Like many of us, I spent many days in the last year finding escape through literature, and, despite everything else, 2020 brought us a bounty of compelling stories. I've also included a couple that had been sitting on my to-read pile for a couple of years and found they absolutely justified the wait.

Though the settings are vastly different, I discovered an unintentional theme in this list: characters and experiences that challenge perceptions and the known, whether it's here on our Earth or a bit farther afield. There is something deeply satisfying in the crack of realization when suddenly either everything before it makes sense, or you realize that your world has shifted a tiny bit from the reality you occupied just a minute ago.