Mid Year Freak Out Tag: 2020 edition

Hello, friends and foe! I hope all is well. Today, I’m doing the Mid Year Freak Out Tag! I saw everyone doing this tag a couple of weeks ago and was feeling left out, so I decided to hop on the bandwaggon two weeks later and do it myself (I actually wrote this a while ago and just never posted it).

So, without further ado, here is the 2020 Mid Year Freak Out Tag!

Best book you’ve read in 2020

I’m going to have to go with Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it, and I read it in about a day. It was so good, and ended up meaning a lot more to me than I was expecting.

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Best sequel you’ve read in 2020

I actually haven’t read a single sequel yet this year, which honestly isn’t all that surprising for me. I do plan on reading a couple in the next few weeks, though, so stay tuned for that!

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New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

There are a few I’m excited for. I cannot wait to read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown, and The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya. They all sound amazing and right up my alley, and are all gorgeous. I’m also really excited for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, despite it being slightly controversial.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I don’t think it’s out yet, but I am SO excited for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. It sounds so interesting, and I actually really like the cover despite Twitter thinking it’s boring.

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Biggest disappointment

I think I’ll go with This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I was expecting to love this book because it seems exactly like something I would love, but I ended up giving it two stars and almost DNF-ing it. I just did not like the writing style at all. It was so hard to get through.

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Biggest surprise

I have a couple. Middlegame by Seanan McGuire completely blew me away. I’ve read one of McGuire’s books before and enjoyed it, but wasn’t amazed. But I was so invested in the characters and their story. I loved this book so much. The other book is Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. I knew nothing about this book, so I went in with no expectations. And I ended up giving this five stars because it was perfect and I think everyone should read it. 

Favourite new author (debut or new to you)

In terms of new-to-me authors, Carmen Maria Machado is definitely a standout and I will absolutely be reading everything she writes. In terms of debut authors, Rory Power was a 2019 debut, but I read her debut this year, so we’re counting it. I am definitely intrigued enough in her ideas and writing and will be reading her next book for sure!

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Newest fictional crush

I don’t really have fictional crushes, so next!

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Newest favourite character

I really enjoyed Maia from Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim. She’s a really great main character and narrator, and I normally hate female leads in YA fantasy because authors just can’t seem to write them, but I really loved her.

Book that made you cry

Station Eleven made me cry. (cw: parent death) My mom passed away in March, and a few weeks before, we were talking about what happens after death. She said she imagined it was like the sensation you feel when you wake up from a really realistic dream. A month after she passed away, to the day, I was finishing Station Eleven, and Dr. Eleven is talking to his nemesis about dying and asks, “what was it like for you, at the very end?”, to which the nemesis responds, “exactly like waking up from a dream”. So that made me cry.

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Book that made you happy

Check, Please! By Ngozi Ukazu was so sweet and cute and I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it.

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Most beautiful book you’ve bought or received

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim is so gorgeous, but I technically got that for Christmas 2019. So I guess we’ll go with The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson. My best friend Charlotte got it for me for my birthday/Christmas and it’s so pretty and I’m so excited to read it.

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What book(s) do you need to read before the end of the year?

I have four left on my 2020 backlist TBR: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. I’m excited for all of them and will hopefully be reading them soon!

So there we have it! Some of the books I’ve read and loved or not loved this year! Have you read any of these? What’s been your favourite book of this year? Biggest disappointment? Let me know!

Ally xx