Animal Dreams
Why this book?
I’ve read Animal Dreams eight times, and each time I connect with the protagonist, Codi, as strongly as I did the first time. Codi is returning home to Grace, Arizona, partly because she has no idea what to do with her life, partly because her father isn’t well, and partly because she has unfinished business to tend to, though she doesn’t let herself acknowledge that. She’s an expert at running away from the truths she’s buried and the people who could expose them, but her façade shatters when she returns to Grace, a world barren and fertile and unforgettable. Why did I read this book eight times? Because I love Codi’s vulnerability and strength, her quirkiness and intelligence, her complexity and confusion, all conveyed through Kingsolver’s gorgeously poetic prose.