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Best Books of 2020

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​Best Books of 2020

There's a little bit of everything on our list of the best books we read in 2020.

​For Grownups

​The vanishing halfThe Vanishing Half

by Brit Bennett





A burningA Burning

by Megha Majumdar

​Homeland elegies : a novelHomeland Elegies

by Ayad Akhtar





Deacon King Kong : a novelDeacon King Kong

by James McBride

​Mexican gothicMexican Gothic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia





How much of these hills is goldHow Much of These Hills is Gold

by Pam C. Zhang

​Djinn patrol on the purple line : a novelDjinn Patrol on the Purple Line

by Deepa Anappara





Three hours in ParisThree Hours in Paris

by Cara Black

​White fragility : why it's so hard for White people to talk about racismWhite Fragility

by Robin DiAngelo





The missing AmericanThe Missing American

by Kwei Quartey

​When the light of the world was subdued, our songs came through : a Norton anthology of Native nations poetryWhen the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through

edited by Joy Harjo




Eat a peach : a memoirEat A Peach

by David Chang




​Hamnet : a novel of the plagueHamnet

by Maggie O'Farrell





Hidden Valley Road : inside the mind of an American familyHidden Valley Road

by Robert Kolker


​The invisible life of Addie LaRueThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

by V.E. Schwab





Homie : poemsHomie
by Danez Smith

​Big friendship : how we keep each other closeBig Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close

by Aminatou Sow





Wow, no thank you : essaysWow, No Thank You: Essays

by Samantha Irby

​Everything beautiful in its time : seasons of love and lossEverything Beautiful In Its Time

by Jenna Bush Hager





The only good Indians : a novelThe Only Good Indians

by Stephen Graham Jones

​Some assembly required : decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNASome Assembly Required

by Neil Shubin





The death of Vivek OjiThe Death of Vivek Oji

by Akwaeke Emezi 

​Big summer : a novelBig Summer

by Jennifer Weiner





Sapiens : a graphic history. Volume one, The birth of humankindSapiens

by Yuval Harari

​



​The glass hotelThe Glass Hotel

by Emily St. John Mandel





Caste : the origins of our discontentsCaste

by Isabel Wilkerson

​Transcendent kingdomTranscendent Kingdom 

by Yaa Gyasi






Southwest USA & national parksSouthwest USA & National Parks


​Creating Anna Karenina : Tolstoy and the birth of literature's most enigmatic heroineCreating Anna Karenina

by Bob Blaisdell





The color purpleThe Color Purple

by Alice Walker

​How to be less stupid about race : on racism, white supremacy and the racial divideHow to Be Less Stupid About Race

by Crystal Marie Fleming





The city we becameThe City We Became

by N.K. Jemisin




​The empress of salt and fortuneThe Empress of Salt and Fortune

by Nghi Vo





Dearly : new poemsDearly

by Margaret Atwood

​The guest list : a novelThe Guest List

by Lucy Foley





My dark Vanessa : a novelMy Dark Vanessa

by Kate Russell

​UntamedUntamed

by Glennon Doyle





The Southern book club's guide to slaying vampiresThe Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

by Grady Hendrix

​LusterLuster

by Raven Leilani





Anxious people : a novelAnxious People

by Fredrik Backman

​Entangled life : how fungi make our worlds, change our minds & shape our futuresEntangled Life

by Merlin Sheldrake





Real lifeReal Life

by Brandon Taylor

​Hood feminism : notes from the women that a movement forgotHood Feminism

by Mikki Kendall





MigrationsMigrations

by Charlotte McConaghy

​A life on our planet : my witness statement and a vision for the futureA Life on Our Planet

by David Attenborough





Shuggie Bain : a novelShuggie Bain
by Douglas Stuart

Young Adult

​Clap when you landClap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevedo





Stamped : racism, antiracism, and youStamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

​Love, Creekwood : a Simonverse NovellaLove, Creekwood

by Becky Albertalli





The queen of nothingThe Queen of Nothing

by Holly Black

​Felix ever afterFelix Ever After

by Kacen Callender





Girl, serpent, thornGirl, Serpent, Thorn

by Melissa Bashardoust

​The inheritance gamesThe Inheritance Games

by Jennifer Barnes





Grown : a novelGrown 

by Tiffany Jackson

​Darius the Great deserves betterDarius the Great Deserves Better

by Adib Khorram





The gravity of usThe Gravity of Us

by Phil Stamper

​You should see me in a crownYou Should See Me In A Crown

by Leah Johnson





The hand on the wallThe Hand on the Wall

by Maureen Johnson

​A Cuban girl's guide to tea and tomorrowA Cuban's Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
by Laura Taylor Namey





Children of virtue and vengeanceChildren of Virtue and Vengeance

by Tomi Adeyemi

​FuriaFuria

by Yamile Saied Mendez





Cemetery boysCemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas

Kids

I am every good thingI Am Every Good Thing

by Derrick Barnes





We are water protectorsWe Are Water Protectors

by Carole Lindstrom





​Schomburg : the man who built a librarySchomburg

by Carole Boston Weatherford

​The farmer and the monkeyThe Farmer and the Monkey

by Marla Frazee




Race to the sunRace to the Sun

by Rebecca Roanhorse

​Before the ever afterBefore the Ever After

by Jacqueline Woodson





King and the dragonfliesKing and the Dragonflies

by Kacen Callender

​We dream of spaceWe Dream of Space

by Erin Entrada Kelly





The serious gooseThe Serious Goose

by Jimmy Kimmel

​Just like meJust Like Me

by Vanessa Brantley-Newton






This book is grayThis Book is Gray

by Lindsay Ward

​Randy, the beautiful horseRandy the Badly Drawn Beautiful Horse

by T.L. McBeth

​The cool beanThe Cool Bean

by Jory John






The oldest student : how Mary Walker learned to readThe Oldest Student

by Rita Hubbard

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