I seriously don’t know how I’m going to pick my top ten favorite books that I’ve read in 2023 because, once again, this year has been amazing for me. At least in terms of reading… haha. 

Demon Copperhead took me by surprise. I am by no means one to pick up a large book and be excited about it. I’m usually a no more than four hundred pages kind of gal, and it better not be a series! So, finding that I seriously enjoyed this novel despite its length surprised me. So, what exactly did I like about this novel? Let me stretch my fingers because this is gonna be a long one. 

First, the writing. Oh. My. God. The writing. It was immersive and descriptive and achingly beautiful but somehow tragic at the same time. It is everything that you want a writer to have and everything that your reader-imagination craves. Want to know exactly how that farm smells, tobacco and all? This writing will make you smell it. 

Secondly, the plot. Wow. I’m not one for a slow and steady plot, but this one had me. Basically you follow Demon from birth up until adulthood. Jeez was it a wild ride. A really good one, too. The greatest part about it is after all of this time, you still get a somewhat happy ending. 

Here’s my favorite part of novels to talk about: the characters. Can you guess who was my favorite? If you’ve read my other reviews, you’ll probably be able. It’s Angus because wow, despite her circumstances, she never complained. She didn’t do the whole “woe is me” bit and I loved her for that. She just kept moving. Steady Angus. My favorite character. Of course, Demon was amazing, too, but Angus took the trophy. Although, I won’t lie, just about every character in this novel was so developed and thought out that you are hard pressed to dislike any single one of them. Even the bad guys. 

Okay, last thing I swear. The drug crisis that happens throughout the novel? Wow. I know I’ve said wow a lot, but I’m going to say it again. Wow. I’ve never been one to really sympathize with users. I’ve also found it hard to feel forgiving towards them (a big fault of mine, to be honest). This novel, though? It puts drug abuse in another light. Showing that the drug companies prey on the poverty-stricken counties because they know people there can’t afford to fix their problems and just cover them up with pain meds? That seriously made me think about the bigger agenda. 

Overall, this novel will probably stay with me for a long time. No one should be made to feel small or lesser or like they can’t survive in the world just because of the circumstances of their birth. We are all people. I wish we would start treating each other like the equals that we are. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. We are all born with nothing and we all die with nothing. We might as well be kind along this crazy journey we call life. 

Source: Audiobook from Libby public library

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)