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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,639 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Fierce Femmes And Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir

James Sie Why did I love this book?

It's quite an amazing book, unlike anything I've read before. Though it's called a memoir, it's more a fable, a reclamation of all the trans tropes in literature, a world-building fantasy that has the aching thrum of truth running through it, and in its own way, a queer revolutionary manifesto.

It doesn't skirt the dangers trans women of color face in the world, but at the same time, it centers the power with those trans women. It's absolutely fabrication, and it's also absolutely true.

By Kai Cheng Thom,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Fierce Femmes And Notorious Liars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Fiction. LGBTQIA Studies. Asian and Asian American Studies. Young Adult. FIERCE FEMMES AND NOTORIOUS LIARS: A DANGEROUS TRANS GIRL'S CONFABULOUS MEMOIR is the highly sensational, ultra-exciting, sort-of true coming-of-age story of a young Asian trans girl, pathological liar, and kung-fu expert who runs away from her parents' abusive home in a rainy city called Gloom. Striking off on her own, she finds her true family in a group of larger-than-life trans femmes who live in a mysterious pleasure district known only as the Street of Miracles. Under the wings of this fierce and fabulous flock, the protagonist blossoms into the…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Great Believers

James Sie Why did I love this book?

I had the most unusual sensation reading this book: it was as though the author had somehow collected all my memories of living in Chicago in the 80s and constructed a novel around them.

This book chronicles the AIDS crisis in Chicago and a group of friends trying to survive, and it portrays life as a gay man during those harrowing years absolutely accurately, in both detail and emotion.

Entwined around that story is a present-day narrative that perfectly details the long-term effects of surviving a plague. Makkai’s writing recalls Ann Patchett’s works to me—gorgeous, simple prose.

By Rebecca Makkai,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Great Believers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2018
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER
ALA CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER
THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER

Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by Amy Poehler

"A page turner . . . An absorbing and emotionally riveting story about what it's like to live during times of crisis." -The New York Times Book Review

A dazzling novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris

In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A Place Called Home

James Sie Why did I love this book?

This memoir of the author’s life on the streets, living with a mentally ill mother and his two siblings, is unflinching and harrowing but filled with moments of grace, alternating between hope and despair (though for most of it, despair has the upper hand).

Ambroz is unsparing in recounting events, but he’s never self-pitying or sensationalistic. He shines a light on the plight of the unhoused, especially children—but always with the purpose of creating empathy and action—a real eye-opener.

By David Ambroz,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Place Called Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

PORCHLIGHT BESTSELLER
Zibby Owens 2022 Book of the Year

A galvanizing, stirring memoir about growing up homeless and in foster care and rising to become a leading advocate for child welfare, recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change.  “You will fall in love with David Ambroz, his beautifully-told, gut-wrenching story, and his great big heart.” (Jeanette Walls, author of The Glass Castle)

“It's impossible to read A Place Called Home and not want to redouble your efforts to fight the systems of poverty that have plagued America for far too long. In this book, David shares his…


Plus, check out my book…

All Kinds of Other

By James Sie,

Book cover of All Kinds of Other

What is my book about?

In this tender, nuanced coming-of-age love story, two boys—one cis and one trans—have been guarding their hearts, until their feelings give them a reason to stand up to their fears.

Jules is still figuring out what it means to be gay and just how out he wants to be. Jack is reeling from a fall-out with his best friend and isn’t ready to let anyone else in just yet.

When Jules and Jack meet, the sparks are undeniable. When a video linking Jack to a pair of popular trans vloggers is leaked to the school, the revelations thrust both boys into the spotlight. Suddenly, Jack and Jules must choose to play it safe and stay under the radar or claim their own space in the world—together.