It’s that time of year! Where readers, social media influencers, publishers, libraries, and anyone related to books share their best books. I’m no different. Though my years-end lists always feature books published in that year, not what was read in that year. This year I’ve settled on four categories: picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult. I decided not to organize by format or genre but instead on audience. Here are my favorite picture books from 2024. Favorites because of their message, their art, and the way the art and words meld.
On November 24, 2023, I posted Over this next year that explained a challenge I was embarking on to read forty books that had affected me since I was turning forty. Challenge complete.
Pacing myself throughout the year, I listened to some of the books and read others but I did purchase a few of the titles that I hadn’t previously owned. As I read each one, I flipped it to show my progress over the year.
Ultimately, a few of them will not remain on my shelf because that’s the thing about rereading books, it’s not always the same the second time around. But I’m glad for it because it shows I’m not the same person. Tastes and interest shift in books the same that it does with food or decorating or clothing. That’s to be celebrated and one of the reasons I wanted to undertake the reflective practice of rereading because I rarely reread and prefer to remember the feelings about the books rather than the content. What I learned:
Mood as a literary device is important to me a reader. The books that remain impactful are a direct result of the book’s atmosphere such as The Virgin Suicides, The Girl From the Other Side, and Mudbound.
Nonfiction, especially food memoir, literally takes the cake. Read: Crying in H Mart and Dessert Can Save the World. But books about food are right next to them like Chicken Every Sunday, First Bite, and Lessons in Chemistry.
The classics on my list didn’t hold their own unfortunately. Sorry Brave New World, The Catcher in the Rye, and Jane Eyre. But neither did the epic first book in the Mayfair Chronicles The Witching Hour, though I heart Anne Rice forever and always.
Strong, whip smart, sassy, or otherwise memorable characters are hard to forget. Benny from Circle of Friends, Naomi from Out of Darkness, Maddie from A Northern Light, Lena from Between Shades of Gray, Anne from Anne of Green Gables, Melinda from Speak, Carey from If You Find Me, Charlotte from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and Hazel from Anatomy: A Love Story.
Significantrelationships tug at my heartstrings which is why I carry a torch for all of the creatures in The House In the Cerulean Sea and Saga; the dystopian community in The Giver, Werther opining in The Sorrows of Young Werther, the ultimate friendship trio in The Serpent King, and the whole crux of what Turkle stands for in Reclaiming Conversation. And as long as there will be star-crossed lovers, there will be Edward and Bella from Twilight.
Innovative formatting or a unique approach to storytelling keep me thinking about a book long after I’ve finished it. Think The Lovely Bones‘ from beyond the grave, mental illness in Challenger Deep, Long Way Down‘s mystery elevator, Crank‘s verse, The Vagina Monologues‘ well, monologues, Milk and Honey‘s Instagrammable poetry and illustrations, the library in The Midnight Library, and Calvin and Hobbes‘ daily and Sunday strips.
Picture books say so much without having to say much at all. This is where pictures speak a thousand words and the author creates the write words to allow the pictures to shine which is why Farmhouse and My First Day by Quang and Lien were on my list. Both I’ve gifted several times over.
And let’s just say I ripped a page right out of The Power of Moments to create this personal challenge, which is why I’ve relished this project over this last year; celebrating book love by reading Book Love, which was a gift from a friend. I couldn’t have asked for a more fulfilling opportunity and urge others to find a moment to reflect on your own reading journey– whether it’s been a few months or years or a lifetime.
Today I saw a publisher post on Instagram highlighting Sy Montgomery’s new book What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird due out in November. Without thinking, I opened my Goodreads app and added it to my TBR. It got me thinking about those authors that automatically get added to my TBR without a second thought. They are, in no particular order:
I will always stop to read middle grade and YA nonfiction (in addition to nonfiction for any other audience). Here are some oldies that are my favorite:
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends to the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg illustrated by Kevin O’Malley
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery
The Great American Dust Bowl written and illustrated by Don Brown
“The President Has Been Shot!”: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson
To the Moon: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship by Jeffrey Kluger
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey illustrated by Julia Sarda
There can be multiple list or a super long list of books featuring conversations about beauty standards whether it deals with eating disorders, disability, fashion/style, or body positivity, however here are six that stick out to me.
Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying: Mom’s focus on body and a tragedy lead Valerie down the path of an eating disorder.
Lu by Jason Reynolds: Born with albinism, Lu is the co-captain of his track team and helping other makes things right as the stellar main character in the four part series of Reynolds’.
Boys Run the Riot by Keito Gaku: The transgender character finds refuge in fashion.
The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake: This classic in which a student and her teacher bond over conversations of self esteem related to colorism.
A Face for Picasso by Ariel Henley: Henley details the quest to “normalize” her face having been born with Crouzon Syndrome and always comparing herself to her twin.
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: Born with a port wine stain, the quest to cover it rather than accept it is Terra’s journey of self acceptance in this YA title.
So often books with Jewish characters center around the atrocities of the Holocaust, but there are dynamic stories of contemporary Jewish life or folklore that deserve a post.
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar: Spanning generations, this one begins in 1492 with the Spanish Inquisition.
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum: A teen boy learning about the world having been cloistered for some time.
The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero: A Jewish cemetery in Prague and a ghost in this atmospheric verse novel.
Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder: Learning about bereavement in Judaism is second to Feder’s poignantly humorous take on losing a parent when you’re still young.
The Boy In the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne: I still get chills thinking about the ending of his Holocaust novel featuring a nine-year-old protagonists view of the war.
Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros: A golem created to get revenge- will she?
With a heat index of about 100 degrees here in New York State, I figured water both to hydrate and swim in is the best way to keep cool besides air conditioning. Hence, today’s topic featuring water!
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag: Featuring a selkie.
A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team by Arshay Cooper: Like Crossing the Line by Kareem Rosser, addressing racism in sports notoriously dominated by white people leads to a deeper understanding of the discipline of any sport and how it shapes us as humans.
In Waves by A.J. Dungo: Deeply emotional, this graphic memoir is an homage to surfing and a woman.
Swim the Fly by Don Calame: So stinkin’ funny and also about a boy winning the affections of a girl on the swim team by joining the swim team.
Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Mendez: Being diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, Dominican girl Aniana conspires with her dad to swim against mom’s wishes.
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas: A middle grade graphic novel with a big heart.
With school coming to a close for us in New York State, I’m dedicating today’s post to six sensational stories that rely on school as a primary backdrop for the story. This doesn’t include the boarding school stories typically providing the vibe for dark academia books which will come in a future post.
Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui: A classroom of students whose quest it is to try to surprise and kill their alien octopus teachers before he destroys the world… good luck.
The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman: How many of your teachers do you think might have been robots??!?!
The Pregnancy Project by Gabby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer: A memoir of a girl who faked a pregnancy in her senior year of high school to capture the attitudes of teen pregnancy provides a mirror for us all.
Schooled by Gordon Korman: How does a kid go from homeschool to middle school and not make a few mistakes?
Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Espstein: The racism the students experienced being put together in the cafeteria for a service project bonds them in more ways than one.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: Ostracized after Melinda called the cops at a summer party, it’s making her first year of high school miserable, especially when she has to see HIM; luckily her art teacher is helping her lean into her pain.
When done well it pulls me in because science fiction isn’t my go-to category to read from. However, these were all fantastic and of course, of course, of course, I have to highlight Saga. If you ever want to talk about Saga with me, I’m always available. I own them all AND I have reread them several times over.
The Martian by Andy Weir: Survival in space alone.
Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer: A reluctant rise to power and a space race.
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James: Atmospherically intense.
Space Trash by Jenn Woodall: Will they ever get back to earth after it’s been trashed.
Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell by Candace Fleming: A well-presented middle grade about all things outer space from a prolific nonfiction writer.
Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples: I cannot say anything that comes close to doing this series justice (even though it’s not even finished yet), so I won’t. All I can say is, it’s a must-read and certainly adult content.
Readers Be Advised 