Books I Read in 2024 // Pirate Cats, Tigers, and Bear-Dogs, oh my!

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 Happy 2025, friends!

I always do my story wrap-ups for a year in January because up until about 11:30PM every Dec. 31st I'm delusional that I can get another story added to the list. That worked for movies this year, but while I got reallllllly close with one more book I didn't quite make it. But what I did do is read more books than the last few years! 

Here I give a list of everything I read but then longer thoughts on my favorites. If you want to know what I thought of the others, you can check out my Goodreads account HERE. I didn't do any full reviews on my blog this year, but I gave some more detailed thoughts over there if you want to check it out! And if you want to compare this list to the previous years, here are the links for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.

If I cried during it, it is underlined.  If it has an asterisk (*) then I listened to an audiobook version.

New-to-me novels:

Nineteen Steps - by Millie Bobby Brown & Kathleen McGurl
The Outsiders - by S. E. Hinton
The Queen of Attolia - by Megan Whalen Turner *
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - by Fredrik Backman
The Labors of Hercules Beal - by Gary D. Schmidt *
The King of Attolia - by Megan Whalen Turner *
The Incorrigible Children of Asthon Place: The Long-Lost Home - by Maryrose Wood
Dear America: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind - by Barry Denenberg
Life of Pi - by Yann Martel
Mañanaland - by Pam Muñoz Ryan *
Conspiracy of Kings - by Megan Whalen Turner *
Keeper of the Lost Cities: Lodestar - by Shannon Messenger
I Capture the Castle - by Dodie Smith
Keeper of the Lost Cities: Nightfall - by Shannon Messenger
Leroy Nicker Saddles Up - by Kate DiCamillo
Thick as Thieves - by Megan Whalen Turner *
My Plain Jane - by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Asthon, and Jodi Meadows * (started on audio, finished with a physical copy)
Keeper of the Lost Cities: Flashback - by Shannon Messenger

Total: 18

Graphic novels:

Keeper of the Lost Cities The Graphic Novel Part 1: Volume 1 - by Celina Frenn, Shannon Messenger, and Gabriella Chianello 

Total: 1

Novel rereads:

All the Crooked Saints - by Maggie Steifvater
Anne of the Island - by L. M. Montgomery

Total: 2

Play rereads:

La casa de Bernarda Alba - by Federico García Lorca

Total: 1

Grand total: 22

My 10 Favorite New-To-Me Novels of 2024:

1. Life of Pi - by Yann Martel. This changed the way I see life. This books is stark and cold and lonely all while remembering the warmth of Pondicherry and struggling to survive. Pi has to change everything about himself to do that all while holding on to who he truly is. The sections in this book broke me in different ways, and are a masterclass in storytelling.

2. Mañanaland - by Pam Muñoz Ryan. The stakes change in this story is insane. It starts with wanting to be on a futbol team and ends with a journey and aiming towards the greater good. Stories that make the characters's goals go from internal to external are a true window into humanity. Plus there's a cute dog and cute cat and lullabies.

JUST NOW did I see the people in the trees. Talk about a gorgeous cover.

3. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - by Fredrik Backman. I've seen this in the library for YEARS and ACK it's just as gut punching as I hoped it would be. Death and grief and identity all from a child's perspective but the focus is trying to find truth in fairytales. So as a writer it's basically everything I love. I also have some theories for coded things so I want to reread it and see how that pans out from the beginning now that I'm thinking of it.

4. I Capture the Castle - by Dodie Smith. This book is one of those that is so unsatisfying at first but once I thought about it I realized WHOA, THAT'S GENIUS. One of the most human portrayals of love and life and really Casandra captures quite more than just the castle that she lives in. I'm still mad about it and still will sing its praises to the hills.

5. The Outsiders - by S. E. Hinton. I got this courtesy of Hamlette and it was the perfect accompaniment to my spring break. Aka, good way to release emotions through crying. It's rough and tumble yet the way the characters care about each other?? The lengths that Soda Pop and Darry will go for Ponyboy? The desperation that Jonnycakes feels?

This edition also feels so good. It's smooth and lovely.

6. The Labors of Hercules Beal - by Gary D. Schmidt. Herc must be protected at all costs. He's still struggling with trauma but he's trying to do well in school and to get birds to say his name and run on the sand with his dog. And here's all this pressure to be like a Greek hero yet Herc examines what that title "hero" really means. The way that Gary D. Schmidt connects his stories is JUST PLAIN CRUEL. Thanks to Samantha for bearing with me and all of my angry texts.

7. The Queen of Attolia - by Megan Whalen Turner. Samantha, Sarah Seele, and Megan the Nutmeg had to drag me through this one, but I actually really liked it? It takes sneaky to another level because instead of trying to hide all the actions the characters full on tell you? Which is so shocking that I don't have to read through the lines? I don't know, I just had fun with this one, okay?

8. Thick as Thieves - by Megan Whalen Turner. "Found friends story but make it road trip" is a gross oversimplification, but I think it works. This book also took one of my least favorite characters from a previous book and made him likable. 

9. Flashback - by Shannon Messenger. This one is on this list because I read certain chapters OVER and OVER again. It got a little obsessive. I think a goal for 2025 is for me to finish this series but I also don't want it to be over.

10. The Long-Lost Home - by Maryrose Wood. This one was fairly cute. Though I was only ever on planes while reading it, not hot air balloons, it was a good travel companion.

Thank you so much for reading about my reading journey this year! The books with the reward of "I actually changed my life and how I do things because of this" were Life of Pi and I Capture the Castle. Do you guys read any books that changed your lives this year? Have you read any of these? If so, how would you describe my top ten?

Happy New Year!

Chloe the MovieCritic