I’m very stingy with five-star ratings. That privilege is reserved for those books that really strike a chord with me, the ones where I’m flying through them but at every other sentence or so I have to stop and reread to savor the words. Last year I read one book that was five-star, Never Let Me Go by Kazuro Ishiguro. This year I have had an exceptional year and have read four so far that I rated that high.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Getaway Car by Ann Patchett
And White Horse by Alex Adams. I love a mixture of genres, especially literature and magic. Well this one was science fiction and literature…and wow. The writing I just wanted to drink up, lap it up like a kitten with milk. I spent a lot longer reading this book than I normally would have because (well, it scared me because it’s creepy) but also because I kept rereading certain hauntingly beautiful sentences.
A man-made virus changes the world, along with men changing the weather, and everything goes to crap. All while we watch a woman search desperately in this messed up world for her lost love. It was so devastating and thriller-ish and well-developed and simply good. I think this one will stick in my mind for a long time.