Amazon's 10 Best Books Of 2014 That Everyone Should Read
1. "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng: After the gorgeous teenage Lydia is found dead, the mixed-race Lee family is sent reeling. With themes of alienation, race, gender, family, and identity, Lydia's parents and siblings are forced to confront the Lydia they never knew and their own expectations in this quietly beautiful novel.
2. "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr: This National Book Award Finalist follows both Marie-Laurie, a blind French Girl living with her father during World War II, and Werner, a German orphan with a knack for building and fixing radios. The haunting story will stay with you and make you question how life and art are influenced by war.
3. "In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette" by Hampton Sides: In 1879, the wealthy owner of The New York Herald James Gordon Bennett funded a US naval expedition to the North Pole. But things take a turn for the worse when the ship becomes trapped and the hull is breached. The men must fight to survive as they battle starvation, polar bears, and madness while trying to get home.
4. "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League" by Jeff Hobbs: This story is about the life of Robert Peace, a black student from the poor streets of Newark who made it into Yale on a scholarship. Yet even though he seemingly achieved the American Dream, he never felt like he truly belonged - and ultimately, it cost him his life. This reported memoir will influence how you think about race, class, and family.
5. "Redeployment" by Phil Klay: Phil Klay tells twelve short stories about the Iraq War and its aftermath. From horrifying patrols to what it's like coming home, Klay doesn't rely on platitudes, machismo, or patriotism - instead, he masterfully pushes back on our assumptions without veering into the maudlin.
6. "Revival" by Stephen King: King's most recent thriller spans five decades and focuses on the rock n' roll obsessed Jamie Morton and the small town reverend Charles Jacobs. Both men are haunted by tragic pasts and share a secret obsession, so they are naturally drawn together into a partnership as they search for answers - and find terrifying conclusions.
7. "Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art" by Carl Hoffman: Hoffman believes he has finally solved the decades-old mystery of Michael Rockefeller's disappearance in New Guinea in 1961. The murder mystery involves a local tribe of warriors, headhunters, and colonialism in this fascinating (and real) whodunit.
8. "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez: After a tragic accident leaves 15-year-old Maribel with a brain injury, the Riveras are forced to leave their beloved Mexico and go to America in search of a better life. The book follows them while also telling the stories of the other Latin American tenants sharing their apartment complex in Delaware.
9. "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty: This book focuses on three Australian moms, all with pre-schoolers in the same class. Sounds straightforward - except by the end of the book, one of them will be dead. Each mother carries a secret in this witty book that takes a deeper look into the lives of suburbia.
10. "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel: After a horrible virus spreads across America, people barricade themselves inside apartments, highways are flooded with cars, and people are murdered as they struggle to survive. This novels follows life before, during, and after the virus and illustrates both the good and evil sides of humanity in a crisis.
You can see the rest of Amazon's top books for 2014 here.