The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 325 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of Iris Green, Unseen

Carolyn Ward I ❤️ loved this book because...

It is Louise's second book, and tells an emotionally complex tale of a girl who feels she is disappearing. The concept is so unique! It really reminded me of when I was a teenager, trying to navigate friendships and boys and finding my place in the world.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Originality 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Louise Finch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Iris Green, Unseen 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?

From the highly-acclaimed author of The Eternal
Return of Clara Hart comes a devastating heartbreak
romance with a speculative twist.

When Iris Green discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her
with one of her best friends, she doesn't just feel invisible
- she actually becomes invisible.
And the less she can be seen herself, the more
she understands the people around her, including Baker, the boy in
the darkroom, who might be exactly what she needs to make her way
back to herself.



A powerful novel about self-discovery in the wake of a traumatic
event

The Eternal Return of…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of The Darlings of the Asylum

Carolyn Ward I ❤️ loved this book because...

It is an utterly gripping historical thriller, and I am drawn to books about old asylums - the stories of hope flickering like flames in the darkness. I loved the ending!

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Noel O'Reilly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Darlings of the Asylum as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

To marry is madness.
To escape is impossible.

'The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel O'Reilly grips like a vice' Nicola Cornick

In 1886, a respectable young woman must acquire a husband. But Violet Pring longs to be a professional artist and live on her own terms.

When she turns down a desirable marriage proposal from an eligible Brighton gentleman, her family have had enough of her independent streak. Against her wishes, they lock her away in Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum.

Now at the mercy of the sinister Dr Rastrick, she must keep her wits about her if she has…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of Thirteen Chairs

Carolyn Ward I ❤️ loved this book because...

This is a young adult horror story made up of several short horror stories. It is such a clever compendium as the tension ratchets up with each story - and finally you discover the fate of the narrator! Fabulous collection suited to strong fearless readers 12 years +

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Originality
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Dave Shelton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thirteen Chairs 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?

Jack stands in the dark on the landing of the old house, and looks at his feet. He has been here for minutes, his hand on the door handle, debating whether or not to go in. A high-ceilinged room lit only by candles. Thirteen chairs, one empty. Twelve ghostly storytellers, waiting to begin.

Come in! Take your place. We have been expecting you. Do you dare to listen to our stories? Do you dare to tell your own?

Jack is a curious boy. Are you curious too?


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Bella Bright and the Witch Tree

By Carolyn Ward, Beatriz Castro (illustrator),

Book cover of Bella Bright and the Witch Tree

What is my book about?

If you go down to the woods today...

Eleven-year-old Bella Bright has invited her three best friends to visit her new cottage, which stands in the shadows of a ruined manor house. As they explore, Bella thinks she catches a glimpse of a pale face in one of the empty windows...who could it be?

Things go from spooky to scary when they get lost in a hedge maze, and find themselves hurled back in time by the mysteriously burnt willow tree growing at the centre. Now trapped in 17th century England, Bella must uncover the mystery of how the manor was destroyed, find out whose face she saw at the window, and try to get herself and her friends back home to their own time before they are stuck in the past forever.