The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,707 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Wool

Ketsia Lessard I this book because...

I was quite taken by the Silo TV series this past year and decided to further explore this universe by reading the independently published novels the show is based on.

In Wool, Howey describes a cylindrical bunker city containing 144 levels accessible via a spiral staircase that takes several days to climb. Each level is dedicated to a particular occupation, the miners and mechanics living in the “down deep” and the bureaucrats living “up top” with limited contact between them.

When Juliette Nichols, the newly appointed sheriff from Mechanical, climbs up to mingle with the bureaucrats, the order in the Silo is disrupted, and its origin’s mysteries are revealed.

The notion of bunker cities isn’t new in science fiction, but Howey explores the subject with grit, depth, and great detail — an intriguing read. 

By Hugh Howey,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Wool as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SOON TO BE A MAJOR APPLE TV SERIES
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'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' DAILY EXPRESS

In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo.

Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies.

To live, you must follow the rules. But some don't. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Ghost Girl: The True Story of a Child in Desperate Peril-And the Teacher Who Saved Her

Ketsia Lessard I this book because...

I flipped through one of Torey Hayden’s books in a small library last summer and liked what I read. I looked her up later and discovered she is a special education teacher who’s published many accounts of the toughest cases she’s had to deal with. 

Ghost Girl reads like a thriller. Based on her experience with a strange child named Jade, Hayden recounts how she uncovers the girl’s dark secrets of ritual abuse and tries to help her out of her situation. Many deny that ritual abuse actually takes place because solid evidence is hard to come by, but this case shows it exists and must be taken seriously.

I particularly like the epilogue in which Hayden describes her research and findings on this topic. 

By Torey Hayden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ghost Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of One Child comes this compelling, true story of a child in desperate peril and the teacher who saved her despite the odds.

Jadie never spoke. She never laughed, or cried, or uttered any sound. Despite efforts to reach her, Jadie remained locked in her own troubled world…until one remarkable teacher persuaded her to break her self-imposed silence.

Nothing in all of Torey Hayden's experience could have prepared her for the shock of what Jadie told her—a story too horrendous for Torey's professional colleagues to acknowledge. Yet a little girl was living in a nightmare, and…


Want my future book recommendations?

My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of What Child Is This?: A Christmas Story

Ketsia Lessard I this book because...

I had read this book as a teenager and picked it up again last December. It had been so long since I’d read it that it felt like a brand-new novel. Cooney’s Christmas tale is a heartwarming yet realistic take at how foster children experience the holidays.

Here, we meet a foster child named Katie who believes she will get a family for Christmas when she takes part in a program for disadvantaged children who receive a present from generous strangers.

It is a short yet powerful novel I will now read every Christmas vacation. 

By Caroline B. Cooney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What Child Is This? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Sixteen-year-old Matt knows not to expect anything of life, or people or Christmas. But his foster sister, Katie, hasn't yet learnt not to hope. When all the foster kids make their Christmas wishes, Katie asks for a family. Matt reckons no-one gets a family for Christmas - do they?


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

On Duty

By Ketsia Lessard,

Book cover of On Duty

What is my book about?

When a deathbed confession leads RCMP Constable Jasper Nelson to discover the existence of his illegitimate sister, his curiosity is piqued and he sets out to find her. He locates the young woman a year later where he least expects to, within the police force itself. 

As the geographical distance separating them becomes unbearable, Nelson obtains a transfer from Vancouver to the Inuvik detachment where he partners with his hardy sibling Heidi Finlay to investigate criminal activity and trauma in the High Arctic. Inspired by actual events, On Duty is a series of cases narrated by the Mounties themselves; through Nelson’s refined prose and Finlay’s no-nonsense reporting, a portrait of human nature emerges, emphasizing the possibility—and need—for divine redemption.