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2017 Stand-outs

Announcing the 2017 Sonderbooks Stand-outs! Out of the hundreds of books I read in 2017, these are my personal favorites, the ones that still stand out in my mind after a year of reading. You can read more about how I made the choices on my blog. Rest assured that every one of these books is highly recommended!



General Nonfiction
A Beautiful, Terrible Thing
  1. A Beautiful, Terrible Thing
    by Jen Waite
  2. Born a Crime
    by Trevor Noah
  3. Hidden Figures
    by Margot Lee Shetterly
  4. Thirty Million Words
    by Dana Suskind
  5. Tell Me How It Ends
    by Valeria Luiselli

Christian Nonfiction
Angels in My Hair
  1. Angels in My Hair
    by Lorna Byrne
  2. Flames of Love
    by Heath Bradley
  3. A More Christlike God
    by Bradley Jersak
  4. Accidental Saints
    by Nadia Bolz-Weber
  5. Christ Triumphant
    by Thomas Allin
    edited and annotated by Robin A. Parry
  6. Love from Heaven
    by Lorna Byrne
  7. The Day the Revolution Began
    by N. T. Wright

Children's Nonfiction
Real Friends
  1. Real Friends
    by Shannon Hale
    illustrated by LeUyen Pham
  2. March, Book Three
    by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
  3. Your Presidential Fantasy Dream Team
    by Daniel O'Brien
    illustrations by Winston Rowntree
  4. Grand Canyon
    by Jason Chin
  5. Her Right Foot
    by Dave Eggers
    art by Shawn Harris
  6. Moto and Me
    by Suzi Eszterhas
  7. Dazzle Ships
    by Chris Barton
    illustrated by Victo Ngai

Fiction
While Beauty Slept
  1. While Beauty Slept
    by Elizabeth Blackwell
  2. My Italian Bulldozer
    by Alexander McCall Smith
  3. Provenance
    by Ann Leckie
  4. The Simplicity of Cider
    by Amy E. Reichert
  5. The Reluctant Queen
    by Sarah Beth Durst
  6. The Shadow Land
    by Elizabeth Kostova
  7. The Queen of Blood
    by Sarah Beth Durst


Children's Fiction
The Empty Grave
  1. The Empty Grave
    by Jonathan Stroud
  2. Princess Cora and the Crocodile
    by Laura Amy Schlitz
    illustrated by Brian Floca
  3. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart
    by Stephanie Burgis
  4. The War I Finally Won
    by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  5. The Girl Who Drank the Moon
    by Kelly Barnhill
  6. Me and Marvin Gardens
    by Amy Sarig King
  7. Frogkisser!
    by Garth Nix

Teen Fiction
Landscape with Invisible Hand
  1. Landscape with Invisible Hand
    by M. T. Anderson
  2. Thick as Thieves
    by Megan Whalen Turner
  3. Scythe
    by Neal Shusterman
  4. Strange the Dreamer
    by Laini Taylor
    read by Steve West
  5. Long Way Down
    by Jason Reynolds
  6. The Hate U Give
    by Angie Thomas
  7. Turtles All the Way Down
    by John Green


Picture Books
The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet
  1. The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet
    by Carmen Agra Deedy
    illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
  2. The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
    by Drew Daywalt
    illustrated by Adam Rex
  3. Now
    by Antoinette Portis
  4. Baabwaa and Wooliam
    by David Elliott
    illustrated by Melissa Sweet
  5. The Fox Wish
    by Kimiko Aman
    illustrated by Komako Sakai
  6. A Different Pond
    by Bao Phi
    illustrated by Thi Bui
  7. Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike
    by Cynthia Rylant
    illustrated by Mike Austin
  8. The Antlered Ship
    by Dashka Slater
    illustrated by The Fan Brothers