Girls Write Now’s Best Books We Read in 2024

The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
BY Taylor Jenkins Reid
Atria Books

My favorite book this year was The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a book recounting the life of Evelyn Hugo, a famous movie star, but written by a specific journalist that Evelyn picks herself. The book has so many plot twists, a satisfying ending, and is mysterious.

—Ayushree Dahal, Mentee

Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Stories That Smash Mental Health Stereotypes
Edited by Nora Shallaway Carpenter & Rocky Callen
Candlewick, Penguin Random House

My favorite book I read this year is Ab(solutley) Normal which is a compilation of short stories about characters who all deal with different mental health struggles and find ways to cope and work through it so that the mental illness doesn’t control their life. My favorite short story within it is “River Boy” by James Bird.

—Emma Rodriguez, Mentee

The Secret Book of Flora Lea
BY Patti C Henry
Simon and Schuster

So many favorites! One of them was definitely a dual timeline historical novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti C Henry, about a girl who lost her sister in WWII. Highly recommend!

—Hanna Neier, Mentor

The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray
BY WALTER MOSLEY
Riverhead Books

One of my favorite books this year was The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray. It explores the complicated relationships between Black family members, regret, dementia, greed, addiction, murder, racism, and human medicine.

—Jakai Tate, Mentee

MALAS
by Marcela Fuentes
Viking, Penguin Random House

Hard to choose, but Malas by Marcela Fuentes won’t let me go. Who among us can’t relate to the universal theme of teen angst while planning for a quinceañera, fronting a punk band, and navigating an intergenerational curse?

—Kate Riley, Mentor

Black Girl, Call Home
BY Jasmine Mans
Berkley, Penguin Random House

My favorite book so far for 2024 is Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans. It’s a beautiful poetry collection exploring Black queer womanhood. It resonated with me deeply.

—Kayla Dudley, Mentee

Check out Jasmine Mans’ Friday Night Salon with Girls Write Now!

Daughter of the Moon Goddess
BY Sue Lynn Tan
Harper Voyager, HarperCollins

I am loving Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. Immortals, fantasy, romance, politics, battles with monsters, an imprisoned goddess, a beautiful vividly described world… It is a delightful read.

—Kristy Cunningham Bigler, Mentor

My Year of Rest and Relaxation
BY OTTESSA MOSHFEGH
Penguin Books

My favorite book that I’ve read this year was My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. It’s a psychological following a young woman in the early 2000’s as she attempts to sleep for a year through the use of drugs. It’s really interesting and takes a look into the concept of privilege.

—Kylie Lohse, Mentee

What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures
BY Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
One World, Penguin Random House

I have a few faves from this year but my top recommendation is What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. It’s a series of interviews between the author and several climate activists/advocates across all industries and sectors about key climate crisis mitigation tools/initiatives within their industry and the possible climate futures that would follow if we got it (mitigation and carbon reduction) right. Climate optimism at its core!

—Lisbett Rodriguez, Senior Salesforce and Systems Administrator

The Poet X
BY Elizabeth Acevedo
Quill Tree Books, HarperCollins

My favorite book this year was Poet X. It’s a book about a girl named Xiomara, who is struggling to discover what makes her her, and also struggling to be fully comfortable with her body (she’s very curvy so she often gets catcalled) that her mother sees as a sin, while also staying within her mother’s idea of practicing religion. She joins a spoken word poetry club and starts to find her answers until things go crumbling down and then she starts fixing things again. It’s actually a book written in verse and it’s just beautiful.

—Romlah Folakemi Ojugbele, Mentee

We Were Witches
by Ariel Gore
FEMINIST PRESS

My favorite book this year was a re-read from the backlist: Ariel Gore’s We Were Witches. It’s a work of autofiction based heavily upon her time as a single, teen mom trying to find her way in the world. It’s feminist as heck and it contains a ton of fun, witchy moments of surrealism.

—Steph Auteri, Mentor

SILENT WHALE LETTERS
by Ella Finer and Vibeke Mascini
Sternberg Press

I loved Silent Whale Letters! It’s a series of letters between two writer friends as they ponder a special “silent” recording of a blue whale’s song that is at a frequency that humans can’t hear. I love the ocean and female friendship, so really this book is two of my great loves in one.

I also loved Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar and Babel by R. F. Kuang

—Vahni Kurra, Sr. Marketing and Community Coordinator