Best of the Decade: A Long And Very Opinionated Set of Lists

Because I didn't get organized enough in time to dole this out like a sane person...

This isn't a list of my favorites I read this decade, but my favorites of those published. Obviously, there's quite a bit of crossover between those categories, but for instance, I'm not including In Cold Blood, even though I just read it in 2019. Also, I couldn't come up with a reasonable number for each category (much less reasonable categories, really), though I did prune the YA contemporary list back to 30. Books highlighted in blue are particular favorites of mine.

Favorite graphic novels of the decade

Middle Grade

Dear Sister

Guts

Making Friends

New Kid

This Was Our Pact

White Bird

Young Adult

Check Please

Drowned City

Hey, Kiddo

I Am Alfonso Jones

Kiss #8

Princeless

Adult

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth

Here

Saga

Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride

Favorite Middle Grade books of the decade

novels in verse

Crossover/Rebound

Redwood and Ponytail

They Call me Güero

spec fic

Akata Witch

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge

historical fiction

Front Desk

Nest

Nine, Ten

Refugee

The War that Saved My Life/ The War I Finally Won

contemporary

The Benefits of Being an Octopus

Flying Lessons and Other Stories

Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

Lily & Dunkin

Maybe He Just Likes You

Orbiting Jupiter

Favorite YA realistic Fiction/contemporary

All American Boys

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Boy21

Birthday

Challenger Deep

Darius the Great is Not Okay

Death Prefers Blondes

Eleanor and Park

Every Last Word

Everybody Sees the Ants

The Female of the Species

Goodbye Days

A Heart in a Body in the World

Heroine

Hidden Pieces

How It Went Down

If I Was Your Girl
I’ll Meet You There

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life

Internment

A List of Cages

Long Way Down

Losers Bracket

The Memory of Light

Ramona Blue

Reality Boy

Sadie

Saints and Misfits

The Serpent King

The Upside of Unrequited

The Wicker King

Best historical fiction

Code Name Verity

Dreamland Burning

A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

If I Ever Get Out of Here

Murder on the Red River

Orphan Monster Spy

Salt to the Sea

The Smell of Other People’s Houses

Best YA speculative fiction of the decade

Bitterblue

Bone Houses

Darker Shade of Magic (series)

Denton Little’s Deathdate

Dread Nation

An Ember in the Ashes

Girl of Fire and Thorns (series)

Not a Drop to Drink

Poison

Queen of the Tearling (series)

The Scorpio Races

Scythe (series)

Seraphina 

Six of Crows

Strange the Dreamer/Muse of Nightmares

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

Tess of the Road

Three Dark Crowns (series)

Best nonfiction of the decade

YA

The 57 Bus

Boots on the Ground

Brave Face

Every Falling Star
Just Mercy

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Some Writer!
Symphony for the City of the Dead

Adult

Book Love

The Book Whisperer

Born a Crime

H is for Hawk

Lab Girl

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Best adult fiction

Americanah

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Juliet Takes a Breath

The Last Policeman (series)

One Was a Soldier

Paragon Hotel

Station Eleven

The Steel Seraglio

There There

Trigger Warning: Short Fiction and Disturbances

Unsheltered

Vicious/Vengeful