I started doing this in 2021 and decided to continue it last year. I’ve enjoyed these posts so much that I’m making it an official annual series.
2024 was a great year of media. I read some great books, watched beautiful movies, binged some truly lovely shows with my sister, and listened to so much music. As always, I want to know what you consumed, too. So let me know your top 10 in the comments at the end of the post!
#10. Asking for a Friend by Kara H.L. Chen
Synopsis: Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:
1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.
2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.
When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior. Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview. With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 336 (hardcover), 335 (kindle)
Review: At it’s core, this is a story about family, love, and the choices we make, both for ourselves and for others. This book made me feel things in a way that was both painful and cathartic all at once . . . and I think that sometimes those are the best kind of stories. If you want my full review, check out this post right here.
Favorite Quote: “I loved seeing little windows into the profound connections that can happen between two people, even if the ending is bittersweet.”
Content/Trigger Warnings: Cancer, cursing, death of a parent (mentioned) grief, LGBT themes (there are LGBT couples mentioned briefly, and some of the protagonist’s friends are in same-sex relationships), racism, sexual content, and xenophobia.
#9. Arcane (S2)
Synopsis: The origins of two iconic League champions, set in the utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun.
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance
Episode Length: 40-44 minutes
Where to Watch: Netflix
Review: My sister and I were anxiously awaiting this season all year, and it did not disappoint. There were a few questionable moments, but this season absolutely blew us away. The development of the characters, the attention to detail in the animation, and the way every episode ripped out my heart was enough to call it a good time.
Favorite Quote: “Sometimes taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind.”
Rating: TV-14
Content/Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, animal cruelty, blood, child death, classism, cursing, death, death of a parent, drug use, emotional abuse, gore, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, misogyny, murder, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, schizophrenia/psychosis, sexual content (F/F kissing and implied sex scene), suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, torture, toxic friendship, violence, and war.
Episodes that have Graphic Content: S2E8 (graphic F/F kissing and a somewhat graphic but consensual sexual scene).
#8. Epic: The Musical
Genre: Musical
Length: Two hours and fifteen minutes
Favorite Songs: Luck Runs Out, The Underworld, Mutiny, Little Wolf, Love in Paradise, God Games, Not Sorry For Loving You, Get In The Water, I Can’t Help But Wonder, and Would You Fall In Love With Me Again.
Review: This is actually my favorite musical ever. No review necessary. Please just go listen if you haven’t heard it yet. I cannot recommend this musical enough.
Favorite Lyrics: “And if I pushed you / or if I came on too strong / or if I ambushed you / for that, I’ll say I was wrong / and if you hate me / then I am sorry my love’s too much for you” (Not Sorry For Loving You).
Songs that are Explicit or Graphic: Hold Them Down (The Ithica Saga) contain references to SA and extreme violence. Odysseus (The Ithica Saga) contains references to SA, extreme violence, and includes the word “b*st*rd.
#7. The Tortured Poets Department
Genre: Synth Pop, Folk Pop
Length: 2 hours and 2 minutes
Review: I don’t like that Taylor swears so much in this album, but I can’t deny that I fell in love with it. So many of these songs describe moments of my life perfectly, and I’ll live with them on repeat for hours or days at a time.
Favorite Songs: Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me, loml, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Black Dog, How Did It End?, So High School, I Look in People’s Windows, Peter, and The Manuscript.
Favorite Lyrics: “And the tears fell / In synchronicity with the score / And at last / She knew what the agony had been for” (The Manuscript).
Songs that are Explicit: The Tortured Poets Department, Down Bad, But Daddy I Love Him, Florida!!!, loml, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Black Dog, thanK you aIMee, Cassandra, and The Bolter.
#6. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Synopsis: Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays. After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning bad boy of chess.
Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone—especially Mallory. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash prizes and, despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….
As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is hotter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce(-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 347 (paperback), 362 (kindle)
Review: I really really liked this book. I don’t know what Ali put into it, but it was ADDICTIVE in a way that I haven’t seen in a long time. It left me wanting more, like a follow-up story, a spinoff, bonus chapters, or even just deleted scenes. I genuinely believe that I would read anything else in this universe if the author ever writes anything else (I mean, within reason). If you want to read my full review, check out my post right here.
Favorite Quote: “Because when I’m with you, Mallory, everything is different. When I’m with you, I want to play more than I want to win.”
Content/Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, car accident (referenced), cursing, death of a parent (referenced), infidelity (mentioned), LGBT characters (the protagonist is bisexual or pansexual; her best friend dates a girl), misogyny, panic attacks/disorders, sexism, and sexual content (sex/sexual content is discussed frequently by the characters; there are two sexual scenes. One is fade to black and the other is interrupted).
#5. Me Again
Genre: Alternative, Pop, Indie
Length: 39 minutes and 25 seconds
Review: This is probably my favorite album of the year. I’m not in love with the second half of the tracklist, but this album became a lifeline for me this year. Oxygen Mask was one of my top songs of 2024, and I had it on repeat for probably months. Her vocals are incredible, the soft instruments are lovely, and every lyric just spoke to where I was in 2024.
Favorite Songs: Me Again, Kids, Oxygen Mask, Highlights, and Good Enough.
Favorite Lyrics: “Feels like I’ll never / But I’ll get better / Might take forever / But I’ll get better” (Me Again) and “When we fight, I wish you’d fight back / I don’t think it’s crazy to want that” (Oxygen Mask)
Songs that are Explicit: Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry.
#4. The Dreams Between Us by Brooke Riley
Synopsis: Ophelia Maddox has become quite used to her simple life. She enjoys her job at the bookstore and has let go of the demons from her past. The last thing she expected was for Atlas Jameson, her childhood best friend, to come crashing back into her life.
Atlas Jameson is no stranger to pain. Losing his girlfriend at eighteen changed the trajectory of his life. The ghosts of his past haunt him. He didn’t really plan on coming back to his hometown. He especially didn’t plan on seeing Ophelia again.
But when a shadowy figure named Rook declares his intention to take their souls, Ophelia and Atlas find their dreams entangled. As they meet night after night, dark truths come to light. If they can’t work together, Rook will win—but is that really worse than confronting all their darkest fears?
Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism, Romantasy
Pages: 262 (paperback), 235 (kindle)
Review: I still haven’t read the updated version of this book, but even that original draft had my heart from the very first page. I adore Ophelia and Atlas and a certain someone, and Brooke really crafted a superb story. I’m so proud of her, and I highly recommend you check this book out because it will steal your heart and heal things it didn’t break.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Abandonment, absent parents, broken promises, death, grief, heartbreak, and sexual content (kissing).
#3. My Demon
Synopsis: Heiress Do Do Hee is an adversary to many, and Jung Koo Won is a powerful entity; when Jung Koo Won loses his powers, he must collaborate with Do Do Hee to regain them, and sparks fly between them as they embark on their journey.
Genre: Kdrama, Fantasy, Supernatural, Romance
Episode Length: 61-72 minutes
Where to Watch: Netflix
Review: The main two leads have so much chemistry in this show, and it works so so well. I also love that the story is basically a romcom murder mystery because those two genres don’t always play nice, but here they do. It all works really well together, and I just really love this show. There are probably flaws, but I actually refuse to see them because as far as I’m concerned this is just a masterclass in how to craft internal conflict in a romance that creates clashing goals and conflict that can’t help but lead to a spectacular end.
Favorite Quote: “Is there such a thing as a given fate? If there is, I’m determined to give us a happy ending this time.”
Rating: TV-14.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, blood, bullying, car accident, cursing, death, death of a parent, dementia, fire/fire injury, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, misogyny, murder, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, sexism, sexual content (kissing and implied sex scenes), stalking, supernatural elements (the entire premise of the show is based on a very unbiblical view of God, demons, and reincarnation. Personally, I view this strictly as a fictional fantasy story, but it did still make me squirm a bit when it portrayed God in such an innacurate and almost disrespectful way. If you struggle with unbiblical depictions of the supernatural, I would strongly recommend skipping this kdrama), torture, violence,
#2. Boys with Flowers
Synopsis: The story of Geum Jan-di, a normal girl who finds herself attending a prestigious private school after saving a student’s life.
Genre: Kdrama, Young Adult, Romance
Episode Length: About 65 minutes
Where to Watch: Netflix
Review: One of the biggest appeals of this show for me was that it felt like a modern-day kdrama version of The Cruel Prince, but this time Carden has better friends who actually have hearts of gold. That’s really the most convincing thing I can say about this, but I also think it’s worth going into somewhat blind. I had no idea what was going to happen most of the time, and that was really nice. I knew who she would end up with almost immediately, but I think that’s just because I’ve been studying stories for so many years.
I also love that this kdrama showcases so many different kinds of love. We have loyal friendship love, platonic love, family love, romantic love, unrequited love, and sibling love. It’s not all about the romance, and I really love when stories highlight that all kinds of love are important because they really are.
Favorite Quote: “What’s so hard about love? You simply grab the other’s hand and refuse to let go.”
Rating: TV-14.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Abandonment, alcohol, blood, bullying (fairly severe and happens throughout several episodes), car accident, classism, death of a parent, emotional abuse, infidelity, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, physical abuse, sexual content (a girl is tricked into taking sexy pictures; kissing but it’s not graphic), suicide attempt, and violence.
Episodes that have Graphic Content: None of the content is “graphic,” but some of the bullying scenes may be disturbing to some viewers.
#1. Stray Kids
Genre: Kpop.
Review: I found Stray Kids in August of 2024. I’d heard a few of their songs before, but I’d never really paid much attention to them. In August, I went through some stuff that led me to deep dive into their music and really fall in love with them not only as musicians but as people. Each member is so sweet and genuine, and I really can’t imagine my life without their music anymore.
Favorite Albums: Oddinary, Ate, Giant, and Hop
Favorite Songs: Lonely St. Scars, Slump (any version), Levanter (English Version), #LoveStay, Stray Kids, I Like It, Waiting For Us, Falling Up (English Version), God’s Menu, Maniac, and Saiyan.
Favorite Solo Songs: Railway, Unfair, Limbo, Hold My Hand, Youth, Wish You Back, Deep End, and I Hate To Admit.
Favorite Lyrics: “My scars / I will show it all” (Scars) and “Afraid to let you go, but in my heart I know / Got to move on / I think it’s time / It’s all good now” (Levanter).
Let’s Talk!
What was the best thing you consumed in 2024? Did we consume any of the same things? What was your best find? What’s on your TBR or watchlist for 2025? Let’s talk all things “best of 2024” in the comments below!
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