The best books of 2017—as chosen by Canadian Living editors

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Jojo, despite his tender age of 10 and often unstable circumstances, is wise beyond his years. He devotedly cares for his infant sister, Kayla, and aids his ailing grandmother, all while learning to become a man from his tough and stoic grandfather. But this isn't just a coming-of-age tale. It's also a road novel, as Jojo, his young sister and their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, pack the car to pick up his father from prison. Surprisingly, it's a ghost story, too, as both Leonie and Jojo find themselves conversing with (and trying to ignore) visions of the dead. There's a lot going on, but I was immediately invested in the characters and their tormented pasts.  - Julia McEwen, fashion & beauty director

Sing, Unburied, Sing (Scribner) by Jesmyn Ward.

Lincoln in the Bardo

The premise of George Saunders’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel is the true story of Willie, the 11-year-old son of Abraham Lincoln, who dies of typhoid in the White House. The fantastical story of the hundreds of spirits that haunt the Bardo (the Tibetan word for the limbo between life and afterlife), including Willie, is told over the duration of the night the grief-stricken President goes to visit his son’s grave. Through the alternating voices of the dead who reside there, it reads like a play filled with tragic, witty, otherworldly and ultimately very compelling dialogue. – Amanda Etty, features editor

Lincoln in the Bardo (Random House) by George Saunders.

The New Farm

New Farm is a book for anyone who has ever spent a business day watching the clock spin and dreaming of more. Or for anyone who has pulled a chicken finger away from their mouth, raised an eyebrow and wondered what the heck they’re about to eat. It tells the story of Brent Preston and wife Jillian Flies as they trade in the safety of city life and corporate careers to take a crack at building a better, more sustainable life for themselves and the communities around them. Told in his cheeky “just-get-it-done” voice, Brent reminds the us that making good food choices isn’t about taking the path of least resistance, but resisting the easy path traditional farming already has most of us on. - Paul Lillakas, food editor

The New Farm : Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of the Good Food Revolution (Penguin Random House) By Brent Preston

The Heart’s Invisible Furies

I read so many great books this year, that it was hard to pick—but I’ve got it narrowed down to two. The first, The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne was long, emotionally-driven and spans an entire lifetime—which aren’t necessarily what I usually go for when picking up fiction. But the dose of humour and the context of relevant 20th Century events made this a thoroughly enjoyable read, despite the fact that my heart was in my throat for most of the story. I highly recommend tackling this book despite its heavy subject matter and page count—it captured me immediately and fully and I can’t wait to read it again.  – Alexandra Donaldson, fashion & beauty editor

The Heart’s Invisible Furies (Penguin Random House) by John Boyne.

The Child Finder

All at once hauntingly beautiful and disturbing, I cannot in good conscience give The Child Finder any less than 5 stars. I lost myself in Rene Denfeld’s carefully constructed ice world and magical realism-style of storytelling. Denfeld brings the reader on a chilling and gripping tale of Naomi, the Child Finder with a broken history of her own. She is tasked with finding a young girl in the frozen desolation of Oregon’s Skookum National Park. Denfeld crafts this icy story in to a wild ride of heart-pounding thrills for a whirlwind finale that leaves the reader shellshocked. I highly recommend it, although please proceed with caution. Some content might be a disturbing to some readers. - Sarah Big Canoe, associate art director

The Child Finder (Harper Collins) by Rene Denfeld.

Bear Town

This book completely enveloped me. I struggled between not being able to put it down and moments when I couldn’t bear to read on—it’s painfully enthralling. Knowing the synopsis of the novel, I anticipated the violent act against a young girl would be awful, but it proved to be so much more than that. Author Fredrik Backman writes a compelling discourse that I believe many can relate to all too well. The commentary that follows the climactic event is a very crude, but sadly realistic narrative anchored in disbelief and victim shaming. But what makes Beartown an important read is that it goes beyond this one-dimensional perspective, examining the powerful ripple effect sexual assault has and the truly fragile state of not just victims, but the guilty and loved ones, too. As the #MeToo movement has given sexual assault victims a space to be heard, this novel is an important voice at a time when powerful idols are being held accountable for their actions and the once silenced are no longer questioned first. - Elaine Song, digital content director

In a remote and sylvan Swedish town, three things are true: Everyone knows everyone, hockey is king, and something truly horrible is about to happen. When the star of the juniors, who is set to take his team to a big win, is accused of assault, the town is torn apart, and the fallout unfolds from the points of view of various imperfect characters. As intimate and compelling as it is devastating and heart wrenching, this novel delivers an important commentary on rape, rape culture and the dangers of allowing celebrity idolization to dictate right and wrong.  It harkens back to so many headlines in the news these days and is hands-down one of the best books I read this year. Have tissues close at hand, because this one is going to make you cry. - Sara Cation, senior features editor 

Bear Town (Simon & Schuster) by Fredrik Backman.

Son of a Trickster

My second pick is the Giller-prize nominated Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson. I’ve always been drawn to Indigenous storytellers, and in this novel Robinson combines indigenous beliefs and humour in a coming-of-age-tale that would be familiar if it wasn’t so fantastical. To hook you—Jared is a teenager with an absentee Mom who leans a little too heavily in the direction of delinquency—drugs and alcohol will do that. But he’s compassionate and thoughtful, so it’s hard to dislike him. He’s never shaken the biting words of his Grandmother who calls him the son of a Trickster and has never liked him. It wouldn’t be so concerning if Jared wasn’t starting to see things—even when he’s sober—that he can’t explain. Like animals talking to him. Does his Grandmother have a point? Or is something more sinister at work? – Alexandra Donaldson, fashion & beauty editor

The History of Bees + A Stranger in the House

I’ve read such a variety of gripping and captivating books this year, but I’ve nailed it down to two. Like her first novel The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House was a riveting cat and mouse chase that takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride. Law-abiding housewife Karen Krupp has lost her memory after a car crash, fleeing from where police have discovered a crime scene. Her husband Tom is at a loss as police try to uncover what she knows. Right when you think you know how the story will end, Shari Lapena flips the script on you with one well-developed twist after another. The brilliancy of her writing leaves you struggling to pick a side because she writes to such a plot-heavy memorable storyline that her characters feel like, well, strangers.

In The History of Bees Maja Lunde uses climate change and the threat of species extinction as a backdrop to exploring human relationships with one another and the human connection to nature. Spanning across generations, Lunde weaves three distinct narratives into a single question: what would happen if the bees disappeared? William, George, and Tao all beekeepers, of a sort, with much to lose, navigate their lives driven by the relationships with their families and with their intimacy, or lack thereof, with bees. The outcome is a beautifully riveting novel, about love and loss; a story that, although called ‘The History of Bees’, becomes much more about the people. - Sarah Big Canoe, associate art director

The History of Bees (Simon & Schuster) by Maja Lunde.

A Stranger in the House (Penguin Random House) by Shari Lapena.

The Third Nero

I have LOVED each of Lindsey Davis's 30 books, and this one, her 31st, is no exception. CL readers will know that I love a little mystery, a little romance and some history in my books, and The Third Nero delivers on all three. A continuation of Davis's Flavia Albia series (which in itself is an offshoot of her Falco series), The Third Nero takes place in ancient Rome, amid the backstabbing politicians and increasingly sinister atmosphere of Emperor Domitian's reign. Davis writes with humour and knowledge, which make this novel go down a treat. She's a pro at making the foreign seem familiar, and the ancient seem like yesterday. I can't wait for the next one! – Suzanne Moutis, executive editor

The Third Nero (St. Martin's Press) by Lindsey Davis