It’s a new year, and I’m looking forward to the new worlds the books I read will take me to. Here are the titles that started my year.

1. **The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer – It was totally worth the wait to find out what happened to Matt and the few people left in Opium.
2. “The President Has Been Shot!” by James Swanson – Not as good a s the Lincoln books, but I did learn much about this defining event.
3. **The Darkest Path by Jeff Hirsch – scary and thought-provoking story
4. Baltimore: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Ben Stenbeck – graphic novel meets horror in a hunt for a vampire
5. One Good Deed a Day:  A Journal – Yes, I read it, but this book is not done until I do and record throughout the year.
6. **See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles – This one broke my heart…so good and so sad
7. Flat Broke by Gary Paulsen – Kevin is back with even more schemes–this time to get rich quick–and provides many laughs along the way
8. **The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson – Wow! Such a powerful story of courage and fierce love
9. Risked by Margaret Peterson Haddix – It’s back to 1918 and the Russian Revolution for Jonah, Katherine, and Chip–and Anastasia and Alexei, of course
10. **Champion by Marie Lu – a stunning conclusion to the trilogy.  I’ll miss June and Day
11. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashears – I didn’t see this one coming, but I’m glad I listened to it
12. The Fun of It by Amelia Earhart – Just as charming as the first time I read it!
13. **Unsouled by Neal Shusterman – There is much to think about in this third book in the Unwind Dystology
14. Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis – a poignant story
15. **The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis – Sometimes change starts small and close to home
16. **Feathers  by Jacqueline Woodson – Frannie’s story is a quiet story, but hope gives it power.
17. **Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter – My daughter recommended this powerful book to me.
18. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson – another powerful story
19. Crush by Gary Paulsen – My favorite of Kevin’s stories.

Thanks to quite a few snow days and the rest of Christmas break, January was a good reading month.  I had so many favorites!  I put an asterisk by my top books, but I had to restrain myself from putting one by all of them.

What were some of your favorite books from January?