excited by the premise it explores regarding the idea of childhood and youthful violence in relation to Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Andrew Levy has extensively researched this topic, providing over 100 pages of notes.  Levy provides a fresh, engaging, and thought-provoking perspective on Twain’s influences and his views on society, including racial politics and children. I know that the US History and American Studies teachers and students who read Huck Finn will be attracted by the parallels to today’s social issues in addition to the varied information shared about the life and times of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain.I am looking forward to the conversations which this book will most certainly prompt.

Regarding another title related to curriculum (several classes read The Other Wes Moore) and full of inspiring adventures, don’t forget that Wes Moore will be speaking at New Trier this Wednesday evening January 14th at 7pm.  More details and comments on his new book, The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters, are available on our companion blog.

As Far as the Eye Can See by Robert Bausch

I initially chose Far as the Eye Can See because I love the cover, I was looking for a “western” that might appeal to students for Junior Theme, and other reviews compared the narrator’s voice to characters created by Mark Twain. While I would still tend to recommend Pulitzer Prize winning Lonesome Dove by McMurtry as the western to read for Junior Theme, I will suggest that students consider Far as the Eye Can See. If they are willing to be patient, they will come to appreciate and look upon the narrator, former Union soldier Bobby Hale, with affection.

He travels for a spell with a wagon train, decides to live as a trapper for several years, and learns even more about himself after accidentally shooting a young, part Indian girl called Ink.  Hale has a unique perspective: "There ain't no use in thinking about the future too much because of what it does to what's going on here and now." For me, it took some time (at least a third of the book), to feel connected to the story and the characters and that may be too long for most students.  However, they will find rich themes (survival and self-discovery, war, genocide, race relations, even gender expectations) which they can relate to today.

Far as the Eye Can See by award-winning Robert Bausch has been named one of the best books of 2014 by Amazon Editors and received starred review from Kirkus.

Added November 30:  This year is the 150th anniversary of Sand Creek Massacre and numerous articles and reflections are being published by The Wall Street Journal "My Great-Great-Grandfather and an American Indian Tragedy", The Denver Post "Searching for Culpability 150 Years Later" and via PBS' website. Or this local production from Rocky Mountain PBS:

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman relates the changes in America from the early 1900's through the 1980’s by focusing on an immigrant child who grows up to lead a business empire.  

Fleeing persecution of Jews in Russia, Malka Treynovsky mistakenly becomes Malka Bialystoker at Ellis Island, but that is only the beginning of her transformation.  This trusting, naive child morphs into a shrewd, scheming businesswoman - under indictment for tax evasion -  named Lillian Dunkle.  

Like my own grandparents and in-laws who came to this country as immigrants, Malka/Lillian works hard and seeks a better life for herself and her family.  Along the way, her life is touched by major events: New York City’s tenements and a crippling accident; WWI and the Spanish flu; the Great Depression; WWII; even 50's early TV shows for kids and the post-war growth of "fast food" and franchises in America.  

Susan Jane Gilman thoroughly researched this historical novel and parallels the real life "rags to riches" story of Tom Carvel, a Greek immigrant who revolutionized the ice cream industry. It was fascinating to read about the development of ice cream flavors and the invention of soft serve ice cream, but the most surprising idea to me was that in the 1940's ice cream was suspected of causing polio. More factual information is available in 97 Orchard: an Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in one New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman.

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street does feel a little long in places (512 pages!), but this "darkly comic" novel has potential as a Junior Theme selection. Certainly, it addresses the question of "What does it mean to be American?" I found myself wondering how Lillian, who is such a multi-faceted character, could be so street-smart and a-moral while also being so trusting and repeatedly making poor choices.  Her insecurity is understandable, however, when we see how she is abandoned again and again by her families. She is crippled both physically and emotionally, craving acceptance and yet ultimately rejects those who truly care for her.

An ideal choice for book groups, The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street offers much to discuss and debate: Who was the strongest character?  Lillian? Her husband? Someone else? Was there a hero? Who really ran the ice cream empire? Were the characters fooling others or themselves? And how does this reflect America’s transformation over the same time period? Had the country become "small-minded and ingrown and frightened" or not? Gilman raises that last issue and explores it in the accompanying discussion guide.   If you want to be inspired by grit, entrepreneurial spirit, and resilience, to explore questions of ethics, and like strong female characters in historical family sagas, order up The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street for a delicious summertime treat.