That’s a wrap on 2024 reading!
My book goal for 2024 was 37. In the first quarter of 2024, I read 16 books, in the second quarter, I read nine, in the third quarter, I read nine, and this quarter, I read 14, finishing out the year at 48 books read.
I am going to talk about those 14 books from the last three months of 2024 and give my rating, the dates read, and a brief description of what I liked about the book. I tried my best to give a spoiler warning for any descriptions I felt really gave parts of the book away. Let me know if you have read any of these or want to discuss more! You can always add me on GoodReads too at @c.pathofgrace . I am so happy to have shattered my reading goal for 2024!
Penance, Eliza Clark
Dates read: September 29 – October 4
Stars: 4
Woah. Thank you so much to Lauren Louise for putting me onto Eliza Clark on her YouTube channel.
This was a really cool read. I was hooked so immediately that I actually started listening to this as an audiobook (for the first time!) when I was driving or doing something where I couldn’t physically read because I was so enthralled by the story.
This book was such a good depiction of an unreliable narrator. I really liked the style of writing being almost like investigative journalism, in that the story jumped around from interviews, to online posts, to personal storytelling. I really enjoyed piecing the story together, and my perceptions of each character changed so much depending on whose narrative I was reading.
It reminded me a lot of the movie The Craft and also of Brett Ellis Easton’s books because of the unreliable narrator. I haven’t read a book that was written like this before, and I enjoyed the format a lot. Great first introduction to Eliza Clark as an author, and I can’t wait to read more of her books!
Gone, Michael Grant *mild spoilers*
Dates read: October 6 – 9
Stars: 4
I first read this series (the original six, not the full nine) back in 2010, and actually read books five and six right when they came out. I still have all of these on my Kindle and I had been saying recently that I wanted to reread these because of how much I loved the story.
It was so much fun to read this book again. I was pretty shocked with how quickly I read it, but the writing is a really simple YA and so I found it easy to read. All of my memories of scenes and locations came back and it was so awesome to be in the world of the FAYZ again. My brain did fill in some new scenes and settings in Perdido Beach, but overall I loved getting to visit this town again.
I feel like it ended like a typical kids cartoon with a stalemate and a shaking fist of “ooo I’ll get you next time!” but other than that I am so so excited to keep reading these and see where the story goes because it’s been years since I read this series!
I quickly remembered why it was one of my favorites again. I am strongly debating buying these to have physical copies at home, I loved the covers with the actual kids on them.
Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica *mild spoilers*
Dates read: October 9 – 11
Stars: 4
I could not put this book down, I read pretty much this entire book in a day.
The stakes were high, it had so many classic elements of mystery and thriller and I really had no idea how it would end. There were so many red herrings, maybe a few too many, but I was still hooked and desperately wanted to find out what happened to Meredith and Delilah.
The different perspectives / timelines were so great and I think helped tell a really good story. I didn’t feel confused with this storytelling at all, and I think the book had a great pace. For most of it.
Personally, by the last third of the book, the ending just fizzled. I was really invested in all the twists that I had no clue were coming and were super well paced, but I just didn’t feel invested that much when it came to a conclusion.
I wish we got more attention on Delilah/Carly after her escape!
The Hike, Drew Magary
Dates read: October 17 – 18
Stars: 5
I think this is one of my favorite books of 2024. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since and will definitely be rereading in the future.
This was so unbelievably good. I am in shock of what to even say. I could not put it down. This was such a fantastical, gruesome, time bending, amazing story about survival and growth, fighting your inner demons, and choosing to keep going and fighting for those you love. It was a mix of going down the rabbit hole with Alice and following the yellow brick road with Dorothy.
I immediately went home to hug my fiancé after finishing this. The last few pages had me floored and in tears. I seriously cannot stop thinking about this book and I think it will have a lasting impact on me. I beg you to go read this book.
The Other Valley, Scott Alexander Howard
Dates read: October 21 – 23
Stars: 3.75
This book really solidified to me that magical realism and dystopian fiction are my favorite genres. This should shock no one as some of my favorite series in my formative middle school reading years were The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, and Gone.
Anyway.
I have been into this kick of books with magical realism lately and this one was so great. This book is full of time loops, and rules, and very cool world building. The main reason it was a sub 4 for me was the fact the time loops were a little hard for me to keep track of, as I tend to find with most time-jumping media.
That’s probably just a problem for me, because the story and world building and characters were so great. I think this was such a cool concept for a book, a town surrounded by multiple towns on both sides that are each 20 years in the future, or 20 years in the past. I did really enjoy this and I liked that it reminded me of Divergent meets Back to the Future meets Mr. Nobody, all favorite movies of mine.
The Cliffs, J. Courtney Sullivan
Dates read: October 29 – November 3
Stars: 2.5
Ugh. This was a let down. So much potential! Maybe this would make for a good tv short series, but as one book, it felt messy and didn’t keep me engaged in the second half.
I felt like the stories were really all over the place and dragged on very much. For the whole first half of the book, it is about spirits and the supernatural, and then takes a giant pivot to be entirely about the main character, Jane, trying to get her life together. It almost felt like I was reading two different books.
I understood how it all came together in the end, and I understood the bigger picture of what the story was about, but I felt bored by the end as the stakes had almost all vanished. I felt like the story was trying to do too much and was difficult for me to keep track of.
Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay
Dates read: July 19 – November 5
Stars: 5
Oh this was…incredible.
I have wanted to read this since I was first introduced to Roxane Gay in a Women’s Studies course in college.
This was my first real introduction to this style of writing, so I did not know how I was going to fare. I took the plunge, and this became the first book I annotated on my own and highlighted since college. I hope that one day this becomes a well worn book on my shelf because of how many times I have read it.
So many of these essays resonated with me and how I feel trying to fit into this box with what a feminist is, or not being one, or being a bad one, etc. I feel that this book really opened my eyes to how complex not only being a woman is, but being a functional member of society.
We are all so quick to label, and identify, and separate ourselves based on arbitrary rules, that we forget we are all human. This was a really great reminder that none of our experiences are unique, and we have a lot more in common with each other than different. I feel so seen and so heard.
Cursed Bread, Sophie Mackintosh
Dates read: November 6 – 15
Stars: 2.5
I think I was just confused the whole time I read this. I had no real idea what was going on, other than Elodie being so unhappy in her life and pining after the Ambassador and Violet, as new people in town.
There were a ton of elements of this I really liked. The story itself was deeply intriguing, but ultimately I felt like the actual story was so different than how it is described. It was much more a character study on Elodie than anything about a plot on poisoned bread. Usually I enjoy an unreliable narrator, but Elodie was SO involved in her own head and thoughts that it took me out of the story.
I wish that the plot had been a little more structured like the end of the book was. It wrapped up so quickly and felt like the author suddenly remembered what the plot was and just wrapped it up after the whole rest of the book being a rambling in Elodie’s head about her inner thoughts, feelings, and desires. Again, I felt like I was reading two separate books.
Society of Lies, Lauren Ling Brown
Dates read: November 16 – 20
Stars: 5
This book was one of my top reads of 2024, hands down.
A double twist I could not predict. This was such a good thriller. I loved the idea of three separate stories happening at the same time but all made sense together. Such a unique way to tell a story.
This was such a smartly written thriller. I am blown away by how the whole story came together. I felt like I was able to connect the dots on my own and call back to prior events and know why they happened and how they fit in.
Often an issue with some thrillers, is I sometimes feel like an author breadcrumbed too much to allow me to get to the end on my own. That was not the case here. I do not feel like I was led to the point at all. It was so smart and sharp and I got to understand all of the characters and their feelings really well. It was such a big story told in such a short amount of time, I just wanted more!
The Pachinko Parlour, Elisa Shua Dusapin
Dates read: November 21 – 23
Stars: 3.5
This was a short and sweet read. The writing was beautiful and told a nice story in a few words. It reminded me of elaborate poems or stand alone tv episodes, in that it told a whole story and conveyed a person’s whole range of feelings and emotions in only 116 short pages. I wish this had been longer!
I would have loved to get more on the relationship between Claire and Mieko, and even between Claire and her grandparents. It was a beautiful story about Claire living her summer in Tokyo, and eventually spreading her wings to find and discover herself solo.
However, I think a lot of it was left for me to interpret and fill in with my own emotions. It was beautiful, but I didn’t emote as much as I thought I could have.
This would make a great movie.
Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus *mild spoilers*
Dates read: December 2 – 10
Stars: 4
The long awaited read of Lessons in Chemistry. This was so so good.
This was such a good story and I think every character was very well fleshed out. I enjoyed the style of writing, and liked that it was not told in first person and tended to blend thoughts and narratives from one character to the next.
I will admit, the ending was so fast and abrupt and I’m not a fan of books wrapping up everything in the last 50 or so pages. It felt like everything came together so quickly that it felt a little disjointed from the rest of the book. I think it all came together really well, despite this.
It was hard to read the first half of the book because of all the gender discrimination, which I realize was fundamental to the story due to the setting. I really appreciated characters like Walter, Mason, and Wakeley, as being some of the only decent men in Elizabeth’s life. I was so sad that we did not get more time with Calvin.
This was a great read, I loved the story and the characters. I can’t wait to watch the show!
Hidden Pictures, Jason Rekulak *mild spoilers*
Dates read: December 10 – 12
Stars: 4
This was a highly anticipated read for me. I thought it was such a cool concept for a thriller. I really enjoyed piecing the mystery together to find out what was going on.
I enjoyed the supernatural element to the story and I enjoyed all of the characters getting a full and fleshed out background. I could not put this down and especially liked all the images that went along with the book; they helped tell a full story.
I do think that the reveal and explanation of the backstory was a little abrupt, an unfortunate feature in a bunch of thrillers I read. It felt like your classic “villain explaining their motive while the hero is tied up” thing.
Other than that, I thought the plot was super creative and I really liked all the characters and how everything came together in the end. I could not have predicted the ending, although some of the pieces started to come together for me by the end. I was really happy with the ending!
We Will Be Jaguars, Nemonte Nenquimo with Mitch Anderson
Dates read: December 12 – 23
Stars: 5
Where to even begin. This was an absolutely brilliant read. I am so happy this was a Reese’s Book Club pick so that I found it and was able to read this story.
At first, I was not sure if this book would be for me. But the way it was written and how Nemonte told her story was so entrancing and had me hooked immediately. This may be a basic take, but I think the fact that her life and story are so different from anything I have ever, or likely will ever, experience made me feel like I was reading fiction. I find that every autobiography or memoir I read tells stories of people who grew up in the same world as I did, and this story was so unbelievably different that it was hard to conceptualize that this is real life.
This was very powerful and I am deeply moved by Nemonte and all of the rich history of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. This may seem like a weird comment to make, but I have been a long time lover and supporter of The Bronx Zoo and Wildlife Conservation Society and was always a big lover of the Gorilla exhibit and video from the early 2000s that would talk about deforestation and logging in The Congo.
It was really remarkable to read and learn about Nemonte’s way of life and her experiences with the missionaries and the oil companies. I had to Google how long ago this was because I was in such disbelief this was happening in the very recent past. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and will continue to do so.
The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkyl
Dates read: December 26 – 31
Stars: 3.5
This might be my most highlighted book of the year.
This writing was so beautiful and so descriptive. I found myself thinking alot about the nature and seasons in which I live and have grown up in. This book made me think a lot. I think it was beautifully written and was very reflective. I enjoyed going through each season and watching Margaret’s world change. I think that this book has inspired me to slow down and pay more attention to the natural world around me. Though, I don’t see myself trying to save any wild foxes anytime soon.
My only negative was that I just don’t think the style of the book was particularly for me, which is why it was a 3.5 star. It was beautiful and I deeply enjoyed it, but I felt like it was difficult for me to stay engaged and be eager to read. I don’t think that my personal experience with this genre takes away from the beautiful writing and messages throughout the book.
I finally saw my first bird of the new year, and funny enough, it was a crow, meaning a 2025 that’s intelligent, well-communicated, and has strong family ties. I look forward to watching this play out this year! Feels very fitting to have ended my year with this beautiful book.
Up Next…
What a wonderful way to end 2024, by smashing my reading goal. I read a total of 48 books, 12 were physical, for an average of 1 physical book a month and 4 books per month. I think my goal for 2025 is going to be 45 books!
Here are the books I have upcoming in Q1 of 2025. (total goal – 16 books or 5 per month, 3 are physical)
Currently reading: The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley, Atomic Habits by James Clear, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
TBR: City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim, Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, November 9 by Colleen Hoover, Stolen by Lucy Christopher, No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz, Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas, Hunger by Michael Grant, and whatever the next 3 Reese’s Book Club picks for January, February, and March are!
Looking forward to another beautiful year of reading!
Caroline's Path of Grace 
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