Sonderbooks

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January 1, 2025

Announcing my 2024 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

Out of the 470 books I read in 2024, these are the ones that stand out in my mind. They're ranked in order of how much I remember enjoying them, and not by literary merit. The important thing to know is that every book listed here is wonderful.

You can find out more about my 2024 Reading Year on my blog.

Happy Reading!

—Sondra Eklund




Speculative Fiction
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
  1. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
    2. by Heather Fawcett
    read by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds

  2. Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands
    3. by Heather Fawcett
    read by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds

  3. The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi
    4. by Shannon Chakraborty
    read by Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal

  4. The Spellshop
    5. by Sarah Beth Durst
    read by Caitlin Davies

  5. The Weaver and the Witch Queen
    6. by Genevieve Gornichec
    read by Nina Yndis



More Fiction
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
  1. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volumes 1-7
    2. by Beth Brower

  2. The Girl with the Louding Voice
    3. by Abi Daré
    read by Adjoa Andoh

  3. Lessons in Chemistry
    4. by Bonnie Garmus
    read by Miranda Raison

  4. How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund?
    5. by Anna Montague



Christian Nonfiction
Lamb of the Free
  1. Lamb of the Free
    2. by Andrew Remington Rillera

  2. Holy Hell
    3. by Derek Ryan Kubilus

  3. Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!
    4. by Kate Bowler

  4. Theologizin' Bigger
    5. by Trey Ferguson

  5. Hunting Magic Eels
    6. by Richard Beck

  6. The Brave In-Between
    7. by Amy Low

  7. A Well-Trained Wife
    8. by Tia Levings

  8. Beauty Will Save the World
    9. by Brian Zahnd

  9. Nearing a Far God
    10. by Leslie Leyland Fields


More Nonfiction
A Firehose of Falsehood
  1. A Firehose of Falsehood
    2. by Teri Kanefield
    art by Pat Dorian

  2. The Daycare Myth
    3. by Dan Wuori

  3. The 1619 Project
    4. created by Nikole Hannah-Jones

  4. The Age of Magical Overthinking
    5. by Amanda Montell

  5. The Woman They Could Not Silence
    6. by Kate Moore
    read by the Author

  6. Killers of the Flower Moon
    7. by David Grann
    read by Ann Marie Lee, Will Patton, and Danny Campbell


Teen Speculative Fiction
The Hedgewitch of Foxhall
  1. The Hedgewitch of Foxhall
    2. by Anna Bright
    read by Fiona Hardingham, Alister Austin, and James Meunier

  2. Ruthless Vows
    3. by Rebecca Ross
    read by Rebecca Norfolk and Alex Wingfield

  3. The Prisoner's Throne
    4. by Holly Black
    read by Barrett Leddy

  4. Otherworldly
    5. by F. T. Lukens
    read by Em Grosland, Kevin R. Free, and Natalie Naudus

  5. The Faithless Hawk
    6. by Margaret Owen
    read by Amy Landon

  6. Spellbound
    7. by F. T. Lukens
    read by Kevin R. Free and Neo Cihi

  7. My Throat an Open Grave
    8. by Tori Bovalino

  8. Sheine Lende
    9. by Darcie Little Badger
    read by Kinsale Drake

  9. Gwen and Art Are Not in Love
    10. by Lex Croucher
    read by Sarah Ovens and Alex Singh

  10. The Thirteenth Child
    11. by Erin A. Craig

  11. The Invocations
    12. by Krystal Sutherland

  12. We Mostly Come Out at Night
    13. edited by Rob Costello



More Teen Fiction
Gather
  1. Gather
    2. by Kenneth M. Cadow

  2. The Girl in Question
    3. by Tess Sharpe

  3. Ash's Cabin
    4. by Jen Wang

  4. Check and Mate
    5. by Ali Hazelwood
    read by Karissa Vacker

  5. Sunrise Nights
    6. by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro
    read by Alexander Hunter and Michael Crouch

  6. Stateless
    7. by Elizabeth Wein
    read by Moira Quirk

  7. Death at Morning House
    8. by Maureen Johnson
    read by Katherine Littrell


Teen Nonfiction
The Mythmakers
  1. The Mythmakers
    2. by John Hendrix

  2. Impossible Escape
    3. by Steve Sheinkin
    read by Rob Shapiro

  3. Road Home
    4. by Rex Ogle

  4. Accountable
    5. by Dashka Slater
    read by Ariel Blake

  5. Money Out Loud
    6. by Berna Anat


Children's Speculative Fiction
The Grace of Wild Things
  1. The Grace of Wild Things
    2. by Heather Fawcett
    read by Aven Shore

  2. Impossible Creatures
    3. by Katherine Rundell
    read by Samuel West

  3. Elf Dog & Owl Head
    4. by M. T. Anderson
    illustrated by Junyi Wu

  4. The Eyes and the Impossible
    5. by Dave Eggers

  5. Sisters of the Lost Marsh
    6. by Lucy Strange

  6. Plain Jane and the Mermaid
    7. by Vera Brosgol

  7. Orris and Timble
    The Beginning
    8. by Kate DiCamillo
    illustrated by Carmen Mok


More Children's Fiction
The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn
  1. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn
    2. by Sally J. Pla
    read by Gail Shalan

  2. Coyote Lost and Found
    3. by Dan Gemeinhart

  3. Louder Than Hunger
    4. by John Schu
    read by Jeff Ebner

  4. Max in the House of Spies
    5. by Adam Gidwitz

  5. The Bletchley Riddle
    6. by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

  6. The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
    7. by Gennifer Choldenko

  7. And Then, Boom!
    8. by Lisa Fipps

  8. May the Best Player Win
    9. by Kyla Zhao

  9. Amil and the After
    10. by Veera Hiranandani


Children's Nonfiction
Houses with a Story
  1. Houses with a Story
    2. by Seiji Yoshida
    translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash

  2. Animal Albums from A to Z
    3. by Cece Bell

  3. Close Up and Far Out
    4. story by Mary Auld and Adria Meserve
    illustrations by Adria Meserve

  4. Ode to Grapefruit
    5. by Kari Lavelle
    illustrated by Bryan Collier

  5. The Fabulous Fannie Farmer
    6. by Emma Bland Smith
    pictures by Susan Reagan

  6. Ernö Rubik and His Magic Cube
    7. written by Kerry Aradhya
    illustrated by Kara Kramer

  7. My Lost Freedom
    8. by George Takei
    illustrated by Michelle Lee

  8. Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees,
    and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities
    9. by Stephanie Gibeault
    illustrations by Jaclyn Sinquett

  9. The Enigma Girls
    10. by Candace Fleming


Picture Books
Lucky Duck
  1. Lucky Duck
    2. by Greg Pizzoli

  2. We Are Definitely Human
    3. by X. Fang

  3. Home in a Lunchbox
    4. by Cherry Mo

  4. Up High
    5. by Matt Hunt

  5. Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing
    6. written by Amy Hest
    illustrated by Erin Stead

  6. Noodles on a Bicycle
    7. written by Kyo Maclear
    illustrated by Gracey Zhang

  7. The Fish of Small Wishes
    8. written by Elana K. Arnold
    illustrated by Magdalena Mora

  8. What Happened to You?
    9. by James Catchpole
    illustrated by Karen George

  9. 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli
    10. by David LaRochelle
    illustrated by Lian Cho

  10. I Do Not Eat Children
    11. by Marcus Cutler