As this year comes to an end The New York Times and Barnes and Noble have released their lists for the best books of 2024. This list is specifically the YA —young adult— group: New York Times list and Barnes and Noble list. Making reading a hobby is an excellent way to enhance our critical thinking skills and most of the top books of 2024 were part of the romance and fantasy genre which requires thorough complex plots, an understanding of character motivations, and encourages readers to make important connections and draw conclusions.
Some of the top books of 2024 are “Lightlark,” “Reckless,” “Nightbane,” “If He Had Been With Me,” “Better Than The Movies,” and “If Only I Had Told Her.” The popularity of these books has spread over multiple media platforms, the most common being BookTok, a subsection of TikTok.
Many State High Students take part in reading hobbies. Isabelle Dubler is an example of one who indulges in thought-provoking stories. The novel “If He Had Been With Me” was one of the best books of 2024 and was beloved by Dubler. This book follows a pair of inseparable best friends who grew distant as time went on. This drastic story captured and broke the hearts of many.
“I really liked ‘If He Had Been With Me”’ a lot. It was a very detailed read […] and I just thought it was very well written.” […] “The character is 16 in it, so a lot of people can relate to that and it’s also all over the internet so that also causes a lot of people to want to read it,” Dubler said.
The second book of the trilogy, “Powerless,” was named one of the best books of 2024. Brooklyn Barnes claimed it was her most anticipated read of the year. According to Sarah J. Maas, another bestselling author best known for her Acotar series, the story follows the “forbidden romance between a powerful prince and an ordinary girl as they try to survive their kingdom’s grueling laws pitting them against each other.”
Barnes is an avid reader who greatly enjoys the worlds and characters of a story. “I’ve been reading, I would say, for a long time. I just love the way that you can kind of disappear into a book and get to know the characters, even though, of course, they’re not real, but it’s just a fun little form of entertainment,” Barnes said.
Dubler found that her most anticipated book of the year was the sequel to “If He Had Been With Me,” called “If Only I Had Told Her.” However, she felt it did not deserve the amount of fame it was receiving. “I’m pretty far into ‘If Only I Had Told Her’ and I just don’t like how it’s written,” Dubler said.
“Better Than The Movies” was a favorite of Barnes who has currently read 87 books out of her goal of 95 this year. “It’s just an amazing book because the characters are very relatable and it [has] a lot of scenes that average people can relate to. It’s not too far out of reach and I just think that it’s not too slow of a book. […] It’s like a feel-good book,” Barnes said.
The top young adult books of the year have gripped the hearts of some State High students, allowing them to enter new worlds with new characters throughout the year.
