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2008 Stand-outs

Announcing the Sonderbooks Stand-outs for 2008 -- The books I read in 2008 that I most enjoyed.

I'm not passing a judgment on their literary quality, just ranking the books by how much I enjoyed reading them.

Once again, I've categorized the books so so that I don't have to make too many choices between wonderful but very different books. My favorite book this year was the Audiobook version of Shannon Hale's wonderful Book of a Thousand Days. However, this book was already a 2008 Stand-out for Teen Fiction, so it didn't seem fair to have it top that category again. Once again, I gave audiobooks a category of their own, to get around that difficulty.

Looking back on another year of avid reading, all the books listed here stand out as exceptional reading experiences. I hope you enjoy them, too!

Happy Reading!



Forgive for Love
  1. Forgive for Love
    by Dr. Fred Luskin
  2. Staying Connected to Your Teenager
    by Michael Riera, PhD
  3. Tell Me No Lies
    by Ellyn Bader, PhD, and Peter T. Pearson, PhD
  4. You Can Heal Your Life
    by Louise L. Hay
  5. Beyond Codependency
    by Melody Beattie

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
  1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
    by Barbara Kingsolver
  2. Confessions of an Amateur Believer
    by Patty Kirk
  3. Crazy for God
    by Frank Schaeffer
  4. Free for All
    by Don Borchert
  5. This Is Not the Life I Ordered
    by Deborah Collins Stephens, Jackie Speier, Michealene Cristini Risley, and Jan Yanehiro
  6. The Return of the Prodigal Son
    by Henri J. M. Nouwen

We Are the Ship
  1. We Are the Ship
    by Kadir Nelson
  2. Knucklehead
    by Jon Scieszka
  3. Greater Estimations
    by Bruce Goldstone
  4. Why War Is Never a Good Idea
    by Alice Walker

Mozart's Ghost
  1. Mozart's Ghost
    by Julia Cameron
  2. The Host
    by Stephenie Meyer
  3. The Miracle at Speedy Motors
    by Alexander McCall Smith
  4. Italian Lessons
    by Peter Pezzelli
  5. A Christmas Grace
    by Anne Perry
  6. Stardust
    by Neil Gaiman
  7. A Death in Vienna
    by Frank Tallis


Audiobooks
Book of a Thousand Days
  1. Book of a Thousand Days
    by Shannon Hale
    read by Chelsea Mixon and the Full Cast Family
  2. Fairest
    by Gail Carson Levine
    read and sung by Sarah Naughton and the Full Cast Family
  3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
    by J. K. Rowling
    performed by Jim Dale
  4. Enna Burning
    by Shannon Hale
    read by Cynthia Bishop and the Full Cast Family
  5. Skulduggery Pleasant
    by Derek Landy
    performed by Rupert Degas
  6. Princess Academy
    by Shannon Hale
    read by Laura Credidio and the Full Cast Family
  7. Thank You, Jeeves
    by P. G. Wodehouse
    performed by Alexander Spencer

Timothy and the Strong Pajamas
  1. Timothy and the Strong Pajamas
    by Viviane Schwarz
  2. Millie Waits for the Mail
    by Alexander Steffensmeier
  3. A Visitor for Bear
    by Bonny Becker
    illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
  4. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
    by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
  5. Are You Ready to Play Outside?
    by Mo Willems
  6. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!
    by Mo Willems
  7. Millie in the Snow
    by Alexander Steffensmeier
  8. I Will Surprise My Friend!
    by Mo Willems

Chalice
  1. Chalice
    by Robin McKinley
  2. Wildwood Dancing
    by Juliet Marillier
  3. Beastly
    by Alex Flinn
  4. Princess Ben
    by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
  5. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
    by Jessica Day George
  6. Eclipse
    by Stephenie Meyer
  7. New Moon
    by Stephenie Meyer
  8. Breaking Dawn
    by Stephenie Meyer


The Arrival
  1. The Arrival
    by Shaun Tan
  2. Rapunzel's Revenge
    by Shannon and Dean Hale
    illustrated by Nathan Hale
  3. Janes in Love
    by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
  1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
    by Sherman Alexie
  2. Paper Towns
    by John Green
  3. Let It Snow
    by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
  4. Extreme American Makeover
    by Mitali Perkins

The Prophecy
  1. The Prophecy
    by Hilari Bell
  2. The Wednesday Wars
    by Gary D. Schmidt
  3. Tales of Beedle the Bard
    by J. K. Rowling
  4. Forever Rose
    by Hilary McKay
  5. Ever
    by Gail Carson Levine
  6. The Silver Donkey
    by Sonya Hartnett
  7. Before Green Gables
    by Budge Wilson