Every year, I try to read a few new books. These five were my favorites that made me think differently about human nature, childhood, and the laws that govern us.
By Jayne Turner – Staff Writer
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
This novel is long but oh so captivating. It follows the lives of two twin brothers, Dominick and Thomas. It centers on Dominick as he struggles to care for Thomas after he has a schizophrenic break. He grapples with family secrets, trauma, and his own past.
This book is not a light read. It discusses mental health, dysfunction, and the complex relationship between identical twins who could not be more dissimilar. At least, Dominick thinks they are opposites. However, he will come to find that despite Thomas’s mental illness, their upbringing brought them to similar places in life.
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb is known for writing about heavy topics, and this is no exception. This book is a coming-of-age story, but with dark elements. We follow the main character, Dolores Price, from age four to age forty, where we learn about the childhood trauma that led to her chronic mental health issues throughout her life. She is a character that you’ll hate at first, but learn to root for.
This one is shorter than I Know This Much is True, so it might be a better place to start if you’re unsure about the themes in the book. Wally Lamb is one of my favorite authors, and I have liked all of his books that I have read; these are just two of my favorites.
Check out: Books That Changed My Life
Madapple by Christina Meldrum
This book is fantastically complex and written like prose. It was extremely thought-provoking, left me wondering about various topics that I don’t often think about, like theology, botany, magi, and the laws that govern what is considered “normal.”
Protagonist Aslaug is anything but normal. This book follows her journey from childhood in isolation with her mother to being a teenager forced to think for herself for the first time after her mother’s sudden death. This story is overarched by courtroom scenes where Aslaug is being tried for her mother’s death. As you read, you develop your own theories about what happened and how.
Notes on an Execution by Dayna Kukafka
This is a story that centers on serial killer Ansel Packer’s final 12 hours before his execution. However, rather than being told from his perspective, it is told through the eyes of the women that he knew in his life. These perspectives are those of his mother, his wife’s twin sister, and the detective who hunted him down.
Told across time and place, this story goes to show that there was little reason for Packer to become a killer; he just ended up that way. In a stark contrast to the romanticized accounts of serial killers that attempt to humanize them, this book shows senseless killing through a woman’s eyes. This isn’t your typical murder mystery: we know that he killed those women, we just want to figure out why.
You may also like these stories that will change your life philosophy.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
The fifth book in the beloved Hunger Games series did not disappoint. As fans of the series know, Suzanne Collins releases these books when she wants to make commentary on the current state of the world, which is evident in this book.
This book finally reveals the story of Haymitch’s Hunger Games, the 50th annual games. This year, twice as many tributes are selected, meaning twice the children are slaughtered. This book fills in a lot of plot points that we only hear about in the original trilogy, like Wiress and Beetee, Haymitch’s connection to Katniss’s family, and Effie.
I highly recommend reading this book if you are a fan of the original series! It made me cry.
If you’re anything like me, you are curious about psychology, human nature, and dark themes. These books all perfectly fit that criteria for me, and I hope you enjoy them if you give them a read!
