Eighteen by Alice Loxton was named Blackwell's Book of the Year 2024, the Bookseller reported. Zool Verjee, Blackwell's commercial manager, said, "We are extremely proud to present Eighteen by Alice Loxton as our Blackwell's Book of the Year for 2024.In a year of exceptional and vibrant publishing, Eighteen stands out for the range of subjects covered, and for Alice Loxton's lively and engaging writing style."
Matthew Land of Blackwell's Edinburgh added: "Playful but authoritative history is a genre which Alice Loxton is speedily making her own. The premise of this book--the tale of 18 people though history and what their life was like at 18 years of age (and what that reveals to us about that historical period and setting)--is a unique lens through which to present a version of British history."
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Intermezzo by Sally Rooney was crowned Foyles Book of the Year for 2024, besting a shortlist that included Gillian Anderson's Want, Percival Everett's James, Asako Yuzuki's Butter, and Olga Tokarczuk's The Empusium, among others, the Bookseller reported.
One Foyles bookseller noted that the "themes of brotherhood, grief and loneliness are written so masterfully, proving that Rooney is a once-in-a-generation talent"; another praised "the characters, and found their complex vulnerabilities incredibly moving," while a third described Intermezzo as a "great novel from a master storyteller."