Book Recommendations for Everyone on Your List!

Like many (most?) writers, I’m a voracious reader. I’ve become an especially large consumer of sci fi audiobooks since becoming a judge for the Audies last year! Here are some of my recommendations for the last year. I’m trying to focus on books you might not have heard of, such as by Indie Authors, rather than the NYT Bestsellers that you don’t need me to tell you about! I hope that you love some of these recommendations and will buy books for everyone on your holiday list!!!

If You Loved Narnia and The Phantom Toll Booth

Now that my kids are in high school, I no longer read many Middle Grade novels. I was lucky enough to ARC read Ezra and the Great Bin Jah Meen by R.D. Stevens. This books was a cross between Narnia and The Phantom Toll Booth - I thought it was absolutely charming! Ezra is a neurodivergent, adopted boy who is struggling with his sense of belonging and the illness of his grandmother when a portal to another world opens up in his garden. This is a fantastic unlikely hero and chosen family story. Recommended for ages 8 - 12.

A Rock-n-Roll Coming Of Age Novel

Imagine you are a budding teenage rock star trying to keep it all together while going to high school when your parents can’t pay the bills for your father’s cancer treatment. Suddenly, you are offered a record label contract with a fat check that would take care of all of your family’s financial woes. Only hook is that you have to compromise your artistic integrity and maybe stay in the closet you were already afraid to come out of. The Rest of Your Life Soundtrack by Benjamin Roesch is a terrific coming-of-age novel about a young adult struggling with some very adult problems. It’s wonderfully well-written and credible. This book does a terrific job of demonstrating how to honor yourself, your dreams and your relationships without being at all preachy or too on the nose. Great for ages 15 and up—I’d give it 2 chili peppers on the spice meter.

You Read Romance But Want to Get Into Sci Fi

I’m so glad you are exploring other genres! You are going to LOVE Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale. This was a Reese’s Bookclub pick, but I’m making an exception and recommending it because I usually don’t like romance novels (I’m all for a romantic subplot though!), but this was a fun genre-blender and I absolutely enjoyed it!

This book is kind of a Groundhog Day x Bridgette Jone’s Diary about an autistic woman who is having the worst day of her life when she realizes that she can go back in time and have redos. This book has a lot of fun twists and turns and an interesting, quirky MC. If you enjoy audiobooks, the narrator was terrific!

You’re A Little Too Old For Uglies and You Miss Divergent…

I wouldn’t be a very good marketer if I didn’t recommend my own book for people on your holiday list! ReInception and DeInception are the first two books in my multi-award-winning Sci Fi trilogy! For ages 16 and up and perfect for someone who loved Uglies when it came out, but is now looking for something a bit more mature and cerebral or for fans of Divergent. This is a social science fiction novel about a future where we have the technology to instantly change human behavior. College student, Leandrea, and government-labeled terrorist, Ward team up to try to expose the truth about what ReInception is really doing when they are in your head. What the discover could start another civil war. This is light hard-sci fi (if that wasn’t a sub-genre, it is now), and also two chili peppers on the (romantic subplot) spice meter.

If you order ReInception or DeInception through my local bookstore, SPLIT ROCK BOOKS, you can ask for customization - I will run right over and sign it for you and they will ship it out. If you already bought the books or are buying somewhere else but want an autograph, please write to me at contact@sarenastraus.com with your name, address and how you would like your signature customized and I will send you a free book plate!

If You Love A Good Ghost Story…

I am an absolute chicken, but I loved this psychological horror/ghost story, Absolution Blues by Alexander Nader. Eric is trying to outrun his past but is being pursued by a murderous ghost. If he doesn’t keep moving, the ghost will catch up with him. One of those great books where neither the MC nor the reader knows what’s real and what’s in the character’s head. I read it in one sitting.

If You Love Smart, Medical Horrors

Here I am, saying I don’t love horror, and recommending two more books! These smart, medical horror books are written by ER Doctor, NJ Gallegos. Her background lends credibility to the writing and she does not hold back on the emotional or physical ick. Her first novel, The Broken Heart, has one of the best longlines of all time, so I won’t mess with perfection:

When an abused housewife needs a new heart to survive, she receives a transplant from a serial killer and develops a taste for revenge.

Her latest release, The Fatal Mind, described as Black Mirror x Frankenstein, explore what happens when a professional athlete who undergoes an experimental migraine cure, starts going all dark and twisty.

Also, her social media is great fun and you need to follow her DrSpooky_ER https://x.com/DrSpooky_ER

And For the Short Story Lover

My final recommendation (for today) is a wonderful collection of short stories by Annika Galloway called “The Waiting Room.” This is another book that I had the honor of beta reading and I just loved it. Each short story is inspired by the experience of different people in the same hospital waiting room. The stories are beautifully written and sensitive and each has a surprising, but well-planned twist. I particularly loved the first story, Azaleas, which really stuck with me. I don’t want to ruin the plot twist by saying why, but a lot of people will find resonance and familiarity in these pieces.

I promise lots more great book recommendations in the future, but I hope these will help you find something great for everyone on your holiday shopping list!

Please comment with some of your favorite books of 2024 that people might not have heard of but that you highly recommend!!