Whether you are participating in our In Case You Missed It Backlist Reading Challenge or simply found this post searching for the best books of 2015, you’ve come to the right place! Our list includes a mix of the best-selling novels of 2015 as well as highly-rated books published that year that flew a bit more under the radar.
There are so many great books released each year that it’s impossible to keep up. The Book Girls typically read about 200 books a year between the two of us, but nonetheless, our TBRs (to-be-read lists) just keep getting longer. And we know we’re not alone! With that in mind, we decided to take a look back at some of the best books that we missed from past years.
In Case You Missed It…
We’ve compiled a list of highly-rated books from 2015, including a wide variety of genres, from contemporary and literary fiction to mystery and romance. Our goal was to make these recommendations much more than just a list of the 2015 best-seller books. In addition to popular titles, you’ll find hidden gems that we think should have been more popular.
While researching 2015’s best books, we also had fun reminiscing about some pop culture moments that defined the year.
Five Things We Were Talking About in 2015
No one would have predicted a Founding Father to be the pop culture icon of 2015, but Lin Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical, Hamilton, became an instant hit when it debuted on Broadway on August 6th. Fun Fact: The Book Girls saw Hamilton together in New York City just 8 days after it opened and we haven’t stopped singing along since. The show went on to win 11 Tony Awards.
Although streaming services were not new, many view 2015 as the year when binge-watching shows on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon became the way to watch TV. Despite the popularity of “Netflix and Chill” memes suggesting that people were busy doing other things, the popularity of Netflix’s charmingly quirky new show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt proved that at least some people really were watching.
While the Whip and the Nae Nae were already familiar to some, rapper Silentó introduced these dances to the masses with hit Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae).”
The Great Dress Debate of 2015 had friends and family arguing over whether a dress featured in a viral photograph was blue with black lace or white with gold lace. Scientists explained that this optical illusion is an illustration of the way our perception of color depends on our interpretation of the amount of light in a room, as explained in this article.
The term “Dad Bod” went viral in April of 2015 after being coined by a college journalist at Clemson University, who described the physique as “a nice balance between a beer gut and working out.” GQ, New York Magazine, and Washington Post, among many others, were quick to join the discussion, and Leonardo DiCaprio proudly adopted the moniker (despite not being a dad). Women are still wondering when the “mom bod “ will start trending.
In 1940s England, there was an increasing danger in London as war spread across Europe. The government developed a program to evacuate the children out of the city temporarily into foster homes. They’d be returned to their parents after the threat had passed. This true event was called Operation Pied Piper and inspired this book.
15-year-old Emmy has dreams of being a fashion designer, and shortly after receiving a huge opportunity, she’s told she is moving with her much younger sister, Julia, to the Cotswolds. Emmy does not want to leave London but boards the train to protect her sister.
Their story continues to unfold as they find their foster home, and Emmy plans to escape back to London. The book also has a split timeline component, with a smaller percentage of the pages following an American student, Kendra, in the present day. She needs to interview someone who lived during the war and is connected with Isabel McFarland, who has been holding onto some big secrets for the past 7 decades.
The Book Girls Say…
Melissa appreciated that this compelling story helped her feel what WW2 was like for an average person living in London at the time.
When a forty-four-year-old police officer, Joe, begins having problems thinking clearly and controlling his temper and his physical movement, he thinks it’s just the stress of his job. He’s a respected officer, devoted husband, and proud dad of four twenty-something children. When he finally agrees to visit a neurologist, the diagnosis is devastating – Huntington’s Disease.
News of this lethal, degenerative disease is devastating in more than one way. It’s also hereditary, meaning Joe’s four children each have a 50% chance of having Huntington’s themselves. A simple blood test can determine their faith, but with no cure or treatment, do they want to know?
The Book Girls Say…
This emotional read from the author of Still Alice explores the difficulties that come with neurological conditions and the complications that come with the availability of genetic testing. While the subject matter is hard, the book still includes hope and positivity. Inside the O’Briens was a 2015 Goodreads Choice Nominee for Best Fiction.
The Nightingale tells the story of French sisters Vianne and Isabelle, who have always been at odds. Vianne is a rule follower, and Isabelle is more rebellious and willing to speak her mind. With WWII escalating, Isabelle intends to fight for France, while Vianne simply wants to survive the war with her family intact – even if it means allowing a German officer to live in her home.
Isabelle, who refuses to live passively under German authority, joins the French resistance and guides Allied airmen out of France after their planes are shot down—work for which she adopts the codename Nightingale. As the war wages on, both sisters learn who they are and what they can do.
Helen is recovering from two unfortunately common losses that so many women deal with in their 30s – miscarriage, followed by divorce. Her younger brother wants to help her heal, so he convinces her to attend a wilderness survival course in the Absaroka Mountains of Wyoming (pronounced “Ab-soar-kas”). She’s ready to take the time out to pull herself together, but then she finds out that her brother’s annoying best friend will also be on the trip.
Over the course of three weeks, she will have to face both fears and annoyances, but through those experiences, she will also learn more about herself and how to be brave.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel combines contemporary romance with a story of personal growth and discovery. Readers describe it as an uplifting read. Author Katherine Center based this book (including the mid-summer blizzard) on her experience taking a month-long survival course in Wyoming while she was a college student at Vassar (in upstate New York).
While we also enjoyed the Netflix version of this book starring Ellie Kemper, we were disappointed that it was not set in Wyoming.
Note: A few of our readers reported what they thought was a geographical error in this book, but after reading the book ourselves, we’ve realized it’s actually not an error at all. The novel references the distance between Boston and Evanston as 1,001. Some readers thought this was a mistake because there is a town in Wyoming named Evanston that is 2,284 miles away from Boston. However, the characters are instead discussing the distance of the first leg of their road trip from Boston to their hometown of Evanston, Illinois, where they stop for the night at Helen’s grandmother’s house before driving another full day and a half to finally arrive in Wyoming.
Each day, Rachel rides the same commuter train in London. As she travels past the back gardens of the houses on the route, she sees the same couple again and again, and begins to feel like she knows them. She even names them, Jess and Jason. From Rachel’s point of view, their life looks idyllic. She wishes she could be as happy as they are.
But one day, she sees something shocking. The train continues on, but now everything has changed. Told from three points of view, this one will keep you guessing!
The Book Girls Say…
This thriller won the 2015 Goodreads Choice award for Best Mystery & Thriller. The protagonists are not likable, so if that is a deal-breaker for you, be sure to skip this one.
This adventure tale transports you to Southeast Alaska and into the life of Keb Wisting. He’s part Norwegian, part Tlingit native, and the last living canoe carver in his village. Grandson James is close to a career in the NBA when a logging accident ruins his prospects as a basketball player. So instead, a depressed James helps his grandpa finish his last canoe.
With the canoe finished, Keb, James, a few friends, and a crazy dog named Steve set off on the canoe journey of a lifetime. Paddling deep into wild Alaska, their story blends adventure, love, and reconciliation. You’ll also enjoy meeting the endearing small-town characters they encounter along the way.
The Book Girls Say…
Jimmy Bluefeather won the National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature in 2015.
It’s October, the temperatures are dropping, and the leaves are changing in North Carolina. Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley’s Candies. She loves the way her specialty products heal others, but along the way, she’s losing herself.
Sydney Waverley has also lost balance in her life as she’s become singularly focused on having a baby. When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of the Waverly family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. Along the way, romance is in the air.
The Book Girls Say…
This magical realism romance is a follow-up to Garden Spells, but it takes place 10 years later. You need not have read Garden Spells in order to read and enjoy First Frost. However, if you’re planning on reading both, it’s better to enjoy them in chronological order.
First Frost was a Goodreads nominee for Best Fiction in 2015. You may also recognize the author from her 2022 hit Other Birds.
Fereiba, a schoolteacher, lives a good middle-class life in Kabul with her husband, Mahmoud, and their children. Unfortunately, everything changed when the Taliban rose to power.
After Fereiba’s family is targeted by the new regime, she’s forced to flee with her children in the hope of seeking refuge with her sister in London. The journey is harrowing and slowly transforms Fereiba from an educated, respected woman to a desperate, undocumented refugee. When her teenage son is separated from the family, she must decide if she should move forward with her daughter and baby without him.
When American Rebecca (Bex) Porter moves to the UK to attend Oxford University, she’s shocked to discover that she’s living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, the future king of England. Living in close quarters allows Bex to get to know the real Nick – the person behind the title.
When their friendship develops into more, Bex is thrust into a ritzy world of society events, exclusive ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace. But the glamour comes with loads of baggage – from intrusive tabloids and ex-girlfriends to long-held royal family secrets.
How much is Bex willing to sacrifice for Nick? Will the pressures of the Crown ultimately come between them?
The Book Girls Say…
If you love getting a look at the lives of fictional royal families, then we highly recommend The Royal We and its sequel, The Heir Affair. Angela absolutely loved both! Many reviewers describe the books as Will and Kate fan fiction, but the authors also seem to have predicted some of the Harry and Meghan drama before it happened.
These books are full of fun and fantasy, but they also dig deeper than many fictional royal reads by addressing heavier topics. Specifying any trigger warnings would spoil the storylines, but go in knowing that it’s not all fluff.
In May of 1915, the Lusitania, a luxury ocean liner, sailed out of New York bound for Liverpool, England. The ship had the feel of a well-appointed English country house. On this crossing, it was carrying a record number of children and infants traveling with their parents.
As the ship set sail, the passengers were anxious because German U-boats had been terrorizing the waters of the North Atlantic. Still, the Captain and others were confident that the centuries-old unwritten rules of warfare would keep a civilian ship safe from attack. Additionally, the Lusitania’s speed made it likely that it could outrun any threat. Unfortunately, Germany decided to change the rules of the game.
This narrative non-fiction places you aboard the ship with a cast of real-life characters and tells a story of glamour, mystery, suspense, and, ultimately, tragedy.
The Book Girls Say…
If you enjoy history and non-fiction, Erik Larson’s books are a wonderful choice because of his detailed research. Because he shares many details, some readers find his books enthralling page-turners, while others find them slow.
If you’d prefer to read a historical fiction novel about the sinking of the Lusitania, consider The Glass Ocean or Seven Days in May.
In 1991, 10-year-old Ana had no idea that Yugoslavia was about to erupt into chaos, eventually leading her home region of Croatia to become its own country.
Ana’s daily life goes from carefree days playing in the streets to learning about snipers and child soldiers. This new and enduring conflict transforms her coming-of-age period. Eventually, she makes a daring escape to America.
After a while, Ana hides her tragic past from others and even from herself. However, while in college, she decides to return alone to Croatia to rediscover her homeland.
This hugely popular and highly rated YA novel is a charming and witty coming-of-age story. The main character, Simon, is gay, but not openly. After an email that would out him to the school falls into the wrong hands, he’s blackmailed into playing wingman for classmate Martin. But worse than that, he wouldn’t only be outing himself by refusing. The boy he’s been emailing, nicknamed Blue, would be outed too.
The emails with Blue have been more and more flirtatious, and Simon has to find a way to break out of his comfort zone before he’s forced out. But he doesn’t want to upset his friends or lose his chance for happiness with Blue along the way.
The Book Girls Say…
If you love a You’ve Got Mail style story, this 2015 nominee for Goodreads Best Debut Author and Best Young Adult fiction is for you!
Few names are as synonymous with chic glamour as Coco Chanel. However, all your opinions of the woman who created the classic little black dress could change after reading this historical fiction account of her entire life.
From her humble beginnings as an orphan to her determination to keep her atelier afloat during WW2, this book details the decisions that led to her lasting name recognition.
The Book Girls Say…
Melissa was fascinated by Coco Chanel’s changing position in life throughout this book, along with several other surprising aspects, like her relationship with the Nazis as they invaded Paris. It’s a well-researched and largely biographical account, but told in novel form.
Fifty-something Tannie Maria loves to cook and write – which is why she’s the perfect person to write a recipe column for her local paper, the Klein Karoo Gazette. But when the powers that be insist that the paper must also feature an advice section – Tannie’s column has to meet the requirement by becoming a joint advice and recipe column.
When her column receives a letter from a woman whose husband beats her, Tannie’s best advice appears not to be good enough when a woman matching that description turns up dead. She and her Gazette colleagues decide to help the police find the murderer. But things are not so simple, and soon there’s another murder – a suspected poisoning – as well as a kidnapping or two.
This is the first book in a murder mystery series that’s packed with humor (ranging from slapstick to understated).
The Book Girls Say…
This book includes over 20 pages of recipes and a helpful glossary of the Afrikaans and Dutch references in the book. Some readers found that they understood the context without flipping to the glossary, while others found themselves regularly using the glossary, which slowed down the pace of the reading.
This cozy mystery series transports you to the author’s home region of South Africa, Klein Karoo. When you think of South Africa, you may picture safaris and beautiful coastlines, but the Klein Karoo region (located about 200 miles east of Cape Town) is a semi-desert that is sometimes referred to as South Africa’s outback. Almost completely surrounded by mountains, this 200-mile-long valley is only about 30 miles wide, with the Swartberg Mountains on one side and the Langeberge Mountains on the other. Oudtshoorn, the largest town in the Klein Karoo region, is known as the world’s ostrich capital and draws 100,000 visitors annually to the world’s largest ostrich farm.
Eleven-year-old Donal lives deep in the Montana Rockies with his grandmother. However, when she needs surgery, she decides to send Donal to her sister in Wisconsin. Sadly, Aunt Kate is a tough woman to live with, unlike Gram. And it’s not just Donal that finds her difficult. Aunt Kate’s husband, Herman the German, is also getting tired of her tyrannical nature.
When Kate sends Donal back to Montana on the bus, Herman the German decides to travel with him. Along the way, they meet an interesting cast of characters and find themselves in all kinds of misadventures.
In 1919 Dublin, an 11-year-old orphan named Shanley lives with his abusive uncle and earns money by performing vaudeville acts in local pubs. When his uncle decides to take him to America, Shanley envisions a better life and hopes to find his father, but things don’t turn out as planned.
In 1937 San Francisco, the young daughter of an Alcatraz prison guard goes missing. She is one of the youngest civilians living on the island and only a convicted bank robber knows the truth about her whereabouts.
The Book Girls Say…
This novel takes an unconventional dual-timeline approach. In the beginning, you learn about the young girl missing from Alcatraz Island, but you don’t return to her story until near the end. Nonetheless, readers report really enjoying the way the two stories ultimately weave together.
Seven-year-old Elsa and her 77-year-old grandmother are both a bit different. But, Elsa is safe and happy when she’s able to retreat into her grandmother’s stories where the characters don’t have to be “normal.”
When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.
The Book Girls Say…
In this novel, Elsa runs into a character from one of Backman’s other books, Britt-Marie!
NOTE: We’re using the first US publication date for this novel, however it was published earlier in Sweden.
For years, Mr. Shaw’s Home for Watercress and Flower Girls in London has watched over London’s flower girls, as they are known. These orphaned and disabled children survive on the streets by selling violets and watercress. In 1912, twenty-year-old Tilly Harper left her native Lake District and moved to London to become an assistant housemother at the home.
Tilly discovers the diary of a young woman named Florrie with dried flowers pressed between the pages and a heartbreaking tale of her separation from her sister, Rosie. Drawn into their story from the 1870s, Tilly hopes to discover what happened to Rosie.
This book comes with a unique narrator – Music. Music tells the story of an extraordinarily gifted musician, Frankie Pesto. Starting at Frankie’s funeral, you’ll look back at his Forrest Gump-like life as he navigates the music world. From 1950s jazz to the Grand Ole Opry, Elvis, and even Woodstock, Frankie both finds and loses fame. And all along the way, he’s searching for his childhood love.
When Frankie loses his ability to play the guitar, he disappears for decades, returning just in time for a mysterious final farewell.
The Book Girls Say…
Some readers find this book a bit intimidating at the start because of all the musical terminology, although definitions are given. However, as the narrative begins to unfold, you’ll quickly be pulled into this special story.
ICYMI Challenge Note: The date of publication year for this title is incorrectly listed in Goodreads as 2012.
Danny Barker is a young soldier from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. When he heads into battle in war-torn France during WW1, he has no idea what the future holds for him. In the French countryside, he finds the love of his life and then loses his leg in the Battle of the Somme.
Danny and Audrey return to his home in Halifax, but Danny cannot leave the conflict behind. As the young couple struggles to put together a new life, they must face not only their own internal demons, but also a catastrophe that will soon rip apart everything they think they know about themselves and each other.
The Sympathizer tells the story of a captain in the Vietnamese army. Raised by a poor Vietnamese mother and an absent French father, he was educated in America before returning to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause.
In 1975, with Saigon in chaos, the captain sits with his general and helps to draw up a list of those who will be allowed seats on the last flights out of Vietnam. As the general and his compatriots embark on new lives in Los Angeles, they are unaware that the captain is secretly spying on them and reporting back to the Viet Cong.
Part gripping spy drama and part love story, this novel is the story of a man straddling two worlds while examining the legacy of the Vietnam War.
The Book Girls Say…
While this Pulitzer Prize and Carnegie Medal Winner has a great overall rating, it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of book. Among our friends who have read it, it tends to garner either a very high or a very low rating, with very little in between. But if this book has been on your TBR since 2015, now might be the perfect time to pick it up to find out if it’s your next five-star read.
Anna and her cousin Sophie come from an upper-class family. Orphaned in their childhoods, the cousins – one white and one mixed race – were raised by their elderly aunt. Both are graduates of the Woman’s Medical School. Anna is a surgeon, and Sophie is an obstetrician and a pediatrician. Their work introduces them to patients who are among the city’s most vulnerable.
The cousins begin to see the disparities between the upper crust and the working poor, as well as the hypocrisies of the Gilded Age. Then, they become embroiled in a controversy that may put everything they’ve strived for in jeopardy.
The Book Girls Say…
While it’s a long and somewhat meandering read (more than 700 pages), it is very highly rated and was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Historical Fiction in 2015. If you enjoy this book, you can continue with the sequel, Where the Light Enters, which takes place the following year. The sequel follows Sophie as she sets out to construct a new life for herself in 1884 Manhattan.
Outcast Theodore is preoccupied with death and the ways he could end his life. But each time he gets serious about a plan, something good happens to stop him.
Cheerleader Violet is counting down the days until she can escape her Indiana town, which is filled with survivor’s remorse after the recent death of her sister.
When Finch and Violet meet at the edge of the bell tower, it’s unclear who saved whom. Now, they’re paired up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of Indiana, forcing the unlikely duo to find beauty in unexpected places.
The Book Girls Say…
All the Bright Places was the 2015 Goodreads Choice winner for Best YA Fiction and has been adapted into a Netflix movie starring Elle Fanning.
This unique novel follows approximately 30 years in the life of Eva Thorvald and covers her journey to become the star chef behind a legendary and secretive pop-up supper club. Rather than seeing Eva’s life through her own eyes, however, everything we know about Eva is told to us through the filter of another character.
In a series of eight short stories that will ultimately become intertwined, we see Eva evolve. The stories are told by a wide variety of people, from her father to her first boyfriend, and even a jealous rival, who each introduce their own perspectives and prejudice to Eva’s life story.
Additionally, each of the stories also revolves around a single dish of food, making Kitchens of the Great Midwest a great book that spans a lifetime, but also an excellent foodie novel!
The Book Girls Say…
Angela really enjoyed the unique structure of this novel. She also loved the references to music and bands that were popular in each time period as the book progressed.
Some readers are turned off by the use of foul language in the book, so keep that in mind if it’s a deal-breaker for you.
Fourteen-year-old Joan spends her childhood on the family farm in Pennslyvania, and her mother encourages her education. However, after her mother’s death, her father insists she earn her keep and work on the farm instead. And perhaps even worse – he burned her books.
Instead of breaking under her father’s harsh rule, Joan finds a job as a parlor maid in a Baltimore, Maryland society household. Now, she earns six dollars a week and can dream of a better future. But this is tricky as she must learn how to fit in with the Jewish family and their older maid.
The Book Girls Say…
Newberry Medal-winning author Laura Amy Schiltz based this novel on her grandmother’s journals.
Readers say they adore the character of Joan, including her wit and how she grows and develops over time. Joan was raised Roman Catholic, and the family she works for, the Rosenbachs, are Jewish. As such, the book does discuss friction between religions, but reviewers say it is not preachy and instead highlights the respect we should all have for each other.
You are welcome to choose any book you’d like to read for the challenge, but we hope this list of books has given you a good starting point.
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New for 2024, members can print a single page containing all the book titles from each guided challenge list. We will also continue providing the journal page format, which has space to indicate your interest level in each book, jot down notes, and rate the books once you have read them.
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The Book Girls are best friends who jointly read over 200 books per year. We started Book Girls' Guide in 2019 to help others de-stress and find joy through the power of a great book. We do in-depth research on thousands of novels and non-fiction titles each year to provide curated book lists covering a variety of genres.
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