The Top Rated Debut From Reese's Book Club, According To Reviews

In the ecosystem of celebrity book clubs, few have wielded as much influence as Reese Witherspoon. Standing out in a list curated by one of Hollywood's biggest bibliophiles is no small feat, and over the years, her picks have had the power to catapult debut authors into the mainstream. Among them are breakout titles like Lauren Ling Brown's "Society of Lies," hailed as one of Reese's best thriller and mystery picks, and "Within These Wicked Walls," Lauren Blackwood's gothic reimagining that even found its way onto Britney Spears list of favorite books. But tucked among the more conspicuous fiction titles is one debut that has unexpectedly outshone the rest — and it's not a fiction at all.

According to the numbers (the consensus of thousands of readers on Goodreads), "We Will Be Jaguars" stands as the highest-rated debut ever selected by Reese's Book Club. This moving memoir, written by internationally recognized activist Nemonte Nenquimo alongside her husband and collaborator Mitch Anderson, recounts her fight to protect her people and Indigenous lands in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Chosen as the November 2024 pick, the book holds an impressive 4.49 average rating from almost 5,000 readers and over 650 reviews. That may be a smaller review pool than some of Witherspoon's more high-profile picks, but the intensity of response sets it apart.

Unlike many of Witherspoon's bestsellers, which tend to skew towards commercial fiction, "We Will Be Jaguars" offers a welcome and urgent non-fiction detour. Raised in the Amazon within the Waorani tradition Nemonte Nenquimo writes from the fault line where her community's way of life was gradually encroached upon by foreign forces. She navigates the tension between Indigenous life and colonial imposition with grounded strength.

Returning home after more than a year away, Nenquimo was confronted by the extent of the environmental damage: oil companies had moved in, polluting rivers and displacing communities. Her response — to fight back — forms the heart of the memoir. "My people always lived free in the forest and they want to continue living free in the forest. We need to protect it."

Witherspoon called the book "an unforgettable memoir about fighting for your home and your heart." Its Goodreads rating suggests readers agreed. It might come as a surprise that the top spot belongs to a nonfiction title, given the club's track record of centering buzzy fiction. But "We Will Be Jaguars" is not an outlier. The second highest-rated-debut is also a politically-charged memoir: Austin Channing Brown's "I'm Still Here," ranking at 4.38 on the reading platform. The results point to a clear trend: books that draw from real life, particularly when they carry the force of political resistance, is what the readers of Reese's Book Club really respond to.