As we look back at the tumultuous year that was 2020, the SLJ reviews editors have compiled a series of “favorites” roundups.

Here, we share the books we read in 2020 that have stuck with us—whether as a welcome respite from the year’s upheaval or as a work that resonated long after the last page was turned.

Reference/Professional Reading Editor Mahnaz Dar: Owly: The Way Home by Andy Runton

Book Room Assistant Taimur Dar: Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli by Steve Alpert

Reviews Editor Shelley Diaz: I Remember Everything: Life Lessons from Dawson's Creek by Erin Hensley and Julia Callahan; illus. by Jillian Barthold

Picture Books Senior Editor Kimberly Olson Fakih: The Gentleman from Moscow by Amor Towles

YA Senior Editor Katy Hershberger: Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

Chapter Books/Middle Grade Assistant Editor Ashleigh Williams: The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

Nonfiction/Series Made Simple Associate Editor Vanessa Willoughby: Luster: A Novel by Raven Leilani