The Editors at Amazon recently released their picks for the "2014 Best Books of the Year: The Top 100 in Print Format." The number one spot goes to Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.
Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee who are determined that Lydia fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue - in Marilyn’s case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James’s case that Lydia be popular at school. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart.
"...long-hidden, quietly explosive truths, weighted by issues of race and gender, slowly bubble to the surface of Ng's sensitive, absorbing novel and reverberate long after its final page. Ng's emotionally complex debut novel sucks you in like a strong current and holds you fast until its final secrets surface." (Kirkus Reviews)
Here are the books, in order, that round out Amazon's top 10 Best Books in Print 2014. (Click on the covers to place your holds.):
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: (Historical Fiction)
A blind French girl on the run from the German occupation and a German orphan-turned-Resistance tracker struggle with respective beliefs after meeting on the Brittany coast.
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides: (History)
Recounts the ill-fated nineteenth-century naval expedition to the North Pole under the leadership of George Washington De Long that resulted in the sinking of the USS Jeannette and the crew's epic struggle for survival in the harsh and unforgiving Arctic environment.
The Short and Tragic life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs: (Biography)
Traces a young man's effort to escape the dangers of the streets and his own nature after graduating from Yale, describing his youth in violent 1980s Newark, efforts to navigate two fiercely insular worlds and life-ending drug deals.
Redeployment by Phil Klay: (War Stories/Fiction/Short Stories)
A collection of short stories by a former Marine captain and Iraq veteran focuses on the complexities of life for soldiers on the front lines and after, exploring themes ranging from brutality and faith to guilt and survival in such stories as "After Action Report" and "Money as Weapons System."
Revival by Stephen King: (Suspense/Horror Fiction)
Years after a charismatic minister is banished in the wake of a faith-shattering tragedy, a heroin-addicted rock-and-roll guitarist from the same hometown reconnects with the man and forges a terrible pact.
Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest of Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman: (Non-fiction)
The mysterious disappearance of Michael Rockefeller in New Guinea in 1961 has kept the world and his powerful, influential family guessing for years. Now, Carl Hoffman uncovers startling new evidence that finally tells the full, astonishing story.
The Book of Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez: (Fiction)
Moving from Mexico to America when their daughter suffers a near-fatal accident, the Riveras confront cultural barriers, their daughter's difficult recovery and her developing relationship with a Panamanian boy.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: (Mystery/Suspense)
Follows three mothers, each at a crossroads, and their potential involvement in a riot at a school trivia night that leaves one parent dead in what appears to be a tragic accident, but which evidence shows might have been premeditated.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: (Science Fiction/Time Travel)
The sudden death of a Hollywood actor during a production of "King Lear" marks the beginning of the world's dissolution in a story told at various past and future times from the perspectives of the actor and four of his associates.
To see the full list of Amazon's "2014 Best Books of the Year: The Top 100 in Print Format," click here.
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