My Top 5 Favorite Reads in 2021
As I write this, I’ve read 111 books in 2021 (and I’ll read a few more before ringing in 2022). Have I mentioned how much I loved reading books? My TBR (To Be Read) doesn’t seem to be decreasing since I keep adding new reads. So, narrowing my favorite reads to 5 was an exercise in restraint, which my TBR pile can attest isn’t one of my strengths. I persevered, however, and forced myself to commit to selecting my five favorites this year. Based on those 111 books, these 5 books were my favorite reads in 2021 (in no particular order).
Disclaimer: Not all of these were published in 2021. I think the oldest backlist was published in 2018.
Anxious People by Fredrick Backman
I have probably mentioned that I almost DNFd (Did Not Finish) this book, but forced myself to push through my prescribed 100 pages. Wouldn’t you know it, that last page (100 exactly), Backman sunk in the hooks, and I was caught, reeled in on the line. I couldn’t put the book down after that. The quirky characters suddenly jumped off the page and made me care.
The premise is a robbery gone wrong told from multiple viewpoints, but the story isn’t about the robbery but instead about people, about the ways life takes unexpected turns, and about how each of us—regardless of our circumstances—is really just trying our best with what we know.
There were these moments when Backman could make me cry with a poignant observation and the next line I would laugh out loud because it was so funny. Anxious People was a fantastic read. I LOVED it.
Black Sun was recommended to me by my wonderful, author friend, Brandann Hill-Mann, and I’m so glad I listened. While it was initially a slow start (lots of world building and character development with multiple characters), once I made my way into this world, I was invested.
The premise is that Serapio has been designated and trained to be the Crow God in order to seek vengeance against the watcher clans of Tova. His immediate target: The Sun Priest, Narnpa, during a coming solar eclipse. Xiala, a badass sea captain with magic of her own, Iktan, the assassin, and Ikoa, the crow rider, round up a strong cast of characters in this epic fantasy that left me breathless.
What I loved the most, besides the amazing world building and gorgeous imagery, was the way Roanhorse was able to make me care about all the characters equally. One might think: this is the bad guy and this is the good guy, but in Black Sun, all have shades of flaws and the moral high ground. I couldn’t help but want to cheer for all of them. It’s freaking fabulous.
To add to that, I got my hands on an ARC copy of Fevered Star, the second book in this Between Earth and Sky trilogy, really enjoyed it, and I am so excited to see how Roanhorse completes this saga.
This book took me by surprise. I can’t even remember why I purchased it, but I did, and WOW.
The premise is that Penny, who’s spent most of her adolescence raising her mother, is off to college. She’s not much of a “people” person, so when she comes across Sam, who’s struggling with his own stuff, it’s like the most awkward meeting ever. Penny, however, helps Sam out one evening, and they strike up a text-only friendship, becoming one another’s “emergency contact”. Only Penny finds as their text-only friendship grows, that what she thought was the perfect kind of hands-off relationship is less than what she really wants with Sam—a real one.
What made this book so amazing for me was the character development. Penny and Sam are so fleshed out they jump from the page, flaws and all. The believability is amazing. Choi’s writing is stunning. I loved her deft narrative voice. Finally, the story from beginning to end is flawless. I couldn’t come up with any reason to say it wasn’t a 10 out of 5 stars.
Sometimes those books we “highly anticipate” let us down. I highly anticipated Emily Henry’s follow up to Beach Read (which I LOVED!), People We Meet on Vacation. Now, if you’re looking for Beach Read, that isn’t what you’re going to get with this book, but then it shouldn’t be, right?
The premise is that Poppy met Alex in college, and they become one another’s platonic plus-one for everything (Think: When Harry Met Sally ). Every summer they become one another’s travel buddy, only something happened two years prior that ruined everything, and they stopped talking altogether. When Poppy realizes that she hasn’t been happy since, she decides to ask Alex to go on one more vacation with her and lay everything on the line with him to make it right, and he agrees. Poppy has one week to convince Alex to return to the way things used to be, only Poppy discovers she doesn’t really want things to return to the way they were; she wants something entirely new.
I get goosebumps thinking about this story. I think it might be time for a reread. With the normal Henry style of well-developed characters, she does an impeccable job of balancing truth, romance, and the realism of different kinds of complicated relationships. Emily Henry is an auto-buy author for me now.
I’ve been talking about Jeff Zentner books since reading his first, The Serpent King, years ago (and I won’t stop. If you haven’t read that one, Goodbye Days, or Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, get on it ASAP). In the Wild Light was another of those books that I was anticipating, and boy, did it deliver.
Cash has lived in small-town Tennessee with his grandparents, and his best friend Delany. He’s comfortable. He’s worried about his sick pawpaw, but he’s doing what he needs to. When brilliant Delaney gets a scholarship to a prestigious private school in Connecticut, she secures a place not only for herself but for Cash as well, but it means Cash will have to leave everything that makes him feel safe and secure behind. With the encouragement of his grandparents, Cash follows Delany, but will the decision break him or make him?
Zentner’s writing is always heartfelt. It’s like being hooked up to an electric socket and getting zapped with emotion every time I read his work. He fleshes out amazing characters that hit you right in the heart, and his writing is impeccable. As of writing this, In the Wild Light has been nominated for a Carnegie Medal. It deserves it.
CLWalters Blog RSS
