The Best Books I Read in 2021
From sci-fi to romance to literary fiction, did any of your favorites make the list?
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that 2021 was a HARD year. BUT, there were good moments — including plenty of great books! Here are my favorite reads that helped get me through the last year.
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Legendborn by Tracey Deonn
This is a book that 100% lives up to the hype. The author summarizes it as an Arthurian retelling with Black Girl Magic (literally) and I think that’s the best way to put it! The unique take on the King Arthur legend would have been enough to make me love it, but then when you start understanding where the magic comes from, its cost, and the alternate way other communities use magic…it’s ingenius. And on top of that, it’s also a raw story about losing someone you love and dealing with grief, while still having to live your life. There are so many beautiful moments in this book, and I cannot wait for the sequel that comes out this year!
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this one. Like everyone and their mom, I loved The Martian, Andy Weir’s first book. I enjoyed his second book Artemis, but it didn’t grab me in the same way. This one, though, felt like it had that same magic as The Martian. A man wakes up on a space ship, hurtling toward something, but he has no memory of who he even is — or why he’s there. Honestly, if you’re into sci-fi, I would say just read this without even reading the summary, because I think it gives away too much!
The Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend
Here’s my confession: I read this book three times in 2021 alone. I bought a used copy of the first book on a whim, and it absolutely sucked me in. It became my comfort book for the year — it’s the perfect escape, but also still has some really heartfelt and thoughtful moments. It’s got Harry Potter vibes, with a girl who’s whisked away to a previously-unknown magical world and ends up having a strange connection to the villain. That said, although the first one feels super similar to Harry Potter, it definitely comes into its own in the next two books. The first three books are out, and I’m chomping at the bit for the fourth one!
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
The set up of this book sounds like a comedy: Two women who live on opposite sides of the U.S. meet in Las Vegas, get married the same night, then return to their lives. When one of them is at her breaking point after her PhD program, she goes to live with her “wife,” and get to know her better. While there are some funny moments, the book focuses more on the struggles the two main characters face, both with learning to love each other and in their own lives. It’s a quiet, touching story that has stuck with me ever since I first read it.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Now, if you are looking for a laugh-out-loud comedy, look no further than Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel! I stayed up WAY too late reading this one, just rooting for them to KISS already! Two of my favorite tropes (Grumpy/Sunshine and fake dating) combine to make this just the perfect book to devour in a day.
Something To Talk About by Meryl Wilsner
This is another slow burn that’s well worth the pay off. I am typically hesitant about romances between people who have a power difference, but this book handles the boss/employee trickiness supremely well. You get both POVs, so you know that they both like each other, but you also see them convince themselves that the other person doesn’t feel the same… Which means you’re screaming at one of them to tell the other how she feels. Exactly what you want in a romance like this!
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
I am OBSESSED with Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy, and the final book did not disappoint! Another Grumpy/Sunshine dynamic, I loved seeing the two main characters rub off on each other as they’re forced to work together. It also makes for some hilarious moments, but these are woven together with moments of heart and honesty that are the reason I love Talia Hibbert’s books!
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston’s debut novel Red, White & Royal Blue immediately became a favorite of mine, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her second book. One Last Stop is also full of unforgettable characters who you wish were your real-life friends, and the romance is swoon-worthy. It felt a little heavier than RW&RB, but not in a bad way. Just less romcom, and more romance, with some deeper growth and soul-searching from the main character.
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Rachel Lynn Solomon is a prolific writer and one I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but this was my first book of hers. And I LOVED it! Enemies to lovers plus fake exes — brilliant. It made me actually laugh out loud in certain moments, but also wasn’t afraid to tackle more difficult topics. I loved seeing Shay and Dominic begin to realize their misconceptions about each other, and the “grand gesture” at the end was perfection.
Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
Mary Roach is hands-down my favorite non-fiction writer, and this book was no different. Her other books typically tackle taboo topics: death, the digestive system, sex. Space, of course, has been written about loads of times in non-fiction, but Roach brings her classic spin to it, examining lesser known stories and, yes, tackling taboo topics like…death, the digestive system, and sex, in space. She has a dry, witty humor that makes it feel more like your friend is telling you about her latest Wikipedia rabbit hole. If you think you don’t like non-fiction, I challenge you to give Mary Roach a try!
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
This was a book that took me completely by surprise. I was the target demographic for his YA romance novels, and certainly enjoyed those. But I wasn’t chomping at the bit for this book, and only ended up reading it after I heard an interview with him that made me curious. And then I fell in love with it. It’s a series of essays, in which Green “rates” all manner of human experiences as if he’s reviewing on Yelp, from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar. It was honest and clear-eyed and every essay takes you on a journey, but they’re each so well written you’re willing to follow them anywhere. They’re mostly fairly short, which was also perfect for my pandemic-ridden burnt-out can’t-focus brain.
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
I’ve been a Mary H.K. Choi stan since her first book, Emergency Contact, so I was very excited for Yolk. And it did not disappoint. It’s a moving story about two sisters, and it can sound like it’s cliche: the older sister who’s got her life together with a high-power job, versus the younger sister barely managing to make it through college, unsure what she wants to do with her life. But the characters Choi has created take it so far beyond what assumptions you might have, with each sister having deep flaws and struggles they have to overcome. It can be an intense book at times, but it’s beautifully written, and captures the experience of being a twenty-something perfectly.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
This is a book that’s been raved about before, and for good reason. Two Black sisters who are very light-skinned take two different paths in the 1950s: One stays in their home town, while the other runs away and lives as a white woman. What I really loved about this story is that it wasn’t just about the two sisters, although that was certainly a huge part of it. But it ends up being more about the daughter each of them has and how their lives are affected, unbeknownst to them, by their mother’s choice. It’s such a delicate exploration of race and gender, but also just of what it’s like to grow up and discover who you are.
Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
This was such a fascinating book to read, both in its contents and its writing style. It’s about an Australian indigenous family and their complicated relationships. There are really lots of different plot lines — their sacred land is being sold to developers, the patriarch of the family dies at the start of the book, a romance between the main character and a white man, and more. But it really tells the story of an indigenous family trying to survive in a world that doesn’t want them to. It’s different than anything I’ve ever read, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished it.
