2014 Book of the Year (BOTY) Bracket Challenge: The Winner! (drumroll)

January 17, 2015

Here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for since the 2014 Book of the Year (BOTY) Bracket Challenge began: my 2014 book of the year reveal! *confetti*

First, thanks to Elle of Erratic Project Junkie for hosting such an awesome challenge! I enjoyed having the chance to look back on my year of reading, especially since I only began blogging late in 2014. If she hosts this again in 2015 (update: she's said she will, hooray!), I will definitely take part.

On to the books...

In case you want to see how we got here, here are my other bracket posts: Initial Bracket, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4, Semifinalists.

My semifinalists post left us with these two heavyweights duking it out:

vs.

The God of Small Things has been making appearances in my bracket posts since my sweet sixteen selection, and Possessing the Secret of Joy started cropping up since my final four. These are not "toss in the beach tote over vacation" books, unless you like a little crippling despair with your sand and sun. Each is written by its own respective female BAMF, and they tackle some tough subjects, including child molestation, incest, and FGM... you know, just to name a few. You might be thinking, "Good lord, Shaina, these are the best books you read all year?" If you're new here, heavy's kind of what I'm into.

But as much as these two books both captured my heart, one had to come out on top. This quotation from my winner perfectly summarizes why I selected it:

“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again.

That is their mystery and their magic.”

Remember when I said that I might have been wrong about which book would end up winning? Well, I was wrong (again). Congratulations, TGoST. Your gorgeous prose and heart-wrenching climax ran away with the BOTY prize. Check out my review of it here (the first one on the blog!).