The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Warrior Girl Unearthed

Bradley W. Wright Why did I love this book?

I read this book because I loved Fire Keeper’s Daughter. Boulley’s writing is gripping. Her characters are fully realized, and her fast-moving plots are unpredictable.

I have a middle-grade novel in production that is about my great-grandfather (Dakota/Ojibwe ancestry, born and raised in the Minnesota territory). While writing the book, I read every middle-grade and YA novel I could find by native writers.

This YA novel told a great story and told it well. It was good to catch up with the characters from Fire Keeper’s Daughter and learn more about the protagonist, Perry—a great character with a strongly rendered personality.

By Angeline Boulley,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Warrior Girl Unearthed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

A Financial Times Best YA Summer Book 2023

#1 New York Times bestselling author Angeline Boulley takes us back into the world of Firekeeper's Daughter in this high-stakes mystery about the power of discovering your stolen history.

HONOUR YOUR ROOTS. BREAK THE RULES. UNCOVER THE TRUTH.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laid-back twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Whilst her overachieving sister works away at an internship, Perry's holiday plans mostly involve doing absolutely nothing.

But her carefree summer is brought to an abrupt end when she meets 'Warrior Girl', a Native…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Long Lost

Bradley W. Wright Why did I love this book?

As a writer of middle-grade books, I read a lot of middle-grade books. This one drew me in because the setting reminded me of the gray and verdant Pacific Northwest of my childhood.

Also, I can’t resist a creepy old library. As the central mystery unfolds, the haunting atmosphere deepens. Fiona is a compelling character whose nuanced relationship with her sister grows as the book unfolds.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves gothic atmospheres and literary prose.

By Jacqueline West,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Long Lost as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Minnesota Book Award * A Texas Bluebonnet Book

“Perfect to be read late into the night.”—Stefan Bachmann, internationally bestselling author of The Peculiar

“A spooky sisterhood mystery that is sure to be a hit with readers.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

“Grab a flashlight and stay up late with this one.”—Kirkus Reviews

Once there were two sisters who did everything together. But only one of them disappeared.

New York Times–bestselling author Jacqueline West’s Long Lost is an atmospheric, eerie mystery brimming with suspense. Fans of Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces and Victoria Schwab’s City of Ghosts series will lose…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Those Kids from Fawn Creek

Bradley W. Wright Why did I love this book?

I’m a 7th-grade advisor at my day job (teacher/tech director at a pre-K-8 school), so it was fun to read a book featuring this age group that I know so well.

I love all of Erin Entrada Kelly’s books. Per usual, this one nailed the psychology and struggles of kids on the cusp of young adulthood. The diverse cast of characters is excellent, and the setting is finely drawn.

The yearning of Dorothy and Greyson for something beyond their narrow-minded small town is palpable—so palpable that it makes their initial acceptance of Orchid’s obvious wish-fulfillment fantasy stories about her background believable.

By Erin Entrada Kelly,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Those Kids from Fawn Creek as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

“A powerful and thought-provoking story.”—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“An emotionally resonant story about authenticity and belonging.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A raw, real exploration of belonging that’s also sweetly hopeful.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Every day in Fawn Creek, Louisiana, is exactly the same—until Orchid Mason arrives. From Erin Entrada Kelly, the winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this contemporary school story set in small-town Louisiana is about friendship, family, deception, and being true to yourself and your dreams.

There are twelve kids in the seventh grade at Fawn Creek Middle…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Infinity Blast and the Space Weapon of Doom

By Bradley W. Wright,

Book cover of Infinity Blast and the Space Weapon of Doom

What is my book about?

Self-proclaimed space nerds Infinity, his best friend Gabriel, and his sister Twilight are on the run, spurred by the arrest of their astrophysicist parents, who have decoded a mysterious message from the long-dormant Opportunity rover on Mars.

Pursued by President Harker’s secret agents, they piece together clues pointing to the existence of a galaxy-wide conspiracy. In need of help, the three kids track down legendary astronaut Gerald ‘Fox’ Fuller, who has retired to a life of surfing and yelling at anyone who interrupts his surfing.

When Fuller tells them the space shuttle on display at the science museum is fully operational and ready to launch, they know they must steal it and blast it into orbit.