2023 is ending soon, and I can’t think of a better way to end the year than by reflecting on the amazing novels I’ve read! Every book I read was so creative and thought-provoking and I would, without a doubt, recommend any of these to anyone looking for a new book!
The rating system consists of an overall score composed of how good it was within its genre, my general interest in the book, and how much I thought about it I after finished it (aka its “Roman Empire” level).
And with that, let’s begin the rating of my 2023 reading list!
- The Inheritance Games trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
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Rating Within the Genre: 4/5
This was the first young adult series I had read in a very long time, and I was so impressed! The characters were all so well developed and easy to grow attached to, and every little detail was crafted into such an integral part of the story, making for the perfect amount of plot twists.
My General Interest: 4/5
I’ll admit, I didn’t give this series a second thought before borrowing the books from my friend, but not even halfway through the first book, I was hooked! I may have been forced into binge-reading the first one on a four-hour road trip through Pennsylvania, but honestly, there’s no doubt in my mind I would’ve finished this within a day because of how well-paced and intriguing it was.
Roman Empire Level: 2/5
Seeing as this was just a YA novel, I didn’t have any lingering thoughts on the series, but there were definitely some twists that left me reeling for a hot minute!
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
I really enjoyed The Inheritance Games, especially because I found the concept of “rags to riches” very well done, despite how ordinary of a trope it may be. I also loved that it didn’t rely on a cliche romance plot to push the trajectory of the story forward and allowed the storyline to take precedence in the series instead. Of course, we can’t forget to mention my favorite thing about the series: a strong female protagonist who is a fellow UConn Husky!
- My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
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Rating Within the Genre: 4/5
Although a fictional novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation was more of a memoir-like fever dream for me, which makes sense since we’re following the subconscious thoughts of our protagonist on her journey through a makeshift “hibernation.” That being said, this book was extremely fun and uncanny at its core, with the perfect blend of realism and ambiguous dream sequences, always leaving me with the question, “What’s happening right now?”
My General Interest: 4.5/5
I’ll be honest, I put off reading most books by Ottessa Moshfegh for a long time solely because of the hype from BookTok. But after giving in, I’m a proud fan of Moshfegh’s work, especially My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Her writing style, particularly the one she uses for this novel, is so unique and I was easily drawn into it, making it one of the easiest and most fun reads I’ve had in a while!
Roman Empire Level: 4.5/5
Okay, but the way I stayed obsessed over this book bordered on manic. With every chapter came either a new question to ponder or a new philosophy to deconstruct. Let’s just say there were countless hypothetical literary analyses I forced concerned family members and friends to listen to until I got all my thoughts about it out (and I still don’t think I did).
Overall Rating: 5/5
Maybe it was because I read the book during a stressful time in my life, but I have never been able to empathize with a main character in a fiction novel the way I did with the main character in My Year of Rest and Relaxation. It was so cathartic to read about someone so imperfect and odd during a time in my life when everything in the world felt like too much. The lack of a normally structured plot and mundane main character made the novel even more human and relatable, and I can honestly say I loved everything about it!
- Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous
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Rating Within the Genre: 3.5/5
For a memoir written by a nameless person, this bordered on either exaggerated truth or very inconceivable events (maybe even both). Either way, it felt so real that I felt, albeit unwillingly, involved in his life. The details about Anonymous’ life and the way he lived were both immensely grotesque and poetic, making it hard to determine whether or not I wanted to know about his life (turns out I did).
My General Interest: 3/5
Again, BookTok put me off of reading Diary of an Oxygen Thief for a while because of the hype, as well as the slight controversy it was causing. But even once I decided I was ready to read it, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it, not because I found the contents of the memoir to be boring or slow-paced, but it was more like as I continued reading, I wasn’t sure this novel was for me. But once I was able to get into it, it made out to be a really interesting story!
Roman Empire Level: 5/5
Despite it taking a while for me to get into, it wasn’t long before it consumed many of my waking thoughts. Yes, the dramatics are necessary when talking about this memoir because when I say everything, I mean everything about this novel was so profound yet meaningless. The way the narrator justifies his motivations is so paradoxical, and I ultimately only ever understood an equal amount of everything and nothing after finishing each chapter, and that alone left me reeling.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
I’m not one to shy away from a gritty and bleak novel with coded messages, but Diary of an Oxygen Thief was probably the most disturbing novel I read this year, but in a good way, I think. It was a challenge to get through, but once you move past the unsettling oddity of the narrator, you start to see the meaning and thought put into his personality, and what it says about the theme of the novel, which I think is also very ambiguous. So if you’re into pondering the actions of morally corrupt but interesting characters, this one’s for you!
- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Machado
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Rating Within the Genre: 4.5/5
This was the first collection of short stories I’ve ever read, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much enjoyed the stories, each being unique in concept and creative in execution. I especially appreciated how the overall theme of the book was constructed from the plot of each story, which made it even more satisfying to finish!
My General Interest: 4/5
I’ve never fully read a collection of short stories before, so I wasn’t sure where this would fall in terms of my interests, but turns out I had nothing to worry about! Some of the stories were a bit denser than others, but once I worked through the heavy metaphors and cryptic messages, I became so invested in the stories that I still go back and reread some of my favorites.
Roman Empire Level: 3.5/5
The only reason that the rating here is so low is that it took a good while for me to understand the metaphors in some of these stories, which was a bit frustrating at times. However, that doesn’t change the fact that almost every story ended with me asking myself “What in the world did I just read?” The main reason this book took a while to finish was because every story was weird enough to occupy my brain for days on end!
Overall Rating: 4/5
I think Her Body and Other Parties is a memorable short story collection, and I recommend it to anyone who’s not afraid to do a little thinking to understand a story! Seriously, as much as I enjoyed this, it brought out a lot of AP Lit critical thinking skills I didn’t anticipate using. But I think once you move past the strangeness of it, the stories carry a powerful meaning to them in terms of the societal view of women, which I found Machado did extremely well without exhausting any overdone tropes.
- Last Night AT the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
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Rating Within the Genre: 5/5
Last Night at the Telegraph Club not only exceeded my preconceived expectations for a romance novel but also did a fantastic job of creating the perfect combination of historical fiction and queer representation, which I adored! I’ve never read a book that incorporated two very strong genres and blended them as seamlessly as this one, making it one of my favorite LBGTQ+ books at the moment!
My General Interest: 5/5
I am not an avid historical fiction fan in the slightest, but something about this story engrossed me from the get-go. There was never a moment that I wasn’t completely invested in the storyline, even as some points slowed to focus on the historical elements, and I adored the way Lo incorporated cultural influence into the plot as well. I won’t say that reading this made me a historical fiction fan, but I will say that I have a new-found appreciation for time-piece books thanks to this one!
Roman Empire Level: 4/5
I think the only reason I kept obsessing over this book was because there were so many parts that I was able to think about in a larger sense, specifically the protagonist’s discovery of self, and how despite it being set in a relatively unaccepting time in our nation’s history, many of her experiences on a journey to acceptance are ones that members of the LGBTQ+ community still experience today.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Last Night at the Telegraph Club does a fantastic job of detailing what life can be like for a young queer teenager, and it does so in a way that doesn’t take away from the protagonist’s personality, which is what I think I loved most about it! Lo does a great job highlighting the challenges LGBTQ+ communities have been experiencing since the 1900s, and doing so with such a passionate and heartfelt story of young love, emphasizing how love can be influenced by familial, cultural, and societal factors. This is the perfect book for anyone looking for a love story that isn’t just about love, but a love story that involves so much more.
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
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Rating Within the Genre: 4.5/5
Much to my surprise, Red, White, and Royal Blue does the enemies-to-lovers trope a justice I could not have predicted! It was a perfectly crafted romance story, serving adorable, tooth-rotting fluff, while also remaining very in tune with the difficulties of navigating a secret, queer, and high-stakes relationship.
My General Interest: 5/5
I had heard pretty good reviews, but as someone who wasn’t the biggest fan of romance novels, I didn’t have a calling to read the book at all…that is, however, until the movie came out. So, unlike a good chunk of fans, I did not read the book until I watched the movie that came out this past July, and I am so glad that I did! The movie may have been what originally invested me in this love story, but the book offered so much more, and I quite literally could not put it down!
Roman Empire Level: 3.5/5
As fluffy as it was, there were moments I would be able to give a full five-page essay on if given the opportunity. The political setting of the story, in particular, was intricately detailed, and it was worth noting the lengths to which the main characters were willing to go to maintain their relationship, as well as their individual lives, which was something I could appreciate about the story and the characters.
Overall Rating: 4/5
It may have already gained its cult following prior to the release of the movie this year, but Red, White, and Royal Blue has become so much more than that, and it’s easy to see why! This book has it all: a beautifully blossoming LGBTQ+ romance, well-written plot devices that aren’t cliche, and of course, we can’t forget to mention some of the most iconic and thoughtfully crafted queer characters I’ve ever read about!
- Crying in H-mArt by Michelle Zauner
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Rating Within the Genre: 5/5
I will confidently say that Crying in H Mart was one of the most raw and profound memoirs I’ve read this year. It has roots grounded in emphasizing the importance of family and how that resonated with the author throughout her adult life, making it one of the most moving memoirs that I’ve read! It was so beautifully written, and Zauner never misses a beat in guiding us through her journey of grief and self-discovery, which made it so impactful.
My General Interest: 4.5/5
I have been a big fan of the author’s band, Japanese Breakfast, for a couple of years now, so from the moment I saw the book in Barnes & Noble, I knew I had to read it. Zauner’s willingness to be so vulnerable about such a difficult subject makes her all the more human, as well as gives her music a meaning that I wouldn’t have known existed before reading her memoir. Despite never having been in the position Zauner was in, she writes in a way that allows you to absorb and adopt a newfound appreciation for your life and those in it.
Roman Empire Level: 4/5
I finished this one recently, so it’s still pretty fresh in my brain, and for all the right reasons. Every chapter is written so deliberately, with so much affection but also heartache that it was hard not to think about. After every chapter, I felt myself sympathizing with Zauner’s pain, with the love I have for my own mother growing simultaneously, making this one of the few books to influence the way I saw my own family life.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Crying in H Mart is, without a doubt, a very sad and emotional story of grief and family. That being said, Zauner manages to convey her feelings with grace and elegance, writing about it in a way that expresses both the difficulty of grief but also the ability to work through it with family by your side. Her expressions of love for her mother are so uniquely hers, but they evoke something all daughters can relate to, allowing her story to be one of solidarity as well as her dedication to her mother. I truly loved this and recommend it to anyone who has gone through something similar to Zauner or is even just someone’s daughter.
Conclusion
Honestly, I am proud of this year’s reading list! I feel like I challenged myself to read lots of different genres and themes from authors of different backgrounds, and it resulted in the creation of one of my most successful TBRs! I don’t have a favorite but the two I think I gravitated the most toward were My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Crying in H-Mart, but all of them were fantastic in their own way. I hope that if any of these happen to make it onto your 2024 TBR you’ll get to enjoy them as much as I did!