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2016 Stand-outs

Announcing the 2016 Sonderbooks Stand-outs!

I read hundreds of books this year, so it was hard to choose my personal favorites! This ranking is extremely subjective. It's not intended to be a measure of literary merit. It represents how much I loved these books.

Please remember also that I don't review books I don't like. I didn't review nearly all the books I read this year. But all of my Sonderbooks Stand-outs are books I enjoyed greatly and highly recommend.



Nonfiction
Champagne for the Soul
  1. Champagne for the Soul
    by Mike Mason
  2. Soar Above
    by Steven Stosny
  3. Rising Strong
    by Brené Brown
  4. Camino Divina
    by Gina Marie Mammano
  5. How to Bake Pi
    by Eugenia Cheng
  6. Headstrong
    by Rachel Swaby
  7. Moving Mountains
    by John Eldredge

Children's Nonfiction
Some Writer
  1. Some Writer!
    by Melissa Sweet
  2. When Green Becomes Tomatoes
    by Julie Fogliano
    illustrated by Julie Morstad
  3. A Poem for Peter
    by Andrea Davis Pinkney
    pictures by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson
  4. The Singing Bones
    by Shaun Tan
  5. Fearless Flyer
    by Heather Lang
    illustrated by Raúl Colón
  6. I Dissent
    by Debbie Levy
    illustrations by Elizabeth Baddeley
  7. Sachiko
    by Caren Stilson

Fiction
Den of Wolves
  1. Den of Wolves
    by Juliet Marillier
  2. Ancillary Justice
    by Ann Leckie
  3. Glamour in Glass
    by Mary Robinette Kowal
  4. Ancillary Mercy
    by Ann Leckie
  5. Ancillary Sword
    by Ann Leckie


Children's Fiction
The War That Saved My Life
  1. The War That Saved My Life
    by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  2. The Creeping Shadow
    by Jonathan Stroud
  3. Ms. Bixby's Last Day
    by John David Anderson
  4. The Inquisitor's Tale
    by Adam Gidwitz
  5. Pax
    by Sara Pennypacker
  6. Wolf Hollow
    by Lauren Wolk
  7. When the Sea Turned to Silver
    by Grace Lin
  8. Raymie Nightingale
    by Kate DiCamillo
  9. George
    by Alex Gino
  10. Lily and Dunkin
    by Donna Gephart
  11. The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation
    by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
    illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Teen Fiction
The Passion of Dolssa
  1. The Passion of Dolssa
    by Julie Berry
  2. Anna and the Swallow Man
    by Gabriel Savrit
  3. 23 Minutes
    by Vivian Vande Velde
  4. Goldenhand
    by Garth Nix
  5. Still Life with Tornado
    by A. S. King
  6. My Lady Jane
    by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
  7. Love, Lies and Spies
    by Cindy Anstey
  8. Games Wizards Play
    by Diane Duane
  9. The Keeper of the Mist
    by Rachel Neumeier
  10. Salt to the Sea
    by Ruta Sepetys
  11. Learning to Swear in America
    by Katie Kennedy
  12. Three Dark Crowns
    by Kendare Blake
  13. Illuminae
    by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff


Picture Books
A Hungry Lion
  1. A Hungry Lion
    Or, A Dwindling Assortment of Animals

    by Lucy Ruth Cummins
  2. Grumpy Pants
    by Claire Messer
  3. Nanette's Baguette
    by Mo Willems
  4. Miracle Man
    by John Hendrix
  5. A Hat for Mrs. Goldman
    by Michelle Edwards
    illustrated by G. Brian Karas
  6. Before Morning
    by Joyce Sidman
    illustrated by Beth Krommes
  7. School's First Day of School
    by Adam Rex
    pictures by Christian Robinson
  8. We Found a Hat
    by Jon Klassen
  9. The Water Princess
    by Susan Verde
    illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
  10. Horrible Bear!
    by Ame Dyckman
    illustrated by Zachariah OHora
  11. The Cow Said Meow
    by John Himmelman
  12. Alphonse, That Is Not OK to Do!
    by Daisy Hirst