For those readers and list makers, nothing is more exciting than January! The time to make an amazing list of books to read for the year!
Where will our reading lives take us? What adventures and emotions will we experience through the books we read? Always, there are endless possibilities.
So many books. Limited time.
New books to distract us from other books.
A must read list ensures not all are forgotten!
Join the #mustreadin2018 community!
To read more about the challenge and add your list, read here.
Here are the 30 titles I am going to try and read over this year. As always these titles will represent only a portion of my reading. My goal? To read most of these. I use this list like a a road map of where to turn next when I come to a pause in my reading choices. It is always waiting to guide me. But it also waits patiently when I am distracted by new books.
Making a list like this – a To Read list – also allows us to reflect on the reading that we want to do. I know I want to emphasize middle grade novels. I also want to ensure that I am reading from various genres but honour that I will typically gravitate to realistic fiction.
This year I split my list in two. Half of these books are titles published in 2017 or earlier and the rest published in 2018. Hopefully, this will be a nice balance of newly published titles and titles that I have discovered from my fantastic PLN as not to be missed.
2017 or before
These first two titles are from my #mustreadin2017 list that I still want to read
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Read March 22nd 2018 5/5 stars
WishTree by Katherine Applegate Read March 29th 2018 5/5 stars
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser Read January 13th 2018 5/5 stars
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling Read February 4th 2018 4/5 stars
Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman Read December 27th 2018 5/5 stars
The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh Read February 11th 2018 5/5 stars
Jane Unlimited by Kristin Cashore Read June 10th 2018 3/5 stars
Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess Read February 18th 2018 5/5 stars
Karma Khullar’s Mustache by Kristi Wientge
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater Read January 21st 2018 5/5 stars
Titles published in 2018
Grump by Liesl Shurtliff Read October 13th 2018 5/5 stars
The Jigsaw Jungle by Kristin Levine
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Read July 14th 2018 5/5 stars
Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart Read March 27th 2018 4/5 stars
In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner Read July 6th 2018 5/5 stars
Loser’s Bracket by Chris Crutcher Read June 23rd 2018 5/5 stars
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed Read July 11th 2018 5/5 stars
Breakout by Kate Messner Read December 16th 2018 5/5 stars
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor Read April 22nd 2018 5/5 stars
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi Read May 6th 2018 4/5 stars
Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai Read May 13th 2018 5/5 stars
Sunny by Jason Reynolds Read December 7th 2018 5/5 stars
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake Read August 19th 2018 5/5 stars
Knock Out by K.A. Holt Read February 18th 2018 5/5 stars
Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead Read July 15th 2018 5/5 stars
What novels are at the top of your TBR list? Please share!
There's a Book for That 
You have a few books I loved – The War I Finally One, Insignificant Events, Wishtree, and The Vanderbeekers, and Karma Khullar. I also want to read Bob and Good Dog, but neither made my list. I’m really looking forward to Breakout.
I am too. Kate Messner is so prolific but always incredible!
I have some of these older ones on my list and have read a few, but oh, those new titles for 2018! I know each one will be good to read! Fun to see that Liesl Shurtliff has a new “tale” coming out! Thanks, Carrie, the list grows!
I was also so excited to see that Liesl has a new title! Always looking for possible read alouds for my class.
Great list – I have read none, but own many of yours! And a few that I didn’t know about like Knock-Out and Bob and many that I WANT to read…like your entire list! 🙂
Funny – I want to read my entire list too! 🙂
I bought I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter I can’t wait to read it!
Me too!
I love it! I see we’ve been surfing the same lists and recommendations. 🙂 I’m mad I didn’t put Gae’s new book on my list. Darn it! And Kate’s! Darn it again. Ha. I’ll read them anyway. 🙂
That’s the thing – what doesn’t make the list still makes the list – lots to read!
I’m still working on my list Carrie, and it’s hard to whittle it down to a manageable number when I read other people’s lists and keep adding to my own!
I hear you!
So many of these are on my list too and so many that I would have added to my list but didn’t think of! I need to start a list for 2019, I think! There are several of your 2018 choices that I hadn’t heard of before.
It’s going to be a fantastic year of reading!
I cannot wait to read many on your list also!!!
I hope you love Cactus, Knock Out, Turtles, and Wishtree as much as I did.