Winners of the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards

So it has come to this. 

The voting is over, and the ballots have been counted. The winners of the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards have been selected by you, the readers. Sure, some hearts will be broken, and there is always at least one upset, but the utmost congratulations goes to all winners, as well as the nominees. And of course, my question is always whether or not any of the DSNs that were nominated made it through to the end.

I am sure it comes as a surprise to very few readers that Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone has managed to triumph in the Best Historical Fiction category. Hannah did the same thing with The Nightingale back in 2015, and clearly has not lost her touch. In my opinion, both were well-deserving of the honor, and it makes me excited to see what she comes up with next. 

Another DSN to get the win, this time for Best Nonfiction, is I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, the late wife of comedian Patton Oswalt. This book is a must for any lover of true crime, and is a testament to McNamara's devotion to her research and her work. 

Tara Westover's Educated is one of those painfully honest memoirs that would be hard to read for some, but incredibly worth the struggle in the end. I am pleased to see it win Best Memoir & Autobiography, and hope that the recognition it has received spurs more people to bravely tell their stories. 

For the third year in a row, Sarah Andersen has taken the win for Best Graphic Novels & Comics, this time with Herding Cats, her third installment in her Sarah Scribbles collection. Clearly, Andersen has found her rhythm, and her audience. There is something about her timing and her humor that resonates with many of people. 

While I am not surprised, seeing Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone in the winner's spot for Best Debut Author made me want to jump around and scream...which would have been awkward given that I am at the office right now, and not by myself. If there was any one book in any particular category that I was pulling for the most, it would be this one. And while it may not have been able to snag the top spot for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, it came incredibly close, coming in second behind Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas. Well done indeed.  

And finally, I have saved the Best of the Best category for last, and I could not be more delighted to announce that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has taken home the highest honor. Well over a year after its release, this young adult novel remains on the New York Times Bestsellers list, and a favorite of many. Clearly, this is an instant classic that has resonated with readers everywhere.

It may be hard to believe, but another year is done for the Goodreads Choice Awards. As always, it has been fun watching which novels got nominated, which ones made it to the finals, and of course, which ones came out on top. Out of the 21 DSNs that were nominated, 17 made it to the finals, and six came off as winners. I will spending a ridiculous amount of time going through many of the categories and discovering new books to help me start 2019 off right. I hope you do too, and I cannot wait to see what the new years brings.