Top Books of 2023

It's that time again... the time of the year when I somehow admit how many books I completed and then somehow find my favorites and list them out for you.

Last year I intentionally limited myself to 100; this year I removed all limits and broke my own record, coming in with 200 (full-length, not children's) books for 2023.

I want to start by saying this: I am a white, cis, married, Christian, middle-class female. I have two kids, two dogs, and a pool. I have a master's degree and my kids attend a private school. I have immense privilege, and I neither deny nor flaunt that. It is just fact. 

But it's what we do with our privilege that matters. Where we spend our time, money, and energy reflects more on us than any access into which we were born. And I chose to spend my time this year reading a plethora of perspectives to bring me out of that privileged bubble I know so well. (Before you give me too many accolades, I must confess that almost 50% of my reading was in the Christian suspense genre because leopards don't change their spots overnight.)

Karen Swallow Prior, a Liberty University literature professor, says that reading great fiction "allows us to enter the minds of characters who are quite different than us, allowing us to expand our ability to understand and to empathize with other points of view. That's an essential skill that so many people are losing. ... We need to be able to see the world through someone else's eyes, now more than ever."

And so I read. I read stories and memoirs to see perspectives as if I were Black, poor, transgender, Asian, disabled, abused, gay, Jewish, male, or trafficked. 

I read to find empathy, to understand, and to open my heart to the marginalized and the "other."

And I read so dang much that I had to separate my list into two: my top 10 fiction and my top 10 nonfiction. (Provided annotations are from the Google because I have officially run out of my own words, and I didn't include any content warnings but lots of them have them. Please do your research.)

Fiction List

10. Parachutes by Kelly Yang
Parachutes is a force. As fast-paced as it is powerful, its story of immigration, social class, and rape culture calls out the damaging consequences of privilege in ways that will make readers want to speak up and take action. 

9. Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest
This debut novel follows a disabled teen as she develops the courage to advocate for herself and others.

8. See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon
In this book, Miles and Barrett are trapped in a time loop, forced to relieve the same day over and over.

7. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

6. Kneel by Candace Buford
This fearless debut novel explores racism, injustice, and self-expression through the story of a promising Black football star in Louisiana.

5. The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels
With evocative prose that recalls the classic novels we love, Erin Bartels pens a story that shows that words--the ones we say, the ones we read, and the ones we write--have more power than we imagine.

4. The Dressmaker's Secret by Lorna Cook
1941, Nazi-occupied Paris: In the glamorous Ritz hotel there is a woman with a dangerous secret… As Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendour of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the Germans’ noses.

3. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
Single mom and domestic abuse survivor Olivia has escaped her past and built a new life for herself and her son, Asher, in a small town. When Asher is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Lily, she risks everything to defend him – even as it turns her life upside down.

2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Addie is a girl who wants to be more than she is, so she makes a deal with the kind of devil whose deals are always worse than they seem. For centuries she exists in a lonely purgatory, blessed with immortality and cursed to be forgotten—until the day she meets a boy who remembers her.

1. The Water Keeper trilogy by Charles Martin
Murph is dedicated to his work saving the women and girls from human trafficking along the shores of Florida, and once secured, he sends them to a mountain town in Colorado—Freetown, for a little symbolism—so they can heal physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Murph's mantra is that love always shows up, and that's what guides him in his ceaseless journey for justice.

NonFiction List

10. Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee
More than just a memoir, Torn provides insightful, practical guidance for all committed Christians who wonder how to relate to gay friends or family members--or who struggle with their own sexuality. Convinced that "in a culture that sees gays and Christians as enemies, gay Christians are in a unique position to bring peace," Lee demonstrates that people of faith on both sides of the debate can respect, learn from, and love one another.

9.  The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here by Kaitlyn Schiess
Schiess combines American political history and biblical interpretation to help readers faithfully read Scripture, talk with others about it, and apply it to contemporary political issues--and to their lives. Rather than prescribing what readers should think about specific hot-button issues, Schiess outlines core biblical themes around power, allegiance, national identity, and more.

8. All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore
All My Knotted-Up Life is a beautifully crafted portrait of resilience and survival, a poignant reminder of God’s enduring faithfulness, and proof positive that if we ever truly took the time to hear people’s full stories . . . we’d all walk around slack-jawed.

7. UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality by Colby Martin
UnClobber reexamines what the Bible says (and does not say) about homosexuality in such a way that breathes fresh life into outdated and inaccurate assumptions and interpretations.

6. Thicker than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington
Award-winning actor, director, producer, and activist Kerry Washington shares the deeply moving journey of her life so far, and the bravely intimate story of discovering her truth.

5. Holy Runaways: Rediscovering Faith After Being Burned by Religion by Matthias Roberts
Roberts blends deeply personal stories, new interpretations of familiar Christian parables, and recent scholarship about the dynamics of trauma to offer a way forward—and a warm, helpful companion—for listeners on their own journeys. He calls out people who perpetuate systems of violence and oppression and suggests ways we can all contribute to a new system built on love—and a new home we can inhabit together.

4. Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
In this book by actor Viola Davis, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.

3. Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans with Jeff Chu
At the time of her tragic death in 2019, Rachel was working on a new book about wholeheartedness. With the help of her close friend and author Jeff Chu, that work-in-progress has been woven together with some of her other unpublished writings into a rich collection of essays that ask candid questions about the stories we’ve been told - and the stories we tell - about our faith, our selves, and our world

2. Tell Me Everything: A Memoir by Minka Kelly
Minka Kelly’s life has been anything but easy. Raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, Minka spent years waking up in strange apartments as she and her mom bounced around the country, relying on friends and relatives to take them in. At times they even lived in storage units. She reconnected with her father, Aerosmith’s Rick Dufay, and eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she landed the role of a lifetime on Friday Night Lights.

1. Strong Like Water: Finding the Freedom, Safety, and Compassion to Move through Hard Things--and Experience True Flourishing by Aundi Kolber
When it comes to difficult circumstances, we've all heard the platitudes: "No pain, no gain." "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." But if we spend our lives trying to be "the strong one," we become exhausted, burned-out, and disconnected from our truest God-given selves. What if it were different? Could there be a different way to be strong? Could strength mean more than pushing on and pushing through pain, bearing every heavy burden on our own? What if, instead, true strength were more like the tide: soft and bold, fierce and gentle, moving together as one powerful force?

Top Books of 2022

After last year’s insanely high reading list (almost 200 for the year), I capped myself at 100 in 2022. I even went so far as to add to my “40 things before 40” list an item that says: Read less. Dance more. (Dance was my word for 2022, so that’s less weird than it sounds.)

So I did it. I held myself to 100. It meant I had to binge a lot more Netflix, Hulu, and podcasts, because what else do I do with the 10:00-midnight hours? (Thanks, Shondaland, for How to Get Away with Murder and Scandal that messed me up for weeks.)

At first I anticipated a normal top 10 list like I used to do, then I was reading so much non-fiction that I thought I’d have a top 10 for each genre, but eventually I decided to have a top 15 that includes both fiction and non-, as designated by F or NF. (No one cares about my thought process here, but I feel the compulsion to explain anyway. Enneagram Four probs.)

And so... let’s begin.

15. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Real talk. I read Picoult’s newest novel, Wish You Were Here, which released during the pandemic, and I first had it on my list. It was one of those books that took my breath with a surprise turn. But then I read this older book, Small Great Things, and it was simply a better story, so I switched them out (I have a problem with multiple books by the same author being on this list). This novel focuses on a Black delivery nurse, Ruth, the death of an infant of white supremacist parents in her care, and the following court case. So, so compelling. (F)

14. God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines

I am 100% positive that some people will be bothered by this addition, but I chose to read some books to challenge long-held beliefs, and Vines presents a compelling argument for following Jesus closely, holding Scripture in extremely high regard, and understanding context, translation, and interpretation differently in light of all that. (NF)

13. Altogether You by Jenna Riemersma

Deedra and I were privileged to host Riemersma on our podcast so that she could unpack this book and explain more about the Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy model. This is a wonderful primer for anyone looking to learn more about the parts of yourself and how to experience more wholeness and integration as a Christ follower. (NF)

12. Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer

I didn’t read as much YA this year, but somehow several YA books found their way to this list. In Some Mistakes, Dwyer writes the story of Ellis who was shipped to California after a mysterious incident, and she hasn’t spoken to her best friend Easton or his family in a year. But when she returns home to celebrate his mom’s 50th birthday, she has to confront Easton, the incident, and all the events that led up to it. (F)

11. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Another YA read, this novel follows Liz Lighty and her journey to attend an elite college but finds out her scholarship falls through. In a quest to afford her dreams and leave the small town where she feels “too black, too poor, too awkward,” she sets out to become prom queen, even though she’s made it a goal to be invisible for most of high school. (F)

10. What Happened to You? By Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey

This book is a must-read for anyone who has children, works with children, was a child, or interacts with humans of any age. Dr. Perry unpacks trauma, evocative cues, how the brain is changed, and how healing begins to work at a neurological level. Winfrey adds an interesting narrative alongside the technical writing. (NF)

9. Know My Name by Chanel Miller

This raw, brutal, and beautiful memoir is written by Miller, who is better known as Emily Doe from the Stanford sexual assault case a few years back. Her victim impact statement, which I read back in 2016, was incredibly heartbreaking and powerful. This book is an extension of that. It chronicles what led to that night, the immediate aftermath, and the drawn-out court case she endured for several years after. More than a victim of Brock Turner’s, Miller also became a victim of the judicial system. This book should make you grief-stricken, angry, and still hopeful as you read it. (NF)

8. Before I Do by Sophie Cousens

Cousens tells the story of the 24 hours leading up to Audrey’s wedding to Josh, interwoven with flashbacks from her childhood, a previous romance, and her relationship with Josh. Although a fairly light read, it does venture into good questions that people must ask themselves before tying the knot, and it says a lot about understanding what baggage you bring into relationships. (F)

7. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

I read all of Henry’s books this year, and I randomly picked one to put on the list, but you should definitely read them all. This one is about the relationship between best friends Alex and Poppy and the vacations they take each year until they have a falling out. After two years of not speaking, they find themselves on one more trip together where they have to confront their past to move into the future. (F)

6. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

This is almost the book I started writing a few years ago, but hers is much better and mine would have had less cussing and sex. Haha! Basically, Alice is turning 40, and she falls asleep and wakes up on her 16th birthday. Alice grapples with the mystery of time travel, how past choices affect the future, and what she can do differently to keep those she loves around longer. 

5. Waymaker by Ann Voskamp

I was skeptical of this one, okay? I tried A Thousand Gifts and Voskamp is just too precious for me. But this book. WOW. Her preciousness is cut with raw transparency, and she opens up about her own journey through the difficulties of life. She brings Jesus to the reader in such a compassionate, freeing way. (NF)

4. The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I had The Inheritance Games on my list last year, and at the time, I understood that to be the first in a duology. Imagine my thrill when she released a third book this year, and it’s the perfect capstone to the Hawthorne trilogy! The best description I used last year for this YA trilogy is: The Westing Game meets Truly Devious. So delicious. (F)

3. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

While not my favorite Reid novel (that distinction belongs to Evelyn Hugo), I still love everything she writes. In fact, I read three Reid novels this year and had a really difficult time deciding to put Carrie Soto on the list instead of Daisy Jones, and I eventually stuck with the 2022 release. It’s set in the same world as Evelyn, Daisy, and Mick Riva, and Carrie is a pro tennis player out to make a comeback. (F)

2. The Best of You by Dr. Alison Cook

I think I’ve mentioned a few dozen times that Cook fulfilled an item on my “40 things before 40” list: interview a dream guest. And she is a dream! I debated whether to include her first book, Boundaries for Your Soul or this newest one, and I chose to go with The Best of You because Boundaries is like Riemersma’s in that it’s a primer for IFS, and this new book is a broader understanding of how to become the best version of ourselves that God created us to be. But it’s not a self-help book; it’s learning who we are, what we want, and how to understand and discern our own knowing. (NF)

1. Heavy Burdens by Bridget Eileen Rivera

This book is to the LGBTQ community what Barr’s The Making of Biblical Womanhood was for women. A celibate lesbian herself, Rivera makes no impassioned plea for anyone to change their mind on marriage or sexual ethics; instead she unpacks the history of the evangelical (and societal) belief around the treatment of the LGBTQ community and how the Church must answer for the harm done in the name of morality. I think if the Church understood how secular thought leaders (Aristotle, Freud, and Darwin, for example) shaped most beliefs surrounding gender and sexuality, they’d be shocked. This is a very, very important book, especially considering the recent shooting at the gay nightclub in Colorado. (NF)

Top Books of 2021

This was a bit of a crazy year. First of all, I want to announce the impressive but pathetic news that I broke my own personal record. I read 197 books this year. I am both proud and ashamed.

Because of that, I've actually already set a stupid New Year's goal for 2022 that I will not read more than 100 books. It's actually dumb that I have to cap myself, but that's where we are.

I ended up reading a TON of non-fiction (like double what I've read in any other year since I started tracking in 2014; thank you, Holy Post podcast), so I decided I needed a top 10 fiction list AND a top 10 non-fiction list. You're welcome.

Fiction (This isn't my best fiction list. I read a ton of YA which surprises exactly no one, and then I went on a total Christian thriller tangent again and read series after series by Christy Barritt and Susan Sleeman, which are good, but maybe not good enough for a top ten list):

10- Restart by Gordon Korman
Is there a chance this book is only on the list so that I have something for boys? Maybe. But also, I really liked it. It's about a middle school boy who gets amnesia and discovers that he wasn't a nice guy before his head injury, but he's not sure if it's too late to change things.

9- The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
This was a duology, actually, and it's YA mystery. I like all things YA, mystery, and puzzles, so this was right up my alley. Think Westing Game meets Truly Devious.

8- I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
This was kind of fascinating. It's told from two points of view, a white girl's and a Black girl's, and it's all set in one night when their paths cross during a racial riot. 

7- On a Summer Tide by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Did I stumble upon this trilogy after a bout of Amish books? Yes. (It's not an Amish trilogy.) Did I include it in my list to prove I read more than just YA this year? Also maybe yes. Plus I'm a sucker for feel-good chick lit books, especially on islands in Maine.

6- 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
I won't lie. I will always try to include YA books that are clean because they are so dang rare! But this was fun, and it was part of a duology about this big, amazing family and they way they all love each other. Plus, you know. Teen romance.

5- Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
Jack meets Kate at a party and they have a whirlwind romance, until she dies. But when she dies, he gets thrown back to the day they met, and he relives their romance over and over. Less annoying than Groundhog Day, Jack has to decide what choices he can live with as he moves forward (and backward).

4- Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
A teenage girl gets a dance scholarship to a ballet company in Paris and experiences all the magic of the city, like kisses and croissants! Super light. Super fluffy. Super fun. Super clean. All the best of YA chick lit.

3- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Did this make my list because I loved it or because it just stayed with me for so long? I can't decide. (But hey, it's an adult novel!) Hannah is a great writer, but her books are hard, man. They are haunting. This one is about surviving in Alaska in the 70s, but there are themes of abuse that run throughout, too.

2- Framed! by James Ponti
This is a middle-grades trilogy about a boy who has a somewhat photographic memory and is tapped by DC to help solve crimes. Plausible? No. Fun? Yes. Similar to Mr. Lemoncello's Library in mood but with a better mystery and characters vibe.

1- The Way You Make Me Feel by Maureen Goo
I didn't read any fiction this year that made me go, "THAT'S MY NUMBER ONE!" But this one climbed to the top simply because I got on a Goo kick and tore through all her books. They're YA Korean lit, which isn't my typical genre, and I ended up loving them. I could have put any of her titles here, but this was the most recent one I read and remembered.

Non-Fiction (I won't lie. These are my true top ten for the whole year. Maybe I need to set more non-fiction goals in my life.):

10- You Got Anything Stronger? by Gabrielle Union
I read a few memoirs by actors this year, but Gabrielle's made it because 1. Who doesn't love Bring It On with a cult-like passion? 2. She blends funny stories with her heartwrenching journey of infertility and surrogacy and parenting and 3. She really speaks out about matters of justice in such a loving, truth-telling way. She likes her language, though. 

9- It's Not Your Turn by Heather Thompson Day
I didn't just include this because I got to interview her for our podcast; I actually reached out to interview her because I read and liked this book. She talks about how to let seasons of waiting shape us into the people God has called us to be.

8- The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore
Okay, technically this is a somewhat fictionalized account of a true story. But it's not exactly a novel, either. So I made the executive decision to include it in my non-fiction list. This chronicles the journey of Elizabeth Packard who was thrown into an asylum (here in Illinois) by her husband simply for disagreeing with him about his practice of religion. But Packard goes on to write her way out (after years) and even effect asylum laws throughout the country. Moore also wrote Radium Girls, which was on my list a few years ago. If she keeps writing about these lesser-known women who rose to change the world despite enduring horrific abuses, I'm all in.

7- The Gospel For Individualists by Tyler Zach
Tyler is my Instagram friend; he runs an enneagram account like mine. He also writes devotionals for each number. I've only read this one (for Fours), but I've purchased several other numbers for friends. Of all the enneagram devotionals I've read, this was my favorite by far. I think he's release the devotionals for Threes, Fours, Sixes, and Nines so far.

6- Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
Can we just assume that numbers 6-2 are completely arbitrary and interchangeable? All of these books were so amazing. I wrote a whole long thing on instagram about this one. Sow and Friedman chronicle their relationship, putting a name to something that is more than friendship but platonic and vibrant. They don't hold back how difficult it is to prioritize their relationship, either, but the central message is that it's worth showing up for, over and over.

5- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
I'll admit it. I wrote Doyle off a few years ago when our social/political/theological beliefs seemed to branch away from each other. But on a whim, I picked up this book, and her writing speaks to me. Do I have to agree with every single belief she has or point she makes to appreciate her writing and the way she empowers women? No, I don't. I choose to believe that the Lord can speak through all truth, and like it or not, we are all imperfect vessels.

4- The Liturgy of Politics by Kaitlyn Schiess
Meeting Kaitlyn Schiess was one of my favorite parts of 2021! What a bright spot in a weird year. I first heard her on the Holy Post podcast, but she was kind enough to be a guest on my podcast, and she's exactly as smart and sweet as she seems. I could listen to her connect political and theological concepts all day long. Her mind is brilliant!

3- The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary McBride
Ahhh. This book (and Dr. McBride) got me through much of the fall as I learned about embodiment practices and how connecting with our bodies is central to being an integrated, whole person as we were created to be. 

2- The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
If you believe women can be pastors, read this book. If you don't believe women can be pastors, read this book. Barr isn't a pastor or theologian; she's a historian who specializes in medieval history. She unpacks the history of women in all societies and how women's roles have changed over time. She also dives into the ESV translation of the Bible and compares it to other translations, and I promise you will learn things you've never heard before. This is a powerful argument about how our current society shapes our every belief, and until we know the waters we are swimming in, we will remain unaware even as it slowly poisons us. 

1- Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
Oh hey. Maybe you've heard of this one? I mean, Deedra and I have only talked about on the last five or six podcast episodes. But that's because IT IS SO GOOD. It's a reference book for 87 emotions and experiences, and it gives us language and a map to all of it. Just the chapter titles alone were enough to geek me out, but then when I read about how she set up her research on it, stop it. I was gone forever. Take me away, Dr. Brown. 

Bonus- Called to War by Dawn Amsden Stark
I technically read this book in 2020, but it released in 2021, so I'm including it in this year's list. Also, since I led the launch team, it felt unfair to rank the book, so I'm adding it as a bonus and a must-read for you all! If you don't know what this is about yet, I can't help you. You should follow me more. 

So there ya have it. My longest list there will ever be. Next year's will be back to a combined top ten list because of my self-imposed cap of 100 total. Au revoir, personal record. It's been fun.

Top Books of 2020

This dumpster fire of a year is ending with 140 books read (probably. I say that because I’m almost finished with 139, and I can’t imagine I won’t read another book in the next day and a half. I can’t help it.).

This was a year of just getting through from one day to the next. Even though I had a lot more time at home, I also had less time alone since my kids were here all. the. time. for like five straight months (and I’m not even complaining because I know plenty others had their children home for much, much longer). Plus, I discovered The West Wing Weekly podcast and listened to all seven seasons of that while re-watching all seven seasons of The West Wing, and it gave me life through September and October.

I mostly read Christian thrillers and YA fiction this year for no other reason than easy and familiar felt better than thick and heavy. (So what if I re-read my favorite series all again this year? Hogwarts is my therapy.)

So. From 10 to 1, here are my picks for this year. And yes, my overall list was slim pickings, but these top 10 would hold their own in any year. They’re that good. (I'll include a link to past years' lists in the comments.)

10. Pivot Point (duology) by Kasie West

Kasie West is one of my favorite YA authors, and I’ve probably mentioned her on past lists. She writes clean, relatable, funny YA books. The reason I added Pivot Point specifically is that this duology is a bit of a stretch for her; it’s a little futuristic and dystopian but holds the same hallmarks of West that I’ve always enjoyed.

9. Backfield Boys by John Feinstein

There’s a chance I’m including this one so that it doesn’t look like all I read are girl books, but whatever. I’ll be transparent about my reading selection. Feinstein writes mostly sports journalism mysteries (the Last Shot series is my absolute favorite), but I enjoyed this standalone because it encounters some racial issues in the world of private school sports. Great read for tweens and teens.

8. The War Outside by Monica Hesse

I read a few Hesse books this year; they’re breathtaking. The ones I’ve read deal with different aspects of WWII. The War Outside takes place in an American internment camp and tells the story of two unlikely friends—a Japanese girl and a German girl who both find themselves locked away from their lives. This book does deal with some mature themes in terms of their relationship with each other, just so you know.

7. How the Light Gets In by Jolina Petersheim

I already talked about this book last spring when I read it, but man, oh man. I loved it. I hated it. I couldn’t get around the ending. It’s not often that a book can catch me that off guard (hello, We Were Liars), but this one sure did. It’s an Amish story about a woman whose husband dies and who is forced to move back to his hometown and figure out how to live within the Plain community. I’d say more, but I can’t without spoiling it.

6. A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

I tried to get Jorie to read this, but she was grounded from her iPad too long and I had to return the digital book to the library. It’s a story of a 7th grade Black girl who is trying to figure out what being Black means in junior high, especially when her best friends aren’t. She encounters protests and Black Lives Matter for the first time, and the story is told beautifully from the perspective of a young girl.

5. Born Again This Way by Rachel Gilson

I really hesitated to include this because I fear I could unintentionally make a lot of people mad with this addition. But I have to include books that impact me, and Gilson’s memoir sure did. (Also, I wanted to prove I read at least one non-fiction book this year.) Gilson was a lesbian who encountered Jesus and now spends her life trying to bridge the Church and the LGBTQ community. I know that that sentence has already angered people, but I don’t believe that Gilson or her story is any way judgmental, condemning, or hateful. It might be the best balance of love and truth and compassion and kindness I’ve ever read.

4. The Suicide Tree by Shayla Raquel

I might be biased because Shayla is a friend, but this debut novel of hers is fantastic. I was privileged to read it as a beta reader, and her final published version took an already great YA mystery and upped its excellence. It involves a mysterious vaccine, international travel, and young romance, so basically everything I love in YA.

3. Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter

This is the first of a duology (I think), but the second book won’t be released until spring. I’m so confident in its worth, though, that I’m including it before I even know how it ends. That’s because Ally Carter might be my second favorite YA author of all time. (I just re-read her Gallagher Girls series for the umpteenth time this week just to close out the year on a high note.) This is similar to her style of espionage, heists, mysteries, and young heroes/heroines making the world a better place through sometimes questionable methods. This particular book has younger characters than more of her series, which will hit a younger demographic. I can’t wait to let Jorie read this one!

2. Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson & Ellen Hagan

I discovered Watson’s books this year and quickly tore through them. My favorite by far was this one, written with Hagan. Each author voiced one of the characters, and it tells the story of two high school girls who encounter both sexism and racism in their school and community and the way they choose to raise their voices and be heard both in spite of and because of it.

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

I am so, so sorry. I never meant to put a popular prequel or such a well-known author as number one. But you guys, I can’t help it. The Hunger Games still remains one of the best-written trilogies of all time, and this prequel about President Snow’s early life is no exception. Collins builds this early world of the arenas and the Games brilliantly. It’s actually frightening that I found compassion for Snow through this, and as soon as I finished, I had to re-read the trilogy again. It literally makes EVERYTHING MAKE SENSE.

Top Books of 2019

In 2019, I (will have) read 136 books. That's actually my second lowest amount since I first started tracking it all back in 2014. But I didn't watch Grey's Anatomy twice through this year, so I managed to rack up a decent number. 

Compiling this list often feels like a chore, but there are some books on my list I think everyone should read, so I will continue to release this each year. I'll add the caveat that I re-read a LOT of books this year and I glommed onto a lot of new authors and series, so the variety of my overall list isn't great. But my top 10 books come from different genres.

10. Hope and Other Punchlines by Julie Buxbaum

This is a fictional YA account of a 9/11 survivor, Baby Hope, whose picture became immortalized as a symbol of hope and perseverance after the Twin Towers fell. But now that Baby Hope is a teenager, can she live up to everyone's expectations? Her story intersects with Noah, whose father appears in the background of the Baby Hope picture, and he's been searching his whole life to find out what happened. This was a fairly interesting read because of the 9/11 and human interest twist, even if a slightly formulaic YA novel. 

9. Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

I'm such a sucker for stories about inspirational teachers who impact the lives of their students. This is the first book of the Mr. Terupt trilogy. Jorie's class read this in 5th grade, and she asked me to read it, too. I only read the first two books (because the third isn't on my digital library yet), but I enjoyed them. They're written for a middle-grades crowd, and they're a book I would recommend if I were still teaching (unlike most YA lit these days). I believe the second and third books explore some slightly more mature themes (nothing crazy, but a little hormonal stuff that may have been slightly beyond what I expected). 

8. The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

I read all of Smith's YA books all in a row, and I probably could have picked any of them for this list. I enjoyed her characterization and the different locations that she used. I thought her relationships were honest, and the books were fairly clean for YA. 

7. The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

I'll throw all my YA at the end of this year's list. Does that mean my tastes are finally maturing? Or is it just because YA has become so trashy and steered towards shock value that I didn't have many I could even include? Maybe some of both. I have read a lot of Dessen, and most of her books are just okay. But this novel was pretty entertaining. I loved the concept of the main character, Emma Saylor, finding herself in this big family that she'd never really known before and learning how the story of her past shapes the story of her future.

6. Montana Rescue series by Susan May Warren

Okay, I've been devouring Susan May Warren the last couple months. I swore off YA novels back in October because so many just aren't good, and I discovered these Christian search and rescue books. I started by reading her Christiansen Family series, then read the Deep Haven books, then the Montana Rescue, and now I'm tearing through Team Hope. Montana Rescue was my favorite, and I've learned about search and rescue, backcountry snowboarding, smokejumping, and so many other things that I would never intentionally read. But it's all so fascinating!

5. The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

There was no way I could let my 2019 book list slip by without urging you to read a book on the enneagram. This actually isn't my favorite book on it, and I have more on my list that I'm dying to read, but this is the enneagram starter kit book. This book gives the best overall description of the structure of the enneagram, the point of it all, and on each of the nine types. If you've been at all curious, start here. It's a quick and easy read, and Cron and Stabile share enough stories to keep it entertaining. And you may learn something about yourself and those around you! If you DO read it for the first time, please, please reach out and tell me what number you are!

4. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

This book is comedian Trevor Noah's memoir about growing up in South Africa shortly after Apartheid. It was sort of marketed as a book for teens, but I don't have any idea why. I was fascinated by this story. It is a good show of his humor, but it also had very painful and difficult parts. Noah's life was not easy, and I had very little knowledge of Apartheid and South Africa in general before reading this. I highly recommend. 

3. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

You know what I did have a lot of knowledge of? The Holocaust. But this novel, based on the true life story of the real tattooist of Auschwitz and Birkenau, was still haunting and amazing to read. It wasn't an easy read emotionally, but there was enough hope and redemption to keep me going until the end. 

2. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

I read this immediately after The Tattooist of Auschwitz and I do NOT recommend doing that. This is another equally heavy book. In fact, it was much harder for me to read because I think we've all somewhat detached ourselves from Holocaust books because it's become just a part of "history." But this fictional account of what happened during the 1930s-50s right here in America is horrific. Why didn't we know about this? Why was it allowed to persist for so long? And tiny spoiler alert: there is enough redemption at the end of this to make it bearable. 

1. If You Only Knew by Jamie Ivey

I had to end with this because it was the book that spoke most directly to my heart this year. Ivey is a pastor's wife and speaker from Austin, TX. Her heart is to help others, especially women, find healing in their stories, which echoes the desires of my own heart. This is her raw and honest story of journeying through growing up Christian, choosing her own way, and finding her way back to the wholeness that can only be found in Jesus. It reads like a story and isn't preachy. 

Have you read any of these? Are you adding any to your list? Let me know!

Top Books of 2018

I only read 75 books in 2018 (blame Grey’s), so I feel ill-equipped to make my normal top 10 list. However, I have five of them I want to share because these are some really important and amazing books everyone should read.

5. All We Have Left by Wendy Mills

Fictional account of several 9/11 interwoven stories.

4. The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

Non-fiction but reads like a story about the watch painters during WWI who suffered radium poisoning and fought for safety laws in factories.

3. No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert

Fictional account of what happened when an inner-city high school was rerouted into an affluent suburban high school.

2. I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

Memoir of a black woman’s life in a white man’s world.

1. Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson

The most gripping tale of race I have ever read— this is a real-life To Kill a Mockingbird story.

You may sense a theme of diversity and social justice. I read a LOT of books like that this year, and I could include some more (Dear Martin; The Hate U Give) but these are definitely my top 5. Ask me about any! I’m glad to share what I loved.

For past years’ top 10 lists, check out my older entries.

Top 10 Books of 2017

It's that time again. I'm starting to dread New Year's Day!

Just kidding. Sorta.

I read 159 books this year. I meant to surpass my 2016 number of 161, but I discovered Grey's Anatomy over Christmas Break and now I forget how to read.

I also fasted reading (who is told to fast reading? Most people have reading as part of their resolutions) for a part of September and October. Because let's be honest--my original goal was 200. And that would probably have been excessive.

10. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

Who doesn't love Lauren Graham? (Look up her interviews on Ellen. She's hysterical!) I loved reading this memoir of her life that included a lot of inside look at Gilmore Girls.

9. The Voice in the Wind (trilogy) by Francine Rivers

To be fair, this wasn't a new read. I read it in college. But it had been so long that I literally remembered zero plot or characters, so it felt like a new read. And like every Rivers book, this was a graphic, intense read! It's set in first century Rome and is about Christian martyrs and Roman hedonism.

8. How to Disappear by Sharon Huss Roat

I read a ton of YA lit this year. I have to say, I don't care for much of it anymore. It's getting edgy for the sake of edgy, and there's almost no redemption. This one, though, struck me differently. I can't remember if there was language, so be careful before you hand it to your teenager. It's a novel that explores the lure of social media and the emotional impact it can have (bad and good) for today's average teen.

7. Cape Refuge (series) by Terri Blackstock

I liked this four-book series. It started me on a wave of Christian murder mysteries (which seems like a strange genre). Though that genre is fairly formulaic, this series had characters I cared about and plots that kept me interested.

6. First Light by Rebecca Stead

Rebecca Stead writes middle-grade novels. One of her books has made a list of mine previously; I almost threw another she wrote (Goodbye Stranger) into this top 10. First Light is more fantasy in nature, though it's realistic enough to be believable. Stead creates an under-ice world and contrasts it to the aboveground reality in a beautiful way.

5. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

If only this book hadn't had the F bomb, I would have been truly captivated. It had twists and turns, colorful characters, and suspense that made me fly through. It wasn't scary, exactly, but I didn't want to read it at night alone!

4. Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

This had all the makings to be one of my favorite reads from the start. Middle-grade novel? Check. Set in World War II? Check. This book explored one of the littler-known populations of WWII, the non-Jewish Polish children who were forced into labor for the Germans. Captivating!

3. The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner

Last year, I had The Polygamist's Daughter by Anna LeBaron on my list. This book is a memoir written by LeBaron's cousin. Wariner grew up under similar conditions to LeBaron, but the way her life unfolded is very different. If anything, Wariner's story is more difficult to read. Her childhood was full of tragedy, and yet somehow, there was always love.

2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I'm almost embarrassed to have this on my list. But it was SO well-written! I honestly didn't see ahead of time how it would all play out. It was a fascinating look on old-time Hollywood, as well. I read several of Reid's novels this year, and most of them would have ended up on this list were it not for my strict one-book-per-author rule.

1. Idol Lies by Dee Brestin

Only the second non-fiction book on the list, and it was good enough to claim the number one spot. Brestin explores the underlying motives we all use to walk through our worlds, and she lays out the biblical truth about each one. If you're looking to grow spiritually this year, I can't recommend this book enough.

Shameless Plug Bonus: Catch Somewhere by Megan Hall

GUYS. My first novel was published this year. I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT I WROTE IT. IT IS GOING ON MY LIST. So there. (Don't search Amazon for Megan Hall. Let's just say there's another author with my name and we write VERY different books.)

Catch Somewhere is a Christian YA novel about Kinsley, who struggles with her self-worth, identity, and addiction before finding redemption in Christ. Probably you should read it. And buy it. Whatever it doesn't matter to me oh wait HERE'S THE LINK.

What was the best book YOU read this year?