Best Books of the Year: Graphic Novels and Genre Fiction
At the end of the year, Toronto Public Library staff members select their favourite reading experiences of the past 12 months. There are so many great responses that we end up with a series of blog posts. In this installment, our staff members share their favourite graphic novels and genre fiction of 2017.
Graphic Novels
"Graphic novels are not traditional literature, but that does not mean they are second-rate. Images are a way of writing. When you have the talent to be able to write and to draw, it seems a shame to choose one. I think it's better to do both." – Marjane Satrapi
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"Boundless" by Jillian Tamaki Elaine recommends Tamaki's collection of stories about the lives of contemporary women. |
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Descender series written by Jeff Lemire; illustrated by Dustin Nguyen; lettered and designed by Steve Wand Kathryn recommends the Descender series, which she describes as "a graphic novel series about a young boy-robot named Tim-21 trying to survive in a world where androids have all been outlawed. The illustrations are super gorgeous!" Regular Print Descender is also available for download on Hoopla. |
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Giant Days series created and written by John Allison; illustrated by Lissa Treiman; colours by Whitney Cogar; letters by Jim Campbell Susan, Esther and Daisy meet when they start at university. Although the three are very different, they bond easily and help each other through the ups and downs of student life. Elaine and M. both recommend this series. Regular Print Giant Days is also available for download on Hoopla. |
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Octopus Pie series by Meredith Gran Des'ree describes it like this: "It is a graphic novel series about a bunch of 20-somethings navigating post-college life in New York City. The series starts as more of a comedy focusing on grumpy work-focused Eve dealing with her new stoner roommate Hanna. But as the series goes on, it starts to focus on various reoccurring characters and becomes more introspective. As someone who is just entering their twenties, I found that I was able to relate to the characters and learn a lot from their experiences. It also acted as a great reminder that graphic novels can both have amazing artwork and provide compelling storylines, especially outside of the DC and Marvel universes." Regular Print Octopus Pie is also available for download on Hoopla. |
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"One Hundred Nights of Hero" by Isabel Greenberg Following the tradition of "The Arabian Nights", a maid named Hero must tell a story every night for 100 nights in order protect her lover Cherry from a nefarious plot cooked up between Cherry's husband and his friend. Sarah loved the powerful women in the book. |
Genre Fiction
"Sure, I knew the differences between a space opera and a hard-boiled detective story and a historical novel…but I never cared about such differences. It seemed to me, then as now, that there are good stories and bad stories, and that was the only distinction that truly mattered." – George R. R. Martin
Thrillers and Mysteries
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"Conclave" by Robert Harris After the sudden death of the pope, cardinals gather for the negotiations, political machinations and rituals that will determine who the successor will be. Marie and Despina both enjoyed this thrilling and compelling novel. Regular Print |
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The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley Donna recommends the whole series: "If you have never read the Flavia de Luce (that’s Flavia with an eh) books, you are in for a wildly hilarious treat. Canadian author Alan Bradley has introduced us to one of the great comic characters of literature, I do believe! "The first book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, introduces our quirky little hero and her highly eccentric family, and the house that is, in many ways, a main character. Flavia comes across her first murder, you see, at the ripe old age of 11. A rogue chemistry genius, Flavia spends her days plotting revenge on her dastardly sisters, whizzing around on Gladys, her bicycle, and figuring out the solution to the dead person in the garden. She is so clever, so wildly impressed with her cunning, and so devoid of common social skills that you will laugh out loud at the situations into which she gets herself. Flavia is one of the great delights of my reading life." Regular Print The books are available in other formats. Consult with staff for more information. |
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"The Girl Before" by J. P. Delaney Jane is looking for a new beginning following a trauma and the house on Folgate Street looks perfect. The award-winning, cutting edge, high tech home provides all the best in comfort and security. It also comes with a very strict set of rules enforced by the architect. Everything seems fine to Jane until she learns that the previous tenant died in the house and she decides to investigate. Karoline selected this book as her best of 2017. Regular Print |
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"The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel" by Anthony Horowitz Marie writes: "Prolific author and screenwriter Horowitz presents the first official followup to the last Sherlock Holmes case. A ripping yarn, especially engaging read by Derek Jacobi on our eaudiobook platform." |
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"The Magpie Murders" by Anthony Horowitz Susan Ryland, an editor, is working on the latest novel from mystery writer Alan Conway when a crime occurs in her real life. She begins to sense a connection between the manuscript and the real crime. Shelagh calls it "an inventive mystery within a mystery". Regular Print |
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"Parting Shot" by Linwood Barclay A young woman is killed by a drunk driver who is given a light sentence. Citizens in the small town are appalled and begin a campaign of harassment against the driver. Private Investigator Cal Weaver is called in to protect the driver. Recommended by Elsa. |
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"What's Left Behind" by Gail Bowen In the sixteenth installment of the Joanne Kilbourn Shreve series, Joanne's son's wedding is interrupted when the maid of honour's unbalanced ex-boyfriend arrives. Shubha recommends this book and other titles in the series. |
Speculative Fiction
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"All Systems Red" by Martha Wells A sentient robot rues the day it murdered the people it was meant to protect and tries to be a better bot. Jane calls it "funny and too short." |
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"Artemis" by Andy Weir From the author of "The Martian", this humorous novel takes place in Artemis, a vacation destination on the Moon. Jazz Bashara works in Artemis as a courier, and, unofficially, as a smuggler. When one ambitious caper goes terribly awry, Jazz must figure out how to fix the situation before she is permanently exiled to Earth. Recommended by Kelli. Regular Print |
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"An Excess Male" by Maggie Shen King In 2030 in China, the government's One Child policy has resulted in an overpopulation of men. In order to maintain Chinese purity, the government wants to prevent the importation of foreign brides, so has made polygamy legal. A woman can be legally married to three men simultaneously. The main character Wei Gao is 40 and has the potential to join May-Ling, Hann and XX as a third husband. Recommended by Elaine. |
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"Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophesies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman The end of the world is coming – next Saturday, just before dinner, actually – unless angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley can stop it; they like life on Earth and would rather skip the war between good and evil. The forces of light and darkness gather and prepare for battle – just one problem, no one can find the Antichrist. Recommended by Paula. |
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"Lovecraft County" by Matt Ruff Kate writes that this book offers "magical horror that borrows from Lovecraftian terrors but never lets you forget that the REAL horror for a black family in the 50s is Jim Crow America. I've noticed a trend recently of people writing Lovecraftian fiction deliberately from positions or perspectives of marginalized groups (The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson) which I absolutely love, because these pay homage to the oeuvre which was creepy and creative and super influential while kind of giving the finger to the man himself who was racist and antisemitic!" |
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"The Watchmaker of Filligree Street" by Natasha Pulley Nancy-Anne writes: "I'm pretty late to the table with this book, but I just finished 'The Watchmaker of Filigree Street' by Natasha Pulley and adored it more than I thought it was possible to adore a book. It has everything: Victorian London! Magical realism! Diverse and sensitively portrayed characters! Queer representation! Awesome ladies! And the writing style has incredible restraint and subtlety, to boot. I'm so blown away by this." |
Related Program
Freedom To Read Presentation with Jillian Tamaki:
Jillian Tamaki will be appearing at Runnymede Branch on February 28, 2018 to discuss her experiences with censorship. This One Summer, written by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, was the most challenged book in 2016, according to the American Library Association.
Interested in more staff suggestions?
- Best Books of the Year: Into the Past – our favourite historical fiction
- Best Books of the Year: Memorable Lives – memoirs and biographies we love
- Best Books of the Year: Non-Fiction
- Best Books of the Year: Voices from Home – books from First Nations and Canadian writers
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