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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,641 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Agathas

Cathleen Barnhart Why did I love this book?

I fell in love with The Agathas from page one because I loved the two main characters, Alice and Iris. I’m a sucker for books where two people who seem to have nothing in common find themselves thrown together out of necessity – in this case, to solve a mystery.

I also love mysteries, and the one at the center of this book was so well done that I had trouble putting the book down when it was time to go to sleep.

I loved the characters and the story so much that when I got to the end, I had to go back and re-read the last few chapters, just so I didn’t have to say goodbye to Alice and Iris.

By Kathleen Glasgow, Liz Lawson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Agathas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

A Waterstones Best Teenage & YA Book of 2022!

The most popular girl in school is dead. And everyone's blaming the wrong guy.

After falling from grace last summer, Agatha Christie-obsessed Alice Ogilvie needs to stay out of trouble. While smart and reclusive Iris Adams just wants to get the hell out of Castle Cove.
But now they have a murder to solve. There are clues the police are ignoring, a list of suspects a mile long and some very dangerous cliffs.
Amateur detectives Alice and Iris are about to uncover just how many secrets their sleepy seaside town is…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Admission

Cathleen Barnhart Why did I love this book?

I picked this book up because I’d read and loved other books by Julie Buxbaum and was looking for a book I’d fall in love with. And boom! From page one, when Chloe opens her front door expecting an Amazon package but finds instead a phalanx of armed FBI agents, I am completely engaged.

I also loved the depth of the story and the twists it takes, unfolding into an exploration of privilege, parental love, and what it means to trust your child. Chloe, her parents, her brilliant sister, and her best friend are all richly drawn and complex characters.

Although this story of a privileged young woman and her family caught up in a college admission bribery scandal could have clear villains, it doesn’t, and that was probably what I loved most. 

By Julie Buxbaum,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Admission as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Lie. Cheat. Bribe. How far would you go to get into your dream school? How far would your parents go? Inspired by the recent college admissions scandal, this ripped-from-the-headlines YA novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things sees one teenage girl's privileged world shatter when her family's lies are exposed.

It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer--she has it all--money, privilege, and a ticket to the college of her dreams. Or at least she did until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Spells for Lost Things

Cathleen Barnhart Why did I love this book?

I bought this book because I’m a huge fan of Jenna Evans Welch, having devoured her Love & series.

I fell in love immediately with the two main characters, Willow and Mason. I adore stories told from two points of view (which is why I wrote one), and the two characters’ voices and stories are so different from each other and so compelling that I was completely hooked.

Mason’s story is a hard one: he’s in foster care because of his mom’s addiction, and all he wants to do is find her and be with her. As a reader, I could see what a terrible idea this was, but Mason, of course, can’t. The slowly unfolding relationship between Willow and Mason is also beautifully rendered and so sweet.

By Jenna Evans Welch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spells for Lost Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a poignant and “beguiling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) novel about two teens trying to find their place in the world after being unceremoniously dragged to Salem, Massachusetts, for the summer.

Willow has never felt like she belonged anywhere and is convinced that the only way to find a true home is to travel the world. But her plans to act on her dream are put on hold when her aloof and often absent mother drags Willow to Salem, Massachusetts, to wrap up the affairs of an aunt Willow…


Plus, check out my book…

That's What Friends Do

By Cathleen Barnhart,

Book cover of That's What Friends Do

What is my book about?

Samantha Goldstein and David Fisher have been friends ever since they met on their town's Little League baseball team. But when a new kid named Luke starts hanging out with them, what was a comfortable pair becomes an awkward trio. Luke's comments make Sammie feel uncomfortable.

All David sees is how easily Luke flirts with Sammie, and so David decides to finally make a move on the friend he's always had a crush on. 

Soon, things go all wrong and too far, and Sammie and David are both left feeling hurt, confused, and unsure of themselves, without anyone to talk to about what happened.