2014 Staff Fiction Favorites

Things get weird after Glory and her friend drink the petrified bat. Glory, struggling with her upcoming graduation and concerns about her future, starts seeing visions of people’s futures—and what she sees is brutal. Not only is this book a roar of feminist-teen awesomeness, but I adored photograph-obsessed Glory, and loved watching her become a strong, assertive woman.

There are a thousand ways to write a sentence and Merritt Tierce seems to find the newest, best one, unique, not all put together, and exactly perfect. It’s not the most uplifting tale, one of a young waitress struggling to find herself amidst the sex, drugs and poor decisions of early adulthood, and yet there is so much heart to Marie, so much hope in spite of herself.

This terrific collection of short stories follows the lives of American soldiers fighting the Iraq War, both on the battle field and, once home, in their minds and souls. A former soldier himself, Klay knows his stuff. He writes powerfully and sympathetically about all types of soldiers, from the hardest-bitten combat vets to cynical desk jockeys. 

I am so overjoyed that this book exists. Not only does it feature characters who are Mexican-American (YES) and gay (HELL YES); it's beautifully written, painfully true, and unforgettably touching. It's an absolutely spot-on portrayal of friendship blossoming awkwardly and inexorably into love.

If you like language and thrillers and haven't read Lexicon yet, I'm stoked for you because it means you get to read it for the first time! It takes place in two timelines—one at a school for young people trained as "poets" to manipulate others through subtle spoken words, and one after a remote desert city has become a bloodbath. You won't foresee the incredible final twist. 

An homage to literary heavyweights like Hemingway and a playful satire of the writing process, Jansma’s novel details the coming-of-age rivalry between two writers travelling the world. Eradicating the line between truth and fiction, the unreliable protagonist shifts perspective to his own fictional creations, sending the reader down a veritable rabbit hole of narration.