lvl 1: grab & go

• anne of green gables by l.m. montgomery. a quick, heartwarming coming of age with satisfying friendships and character development.
• howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones. magic, madness, sadness, about 100 times as satisfying as the movie.
• i'll give you the sun by jandy nelson. the ya novel of 2016. lush imagery, the plot is twiney, features a gay main character. love.
• princess academy by shannon hale. a middle grade novel with gorgeous worldbuilding, set on a mountain with stone mines.
• skim by mario tamaki. graphic novel illustrated by jillian tamaki, gay teenage asian witches coming to age.

lvl 2: some tenacity required

• everything i never told you by celeste ng gut punch. mixed chinese american family in the 70s grappling with race and mental health.
• kitchen by banana yoshimoto significant katsudon-centered narrative. really brings you to a time, place, mood.
• my year of meats ruth ozeki
• packing for mars: the curious science of life in the void by mary roach nonfiction that reads easy. a different perspective on living.
• the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz difficult to follow at times, really throws you wholeheartedly into the setting.

lvl 3: long slogs to the finish

• the goldfinch by donna tartt so, so so long but so, so worth it. tartt is a master of fruity lush prose. story's so good
• the paper menagerie & other stories by ken liu. a short story compilation, all about asianness and alternate futures.