My Two Favorite Books of the Year: Gone Girl and The Round House

I read both of these books this fall/winter, and I've found myself recommending them to several people since.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, was a big hit this year. I often shy away from such books because I usually am more critical of them than the general public (it's the English teacher in me). However, I devoured this book right along with the rest of America.

Gone Girl follows Nick and Amy's relationship in a very circuitous fashion. It starts with their five year wedding anniversary, when Amy suddenly disappears. Where is she? Is she alive? What did Nick have to do with it? There are so many twists and turns in this novel that my head was practically spinning by the end. It was very hard to predict what would happen next, which I love. Without revealing too much, I can say that there is a change in narrator, and that really helps the reader see a fuller picture of what's going on. There is already a movie in the works - Reese Witherspoon is producing and possibly starring in - so read it before the movie ruins the book for you! I give Gone Girl 9.5 out of 10 stars

The other book I loved this year was The Round House by Louise Erdrich. Not only is the story engrossing, but the way Erdrich has with words left me going back to reread paragraphs and sentences just to catch the pure beauty of them as much as I could.

The Round House is narrated by Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy who lives with his parents on a North Dakota reservation. When Joe's mother is brutally assaulted and nearly killed, Joe decides he needs to find the killer. The twist is that the assault could have happened on tribal land, state land, or federal land, and the race of the perpetrator could also muddle the situation.

The way Erdrich shows the reader about life on the reservation seems very realistic, and I would have loved to use this book in my classroom if it wasn't for the very sexual nature of it. While I can't recommend it to my students for that reason, I most definitely recommend it to anyone college-age or older. The storyline grabs you, but Erdrich's poetic language is also reason enough to sink in. I give this novel 9 out of 10.