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December 2024 Book Reviews

ByMary Wilson
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Discover which books I recommend for
kids, teens, and adults, based on my reading this month.

I couldn’t read as many books as I had hoped this month, but the books I did have time to read were pretty good.

I think I hit a nice variety of books for myself, though the titles I read for kids were mostly fantasy or adventure books.

Many of the books I read each month are necessary for teaching my online book clubs, so you will find some great suggestions for kids, tweens, and teens!

I’ve included all of my reviews below, so keep scrolling and share what you read this month in the comments!

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My book reviews for December 2024. This image contains a few of the covers.

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Children’s Books for December 2024

It was a great month of children’s books with some of my favorite types – fantasies and adventures!

Keeper of the Lost Cities Cover Image

Keepers of the Lost Cities
by Shannon Messenger
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster knows there is something unique about her, after all, she can hear the thoughts of everyone around her. She doesn’t talk about it with anyone, but all of that changes when a mysterious boy, Fitz, shows up and explains that there is a place for her but it isn’t in her world.

To keep her human family safe, she has to leave them and travel to her new home to learn more about who she is and what makes her unique, even among peers like herself. As she learns more about who she is and the secrets buried deep in her mind, it becomes clear that she is in danger and no one knows who is behind it or why.

After YEARS of students recommending this book to me regularly, I finally read it and I can 100% see why they all love it. It follows the “chosen one” troupe with its own unique twist. We have a main character searching for belonging amid the magical classes and fantasy world-building. And there is just the right amount of tween “crushes” to satisfy the middle school crowd.

I enjoyed the majority of the characters and there is more to each of them than meets the eye. I felt like most of them had several layers and we have only started to peel back the first few. Her assigned guardians, Grady and Edaline, have deep sorrow that I think Sophie can understand well. They were a good match.

There are a lot of “not everything is as it seems” moments that felt a little haphazard coming at me at one point in the story. And none of it makes complete sense, yet, which is the point but that left me a little confused here and there but I just went with it.

Great fantasy book for the middle school ages. I don’t know what happens in future books but this one started out well!

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Dragons in a Bag

Dragons in a Bag
by Zetta Elliott
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

When Jaxon’s mom has to go to court to fight their landlord, she leaves him with a woman she calls Ma, but Jaxon has never met. It doesn’t take long for Jaxon to discover that this grouchy (and somewhat mean) lady is a witch! She enlists Jaxon’s help to deliver dragons to the magic world, but things don’t go as planned. Before he knows it, he and Ma are separated, and it is up to him to find Ma and deliver the dragons safely! Thankfully, he is going to have some help along the way.

I selected this book for my online kid’s book club because it is popular. I found the character, Ma, particularly intriguing because she is so unexpected. Unlike most “grandmotherly” figures, she is mean, grouchy, and indifferent to Jaxon. She made for an interesting character to discuss at the book club.

A LOT happens to Jaxon in one day, and the story feels rushed. This book had the most mixed reviews of any book I have read with my students online this school year. I would say more than 60% of the 8-10-year-old readers loved it, though. If you think this one might be a good pick for your children, have the sequels ready because book one ends with several unanswered questions.

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payback by gordon korman cover

Masterminds: Payback
by Gordon Korman
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was a great ending to the Masterminds series. The twists and turns continue with plenty of unexpected and exciting adventures. I am glad I took the time to read the trilogy!

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YA Books I Read in December 2024

I read a few Christmas books for teens this month to update my complete list with the full reviews of each title!

Talk Santa to Me

Talk Santa To Me
by Linda Urban
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Francie’s family experiences Christmas like no other. Her family owns the Hollydale Holiday Shop and runs the local Santa School, founded by her beloved grandfather. Christmas is very literally her family’s business.

Since her grandfather’s passing, Francie’s Aunt Carol seems determined to change everything Francie loves about the holiday shop but Francie is determined to fight to save the shop she loves. Her determination gets her in a bit of pickle as “Santa’s Intern” who has to answer the hundreds of cards from kids about Christmas while trying to make time for her Christmas fun, which she hopes will include romance.

I thought this was a cute book, but with quite a few storylines, it was hard to focus on any particular one. The storyline with her Aunt Carol was the most frustrating because the lack of communication in the family caused the problems. The romance was sweet and light-hearted. Hector, the boy she is interested in, is a gem of a high school boy. In the end, he helps recruit people to help her with her letter writing, which is very sweet.

The backdrop of the holiday shop was a sweet addition to the story. It made it feel more festive, especially some stories about Santa and how he must act.

I’ve been reading YA/teen Christmas books to write reviews for parents and teens to make informed reading choices. I give this one the green light for ages 14+. There is a lot of discussion about kissing (a failed kiss, a practice kiss, and a final kiss), but there is a minimal detailed description, and nothing happens beyond that. The main character, Francie, is haunted by a failed kiss when she was 13 years old, and one of the boys just “stuck his tongue in her mouth.” That’s about as direct as any description gets.

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Snow in Love

Snow in Love
by Melissa De La Cruz, Nic Stone,
Aimee Friedman, & Kasie West
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This holiday collection has four individual stories, and I felt differently about each (specific reviews below). Overall, I think this is a solid holiday read for ages 14+. Only the third story described a more “intense” kissing scene (see below). Parents might also like to know that the final story is an inclusive LGBTQ romance.

➽ Snow and Mistletoe by Kasie West – ★★★★★

This one was the perfect teen holiday romance story. Even though it is entirely predictable, it was completely heart-warming. Seventeen-year-old Amalie is stuck at the airport with no money and no way to get home. She runs into a boy, Sawyer, from her high school who invites her to join his sister and friends as they drive home instead. The adorable way Sawyer shoots his shot is predictably adorable and everything you want in a holiday romance. They do kiss, but there are no graphic descriptions in this story.

➽ Working in A Winter Wonderland by Aimee Friedman – ★★★

This one was only “meh” for me, but I suspect teens might enjoy it more as they are the intended audience. Maxine is Jewish and doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but she gets a job at a huge department store working as Santa’s elf for the holidays. She takes the job to earn money to buy an expensive dress for New Year’s. She wants to wear it to impress a particular boy who happens to be the rich son of the department story owner. He is (predictably) insufferable and not interested in Maxine. Instead, she learns that a co-worker is interested and he is sweet and kind and everything a holiday romance should include. Their romance seemed to come out of left field as there was no build-up, but it was a sweet ending all the same.

➽ The Magi’s Gifts by Melissa De La Cruz – ★★

This is a modern retelling of The Gift of the Magi that I didn’t care for. I’ll be honest, I skimmed this one. Not only does the title give it away, but the plot reveals what will happen early on. I didn’t love either of the main characters, and they are selling pretty expensive and over-the-top items for each other, so that felt like a bit much, especially for high schoolers. Since I skimmed it, I can’t speak all of the descriptions of romance, but this was the first book where the description of kissing was more intense than the others, but it was only one paragraph (that I read). Not a bad story, just not engaging for me.

➽ Grounded by Nic Stone – ★★★★★

This was another perfect holiday setting about two girls who were stuck at the Atlanta airport when their planes were grounded. They are friends from the past who haven’t spoken in a few years, mainly because the main character, Leigh, realized she was attracted to girls and had an awkward moment in her mind with her friend from the past, Nicey. The two begin talking via text and realize they are both at the ATL airport, so they play a hide-and-seek game with clues. The game is creative, and the girls start talking more honestly, only for Leigh to discover that her crush wasn’t as one-sided as she thought. This sweet, LGBTQ-inclusive teen romance was perfect for the holiday.

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The Afterlife of Holly Chase Christmas book

The Afterlife of Holly Chase
by Cynthia Hand
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

On my quest for a few teen holiday reads, I was absolutely delighted to find this book. The story was a delightful play on the Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Holly, the main character, is a modern-day Scrooge who fails to change her ways. After she dies, she is recruited by the Scrooge company and must serve her time as the Ghost of Christmas Past to save other “Scrooges.” When the Scrooge team begins to help a high school boy, Ethan, from his greedy, sad ending, Holly finds herself a bit too entangled in the story.

The connection to A Christmas Carol makes it a great addition to your high schooler’s December literature list, especially as a follow-up or companion read. It was a delightful tale with light romance that was overall age-appropriate.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS FROM MY SECOND READING 2024
I still enjoyed this one quite a bit. I loved how every character in the original story is mentioned as the team tries to find a counterpart in the modern-day Scrooge’s life. It’s a great follow-up to the original book for older teens.

This time, I was struck by how much romance is involved in the story. It’s mainly just a lot of kissing, but the characters sneak out at night as well, and staying overnight is hinted at in one section, though Holly declines.

And once again, I enjoyed the ending.

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Adult Books I Read in December 2024

I loved quite a few books that I read for myself this month.

James book cover

James
by Percival Everett
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Follow James and Huckleberry Finn on their adventures, but this time, the reader will experience the story from James’ point of view.

It has been decades since I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but I still enjoyed this re-telling of the adventure. I am sure there is an added benefit of being more familiar with the original story, but you don’t have to be to enjoy this novel on its own merit.

The story was engaging, and the writing drew me into the story quickly. The chapters are short, but the writing is beautiful. We are treated to well-written passages that give us a peek into James’ thoughts and feelings, which flip the narrative of an enslaved individual. James had an interesting relationship with Huck; I thought it felt realistically conflicted.

The ending was abrupt and a bit jarring. It’s not out of line, but it’s a complete change from the first 90% of the book. It also seemed rushed compared to the rest of the story, which took time, and we lingered in moments.

Overall, this was a fantastic read for me and something very unique.

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Here One Moment Book Review

Here One Moment
by Liane Moriarty
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

It’s hard to write a review for this one for several reasons:

1. I don’t want to give too much away to anyone who hasn’t read it. Not knowing what is happening is part of the story’s intrigue.

2. It had some very similar vibes to my absolute favorite book of the year, so it was bound to fall short for me no matter what – because it wasn’t that book.

Some of my biggest complaints were that I didn’t love the narrator, and the details we learned about her life seemed entirely unnecessary. There are also a TON of characters to keep track of with very short chapters, making it hard to get to know anyone and their story. I was only interested in a few.

The ending had some clever connections and moments, but overall, it felt disappointing and short after such a huge investment of time and energy into this story.

That said, it is a fantastic read for a book club, and I loved discussing it with friends. There are some great discussions to be had about fate and knowing your future after reading this book. We also had conflicting views about how it ended and what we should think about why everything occurred.

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We solve murders book cover

We Solve Murders
by Richard Osman
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Amy Wheeler is a private investigator tasked with keeping a world-famous author, Rosie D’Antonio, alive. It wasn’t supposed to be a complicated job, but unfortunately for Amy, there are people after her in addition to the killers who are after Rosie. Luckily, Amy’s father-in-law is retired and ready to help with some of his amateur investigative work. Now all three of them are traveling around the world to solve a few murders, clear Amy’s name, and keep Rosie alive.

I loved this mystery book and the cast of characters. I thought it was light-hearted and fun while being an engaging read. I had tried Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, but book one just didn’t captivate me. I wasn’t attached to the characters. It appears that the characters in this book are more my style. Overall, the storytelling is a very similar style, so if you enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club, you will probably enjoy this one as well.

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do you still talk to grandma cover

Do You Still Talk to Grandma
Britt Barron
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This book offered a lot of great concepts and general thoughts about dealing with problematic people, but it didn’t dig into the nitty gritty of what that might look like on a personal level. Most examples were about celebrities or people online with a vast audience. There weren’t many I remember about close family members and fleshing out how that might look.

The author did share a little about her friendship with Rachel Hollis and a problematic moment, but she never shared a deeper look at navigating that. I did appreciate the big-picture nuance she introduced using that example because I remember what Rachel Hollis said and how horrible it seemed in the social media storm. I know authors must have personal boundaries when sharing their stories. Still, based on the title, I thought the book would dig deeper into navigating personal relationships with some detail.

I did love the final chapter about imagining a particular future for your family, community, and country and then working toward it. Some of the wisdom in that section was perfect for the new year! (as I am finishing this on 1/2) The chapter discussed big-picture historical movements and our small part in the greater story.

NOTE: The problematic people in the examples all have conservative and right-wing political ideas. This is understandable because the author is a Black queer woman and a progressive Christian. The book is based on her own life experiences and perspectives. That said, it does narrow down the audience. I would not recommend this to any of my conservative friends.

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More Monthly Book Reviews

October 2024 Book Reviews

November 2024 Book Reviews

More Great Book Lists

The Best Christmas Books for Teens (with reviews!)

35 Christmas Books Your Kids will Love

Award-Winning Books by Grade Level

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