The voting has once again opened for readers to select and vote for their favorite books of the year. As always, I expect the competition to be close in more than a few categories, and I am always hopeful that a DSN or two will grab the final win.
For the Best Fiction category, both Maame by Jessica George and Yellowface by R.F. Kuang are up for consideration, and honestly, both of these books blew me away with their raw honesty while confronting tough subjects. I will personally vote for Maame, but I can see Yellowface making a strong showing.
The Best Historical Fiction category includes four DSN's from 2023, starting off with the book that was named the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, and I believe it is certainly worthy of the honor. The other three books are River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer, The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende (for which a review is coming in December), and Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward. My vote goes to McBride, but it will be tough going up against both Allende and Ward in the same category.
Only one DSN made it into the Best Science Fiction category, though I am in the middle of reading one of the other nominees. I hope to complete T.J. Klune's In the Lives of Puppets soon, but until then, I am content to vote for Lily Brooks-Dalton's The Light Pirate, which looks at what the future could be should our infrastructure fail, while following a young girl with an extraordinary and unexplained gift.
While it is an often neglected category on this blog, I managed to read one novel that has been nominated in the Best Horror category, and that is Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate. Lovers of old Hollywood and the history behind cult classics will most likely enjoy this novel set in Mexico.
Oh boy...well, I knew this was coming. I usually have the most DSNs show up as nominees in the Best Young Adult Fiction category, but somehow I am always surprised. For 2023, there are seven total, and (deep breath in) here they are: Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Munoz (review coming in early December), Immortality by Dana Schwartz, Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis, Five Survive by Holly Jackson, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert, One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus, and finally, Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley. My vote goes to Warrior Girl Unearthed, though this is far from being an easy decision.
Three DSNs have been nominated as the Best Debut of 2023, including two books that have already appeared in other categories. Both Maame and River Sing Me Home made the cut, along with The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff. I will once again be voting for George's Maame, and I am so pleased to see it gain enough recognition to make it into two categories.
The Best Nonfiction category contains one DSN, and I believe it is one that could absolutely win. Matthew Desmond's Poverty, By America does not pull any punches, while still being short, to the point, and with incredible insight. I am not at all surprised by its appearance in the awards.
Prachi Gupta's They Called Us Exceptional is one of those books that took me by surprise, and also one I almost did not read. I am glad I did (the review will be published this Friday), and its inclusion in the Best Memoir & Autobiography category is more than fitting.
And for Best History & Biography, When Crack Was King by Donovan X. Ramsey has gained a spot, and rightfully so. It is a creative, but still honest look at the crack epidemic, following four individuals and their own experiences during an interesting time in U.S. history.
The voting is open and will close on Sunday, November 26, with the final round of voting opening on Tuesday, November 28. There have been a few times in the past years when the numbers were extremely close between first and second place, so be sure to make your voice heard.
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