Rewind: Looking Back at my 5 Star Reads of 2023
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I find star ratings quite tricky and stopped posting them on my Instagram as I’m so indecisive and often change my mind. I do however put star ratings for some books on my StoryGraph and Goodreads - especially if they made it to the very top spot. Me being me, when I finish a book on a high I sometimes rate it 5 stars when on reflection it’s actually a 4. Similarly, the more I think about some books and can’t get them out of my head, the more I realise that it deserved a higher rating. With that in mind, I present to you all 10 of the books I rated 5 stars in 2023, and whether my opinion still stands. This is a fairly high percentage given that I read a total of 39 books in 2023. For some of these books, I have since learned details about the authors which would have changed my opinion of the book had I been aware of their inspiration or political standing before reading. I’m not omitting them from this list as I want to be transparent, and will discuss these points when I get to those specific books. I think it’s important to reflect on these choices rather than hide them.
All opinions are my own.
1. The Poppy War by R.F Kuang
Fang Runin was orphaned by the Second Poppy War, and grew up in one of the poorest areas of a divided and opium ravaged country. Runin (Rin) studies to gain entry into an elite academy in order to leave her miserable life behind and train as a Sinegard warrior. In a journey of self discovery, Rin soon learns that her past and future is much more complex than she could ever have imagined. Conflict soon arises between the Nikara Empire and the Federation of Mugen. Battling with shamanistic powers and vengeful gods, Rin is thrust into the front lines and forced to make choices which will change the course of the war and alter her grip on her own humanity.
The Poppy War takes inspiration from the real life events of the Opium Wars and Second Sino-Japanese War. It is a heavy read with dark themes and some scenes that turned my stomach. I really advise reading the trigger warnings before venturing into this trilogy.
It took me a while to get through The Poppy War and that is because it is not a book that is meant to be whizzed through. Its world building is rich, and the history so dense that I felt the need to slow down and absorb every drop of it. I gave this book 5 stars because for me, not a word was wasted. Every sentence, every character development, felt integral to the plot. Rin is such an interesting character. She is heavily flawed, and utterly selfish and selfless simultaneously. She is unreliable and I love reading from the perspective of a character who gives you very little chance to process their choices and adjust to the decisions they make. She is spiteful, angry, vengeful, passionate, and impulsive. She’s incredibly difficult to like, and I loved her. I am so eager to get to the remainder of this series in the year to come.
2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a short story which takes place in a basement cafe in the backstreets of Tokyo. The cafe, Funiculi Funicula, once experienced a moment in the spotlight, deemed an urban legend with claims that the cafe had the ability to transport a person in time. Since, it has faded into myth as the people who fit the criteria to travel in time are so few and far between. This is due to the cafe’s strict and rather annoying set of rules:
1. The only people you may meet while back in the past are those who have visited the cafe.
2. No matter how hard you try while back in the past, you cannot change the present.
3. In order to go back in time you must sit in a specific seat.
4. Once back in the past, you must stay in the seat and not move from it.
5. You must drink the entire cup of coffee before it gets cold.
I gave this book 5 stars because it oozes nostalgia, emanating a softness that is derived in the empathy we feel for others - the humanness we have within us. It made me feel. I think that even if you had no similar experiences to the character’s stories you would still easily feel compassion for them. BTCGC explores the nature of humanity and our resilience, - our ‘strength to overcome’. While overall the book is a positive depiction of human nature, there is a beautifully bittersweet quality that leaves your chest aching.
3. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
On a morning in Tokyo, in seven different houses, mirrors begin to glow.
Seven children, each with their own battles and reasons to avoid school, step into the castle beyond the mirrors and find themselves competitors in a quest to have a single wish granted. It’s a race to uncover the secrets of the castle while making sure to keep their own, all while under the watchful eye of the bossy little girl in the mask - Wolf Queen.
I went into this book completely blind and was immediately captivated. Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a touching tale which hones in on the impact of bullying in schools and the mental health of the victims. This is a story that brings to the surface our innate need to belong, and focuses on the importance of friendships and sacrifices, and the feeling of being believed and understood.
We follow the story of a twelve year old girl named Kokoro. Though we see the world through her lens, I found that the other children in the story felt equally tangible and relatable. This book did plot twists so well, and so gut wrenchingly, which is why I had to give it 5 stars. At one point in particular my heart dropped into my stomach and the entire course of the story shifted. Lonely Castle is bittersweet, and warms and breaks your heart in equal measure. I truly adored this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a gentle fantasy which feels both high and low stakes. It’s both cosy and sobering. It makes 12-year old me feel thoroughly seen, and less alone.
4. Maame by Jessica George
‘Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi, but in my case, it means woman.’
All her life, Maddie has been told who she is, how to behave, where she fits in with her family and society. To her Ghanaian parents, she's Maame: the one who takes care of the family. The stand-in for an often absent mother. The primary carer for her father, who suffers from Parkinson's. She's the responsible sister, the quiet friend. The one who keeps the peace - and the secrets. It’s time for Maddie to find her feet and her voice. But what will she have to lose in order to find her place at the table?
I listened to the audiobook of Maame and it was utterly gorgeous - in fact it had me sobbing on the train from Chapter 1. Maame follows the life of Maddie as she navigates life in London in her twenties - the trials and tribulations of dating, friendships, flatshares, family, loss, and love. The exploration of these themes resonated heavily with me, and honestly made me feel seen in a city where loneliness is rife. I absolutely adored listening to Maame on Audible and highly recommend the audiobook, although I would love to have a physical copy on my bookshelf one day! I absolutely stick by my 5 star rating for this one - an honest, hilarious, and heart-wrenching read.
Review coming soon
5. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
After her mother dies, Bree doesn’t want anything to do with her childhood home. She enrolls in a residential programme for gifted highschool kids and believes she has finally escaped the darkness that seems to be following her. That is until she witnesses a magical attack on her first night there. Bree, a black teenage girl, discovers that her life is entangled with a mysterious and historically white (and male) society.
I think this book ended on such a high that I rated it 5 stars whereas in actuality, it probably at most a 4. It’s such an enjoyable read and the final 10 chapters had my heart in my throat, however it isn’t without its flaws. In retrospect, the rating was as a result of the flash bang of a conclusion rather than a reflective measure of the book as a whole. And that’s totally okay!! We love a mood rating, right!(?) I did still really enjoy his book and am looking forward to getting to Bloodmarked this year.
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life in a tiny house with only a devious cat, Calliope, and his old records for company. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of magical children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
I went into THITCS completely blind and was absolutely charmed by the story and the characters. This book felt like going home, like warm sun and the sand between your toes, like the smell of pine and sea salt. I was enamoured and utterly delighted. However, since reading this book I have learnt that Klune drew inspiration from the Sixties Scoop, a chilling part of history that I was never taught about: ‘Throughout the 1960s and onwards, many Indigenous children [in Canada] were taken from their communities and adopted into predominantly white, middle class families throughout North America. The Sixties Scoop occurred not because the government was genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of Indigenous children, but primarily as an extension of the racist policies against Indigenous communities meant to assimilate Indigenous children into Western society and strip them from their culture and communities.’ [The Indigenous Foundation]. The use of a cultural genocide as a springboard for a whimsical fantasy story which, with context, ultimately champions the white ‘saviour’, does not sit right with me and since learning about the root of Klune’s inspiration I am deeply saddened to say that I would no longer recommend this book to readers nor endorse Klune’s work. I urge people to research The Sixties Scoop as this is a part of history that was completely eliminated from my education.
7. If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends - a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago. As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off - villain, hero, tyrant, temptress - though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else's story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life.
This book sent English-Lit-grad-Rosie absolutely feral. A book which is 100% for the Shakespeare girlies, this dark academia murder mystery thriller, drenched in drama both on and off the stage, was one of the biggest hits for me in 2023. A day doesn’t pass when I’m not thinking about these characters, their archetypes, the Macbeth performance, the lake, the ending. I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for something to become totally entranced by, a reader who wants to read between the lines and obsess over format, themes, and find themselves analysing every word. A firm favourite.
8. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
In 1914 a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young soldier experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.
This is anti-war literature at its finest and brutalist. All Quiet is based on Remarque’s own experiences as a German soldier on the front line in WW1, and follows the perspective of 19 year old Paul Baumer. The book was censored by the Americans to make it more digestible, and banned and burned by the Nazis for being defeatist. The images described are graphic but they aren’t there to be sensationalist - they’re there to press the fact that these were images seared into the minds of boys and men who would live with them for the remainder of their lives. The book follows the story of Paul and his friends, encouraged into war as boys by their school teachers. As Paul loses his young friends along the way, we are reminded that war is nothing but a cruel waste of life. I think it’s interesting that ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is not a direct translation from the original German. The direct is ‘Nothing New in the West’. I find this translation to be even more hard hitting as Paul’s story isn’t unique, it is one of millions. The front line barely moved for the duration of WW1 - nothing changed and people died and suffered unimaginable horrors throughout. The biggest takeaway from this book is that people are people, no matter where they’re from. Our humanity blurs the distinctions between sides. It is devastating that this is a lesson we as a species are yet to learn. This is a book that will stick with me forever.
9. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
It is the morning of the reaping for the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are stacked against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus must battle between his feelings for his doomed tribute and the need to survive.
The prize for the book that took me most by surprise in 2023 goes to….🏆
I’m going to be really frank and honest here, when this book was first published in 2020 I turned my nose up at it. ‘Why on earth would I want to read about Coriolanus Snow?’ The Hunger Games series was finished, and it was perfect - there was no need to drag it out. I thought it was a J.K-esque money grabbing ploy. I thought it would be an utter waste of my time. And I stand before you humbly corrected. What I didn’t anticipate was the nuances TBOSAS would bring to The Hunger Games. That, and that my perception of the games and the future president wouldn’t be changed as such - they both remain irrevocably evil - but that I would gain a further understanding into the mechanics of each. This was the most juicy, delectable treat - diving into Snow’s unhinged mind and picking through his inner monologues was both unnerving and delightful. In my personal opinion, this is the only prequel that has ever mattered.
Review coming soon
10. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Sam and Sadie meet as children in a hospital, bonding over video games and finding solace in each other. Their friendship is fractured after a betrayal and their lives go their separate ways.
Years later they run into each other at a train station, and their friendship has a chance to grow again.
Through their mutual love of gaming they experience international success, but it doesn’t go untainted. This is a story full of tragedy and heartache, but it is also brimming with love and friendship.
These characters were so real. I felt their pain and their blooms of love for each other. Zevin touches on a myriad of social issues and constructs, and at the time of reading I thought each of these were dealt with so well. This is a story about human relationships set on a background of pixels and coding. It’s about channeling emotion into art. I, like many, was captivated by the world of Tomorrow x 3, and I was therefore gutted to discover that Zevin has been accused of plagiarism by Brenda Romero, a game creator. It is disappointing to see that in writing a book which discusses women struggling to receive credit for their work, Zevin herself failed to credit Romero. Zevin also refers to the violent displacement of Palestinians, The Nakba, as ‘the founding of Israel.’ I am disappointed in myself for not clocking this upon reading and it has taught me to be more aware of what I am reading and consuming.
A book has to really hit every emotion to make it to the top spot. Upon my first read, I thought each of these books did that. It has been incredibly interesting and humbling to go back through and reassess my feelings for these 10 books. I’m pleased to be able to stand by most of my ratings and to recommend some wonderful reads with my whole chest.