Books I Enjoyed and Learned from in 2024
2024 has been a banner year for me in terms of the number of books I read—150+. I’ve been keeping track of the books I read since 2022. In addition to the basics, I note the craft elements that jumped out at me.
If you’re reading like a writer on a regular basis, you know what I mean. In preparing this post, I pored over my 2024 list of books and picked several that I enjoyed from a writer’s perspective. My list includes books for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers.
Fiction
Barnhill, Kelly. The Ogress and the Orphans. 2022. Middle grade fantasy. First-person omniscient narrator. Very voicey! It’s a social commentary about community and caring for each other and the impact of greed and selfishness and fear and kindness. A great mentor text for voice.
Bradley, Kaliane. The Ministry of Time. 2024. Adult speculative fiction. First person, past tense. Told by an unnamed female narrator who works for the ministry of time as a “bridge” who helps a man from the early 1800s, an Artic explorer, adapt to the 21st century after he was retrieved from his time. Compelling version of time travel and interesting ideas about refugees and power. Lovely writing.
Hart, Rob. Assassins Anonymous. 2024. Adult thriller. First person, mostly present tense. Told from the POV of a guy who’s trying to go “straight” and no longer kill people for money. Compelling voice and well written. It has more character development and motivation than the typical plot-oriented thriller.
Hawkins, Scott. The Library at Mount Char. 2015. Adult low fantasy. Third person, past tense, multiple POV. Deep worldbuilding required for this novel, so worth reading for that, plus his use of close third with specific characters with just the faintest hint of omniscience. About a woman, Carolyn, who’s been deeply traumatized and becomes a god herself in the process, thanks to the wily moves by Father, a god who’s been around for 60,000 years and is ready to retire. About vengeance and core wounds and healing. Lots of swearing.
LeZotte, Ann Clare. Show Me a Sign. 2020. MG historical. First person, present tense. Set on Martha’s Vineyard in the early 1800s and told from the POV of an 11-year-old deaf girl who lives in a community where about a quarter of the people are hearing impaired. The story takes an interesting turn when a scientist comes to the island to research the potential causes of the deafness and kidnaps Mary so he can have a “live specimen.” For the first time, she experiences what it’s like to have no one to sign with. Intriguing peek into a deaf community
Miller, Derek B. The Curse of Pietro Houdini. 2024. Adult historical. Set during WWII in Italy, specifically the American bombing of Montecassino. Part art heist, part coming of age during a traumatic time for a 14-year-old girl who witnesses all kinds of violence and helps plan murders. A compelling take on point of view. Nicely plotted both internal and external, but especially internal.
Rudd, Maggie C. How to Stay Invisible. 2023. MG contemporary realistic. Third person limited, past tense. The first couple of chapters really stressed me out because a 12-year-old boy gets home and discovers that his parents have abandoned him, but at least he has his dog, Rosie. Even though it’s November he camps out in the woods behind the school instead of finding help from someone. He does a pretty good job of taking care of himself. A coyote serves as the force to get Raymond to seek help because Rosie’s foot is bitten during rough play and gets infected.
Sutanto, Jesse Q. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. 2023. Adult mystery. Multiple third person, present tense. A cozy mystery in which a terrible man is murdered and no one is sad about it. The situation brings together an older Chinese woman with younger people whom she suspects might have killed him in her teahouse. Humorous tone. Great job with internal conflict for each character and an interesting arc for each character.
Price, Tirzah. Pride and Premeditation: A Jane Austen Murder Mystery. 2020. YA historical mystery. Third person, past tense. Told from Elizabeth Bennet’s POV. Very different take on Pride and Prejudice. 17-year-old Elizabeth wants to be a lawyer like her father, which is how she gets involved in solving a murder. Includes social commentary about gender roles and expectations as well as power and social class.
Non-fiction
Fleming, Candace. The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II. 2024. MG NF. Includes how to figure out ciphers and focuses on ordinary girls who did this work. This must have taken a HUGE amount of research.
Kershenbaum, Arik. Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication. 2024. Adult NF. Very well written, accessible language and concepts, even for kids. He focuses on six different animals, plus humans, and how the different animals use sound to speak. Like wolf howls and dolphin whistles. He explains what he’s learned from his own research and from others’ studies about why animals communicate in the wild. He includes scientists’ best estimations of the content of animal communications and also how their abilities to communicate are related to their other abilities, the size of their brains, and their level of cognition. Recommended for anyone interested in animals.