We celebrate the year’s best YA with Agnes Lee and editor Laura Simeon.

It’s time for our annual best books coverage! Each year Kirkus’ editors choose from thousands of industry-first reviews to determine the top 100 titles in fiction, nonfiction, picture books, middle grade, and YA. We’re on our fourth episode of a special series dedicated to the year’s best books—each featuring an interview with a best books author, followed by a conversation with the respective section editor.

On this episode dedicated to the best young adult books of 2024, Agnes Lee joins us to discuss 49 Days (Levine Querido, March 5), a stunning graphic novel depicting the Buddhist concept of bardo.

Lee is a graduate of Art Center College of Design, and is the illustrator of the New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary column. She is a former Chronicle Books fellow and was an art director at the New York Times for several years. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner and their cat.

“A young woman embarks on a journey to an unknown destination in this debut about grief and life after loss,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of 49 Days. “The depth of emotion portrayed here will resonate with any reader who hasexperienced loss. A moving portrayal of mortality and its aftermath, shown from both sides.”

Lee discusses her experience of publishing 49 Days: the shock of having the book out in the world, its enthusiastic critical reception, and the connections she made with readers. She tells me about the unusual genesis of the project, and how the story was inspired by the experience of grieving her high school best friend. We talk about the Buddhist concept of bardo; what 49 Days’ protagonist, Kit, makes of her strange circumstances at the beginning of the book; how supporting characters may represent different aspects of grief; and role of food in the book—specifically kimchi—and the richness of sensory memories. Lee describes her creative process and what it was like to work on the book’s design. We wrap up with an exchange of some of the best books we read in 2024.

Then young readers’ editor Laura Simeon and I explore more of the year’s best YA.

EDITORS’ PICKS:

Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo (Make Me a World)

Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams by Shari Green (Andrews McMeel Publishing)

Thirsty by Jas Hammonds (Roaring Brook Press)

Ukraine: Remember Also Me: Testimonies From the War by George Butler (Candlewick Studio)

Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang (First Second)

Leap by Simina Popescu (Roaring Brook Press)

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

Find Your Own Way Home by Michael George

Tongue Teasers by D.W. Knight

Dame Alice Hits Hollywood by Allie Mahoney

Children of Ever After by Avery Yearwood

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.