If you are on the hunt for Christmas gifts, Amazon Books have announced You Are Here by David Nicholls as their Best Book of the Year in the UK for 2024. The romance novel, by the best-selling author of One Day, was published in April of this year becoming an instant bestseller. The book trumped other shortlisted novels such as The God of the Woods by Liz Moore as well as non-fiction titles including the hit cookbook So Good by Emily English.
You Are Here follows two protagonists who find themselves together on a long-distance walking trail after being brought together through a mutual friend. A gentle love story unfolds between the two divorcees as they battle the great British weather to find their way home, finding new love and second chances along the way.
What a thrill! I’ve read so many wonderful books in 2024, and for You Are Here to be chosen is a great delight. Huge thanks to all the readers who’ve followed Michael and Marnie’s journey this year.
– David Nicholls, Author
You Are Here was a novel that won all of our hearts this year. It is a beautiful, gentle love story that refreshingly explores relationships in a way that reflects real life. Nicholls is such an excellent creator of character and touching slow-burn romance, so it really was no surprise that we would all be taken with it. Having two protagonists can be tricky to write, but Nicholls does it with enough care and attention that readers find themselves caring so deeply about both of them and rooting for them to find each other. This story is just a pleasure to read and I implore all readers to get their hands on a copy if they haven’t already.
– Jen Barrett, Amazon Books UK
This is the second time Amazon has chosen a ‘Best Book of the Year’ in the UK. The shortlists are hand-selected by the Amazon Books UK team with the aim to reflect the book the team loved the most. The editorial team looked at a number of different criteria to determine which books would make the shortlist out of all the brilliant books the team read throughout the year. Readers also play a key role in informing the decision, with the review process taking Amazon Charts data and customer review ratings into account.
This year’s shortlist highlighted the vast selection and excellence of 2024’s publishing. Other notable highlights included Lauren Robert’s Reckless, which took BookTok by storm following its publication in summer, and the enchanting There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. Non-fiction titles such as The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt and YA favourite The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson also earned a spot on the shortlists.
As well as You Are Here being awarded as the overall Best Book of the Year, Amazon Books also selected category shortlists for best fiction, best nonfiction and best Young Adult or children’s book. Amazon recently awarded its annual Kindle Storyteller Award to Stateside by JD Kirk as the best self-published book of the year in the UK.
The 2024 Best Book of the Year Shortlists
Fiction
- There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak – Viking (PRH)
- House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas – Bloomsbury Publishing
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley – Sceptre (Hachette)
- The Women by Kristin Hannah – Macmillan (Pan Macmillan)
- All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker – Orion (Hachette)
- Jaded by Ela Lee – Harver Secker (PRH)
- You Are Here by David Nicholls – Sceptre (Hachette)
- James by Percival Everett – Mantle (Pan Macmillan)
- The God of the Woods by Liz Moore – Borough Press (HarperCollins)
- Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst – Picador (Pan Macmillan)
Non-Fiction
- Mad Woman by Bryony Gordon – Headline (Hachette)
- The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson – Allen Lane (PRH)
- The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt – Allen Lane (PRH)
- So Good by Emily English – Seven Dials (Hachette)
- Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari – Vintage (PRH)
- From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley & Riley Keough – Pan Macmillan
- Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi – Ebury (PRH)
- Shattered: A Memoir by Hanif Kureishi – Hamish Hamilton (PRH)
- The Siege: The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama by Ben Macintyre – Viking (PRH)
- Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Vintage (PRH)
Kids & YA
- Skandar and the Chaos Trials (Volume 3) by A.F. Steadman – Simon & Schuster Children’s UK
- Evenfall by Alexander Armstrong – Farshore (HarperCollins)
- Reckless by Lauren Roberts – Simon & Schuster Children’s UK
- Dog Man 12: The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey – Scholastic
- Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm by Ash Bond – Piccadilly Press (Bonnier)
- King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore – Hot Key Books (Bonnier)
- The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson – Electric Monkey, HarperCollins
- Chefs Wanted: More Than 40 Delicious Recipes for Curious Cooks by Allegra McEvedy – DK Children
- Hamza’s Wild World: Packed with fun animal facts! by Hamza Yassin – Macmillan Children’s Books
- Where to Hide a Star by Oliver Jeffers – HarperCollins Children’s Books
