Top 3 Reads of 2024
My Favorite Books of the Year
I’m a slow reader. That means I don’t plow through a hundred books a year. I’m lucky to squeeze in thirty or so. But of all the titles I did read in 2024, here are the best . . .
Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.
Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.
Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?
Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys is back with a historical thriller that examines the little-known history of a nation defined by silence, pain, and the unwavering conviction of the human spirit.
Return to the “what if” questions surrounding the Lost Colony and explore the possible fate of Virginia Dare--the first English child born in the New World. What happened to her after her grandfather John White returned to England and the colony he established disappeared into the mists of time? Legends abound, but she was indeed a real girl who, if she survived to adulthood, must have also become part of the legacy that is the people of the Outer Banks. In the spring of 1602 by English reckoning, "Ginny," as she is called by family and friends, is fourteen and firmly considered a grown woman by the standards of the People. For her entire life she has watched the beautiful give-and-take of the Kurawoten and other native peoples with the English who came from across the ocean. She's enjoyed being the darling of both English and Kurawoten alike--but a stirring deep inside her will not be put to rest.
One careless decision lands her and fellow “first baby” Henry Harvie, along with their Croatoan friend Redbud, in enemy hands. Carried away into Mangoac territory, out of the reach of Manteo and the others, she must learn who she truly -- not only the daughter of Elinor and Ananias Dare but also a child of the One True God, who gives her courage to go wherever the path of her life might lead.
Author Shannon McNear portrays history with vivid authenticity gained from extensive research.
A deadly virus. A brilliant, young researcher. And an infected survivor who threatens to steal her heart.
In a society ruled by sanctions and curfews, Dr. Meghan Forester emerges as the youngest and most promising scientist to join the fight against Makanza—the deadly virus that's ravaged the world.
Inside Compound 26, a giant government-controlled research facility, Meghan's new job involves studying the Kazzies, the rare survivors who carry the virus and now exhibit supernatural powers. But as her work unfolds, Meghan's horrified at the brutal and unethical practices the Kazzies are subjected to.
And most surprisingly, she falls in love with one.
Faced with growing conflict over helping the Kazzies versus following the Compound's strict policies, Meghan must choose: obey the government's unethical practices or risk everything to save the only man she's ever loved
