It’s that time of year again to reveal my top 10 books of 2021! This list was honestly incredibly hard to make because there were so many excellent books published this year. Some of the books below are from well-established authors and some are from newbies, which is incredible and I can’t wait to read more of their work.
Without further ado, I present my top 10 books of 2021!
10. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The premise: Eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is arriving home to Nebraska from serving time on a work farm for involuntary manslaughter. His parents are both deceased and their family farm is under foreclosure, so the only option left is to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west to California. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers two of his friends from the work farm stowed away in the trunk of the car. Their plans cause Emmett to change his original timeline, and his plans for the future.
Why I loved it: This book is fast-paced and told in multiple viewpoints over the span of ten days. It’s a coming of age story for nearly every character in the book.
9. Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
The Premise: Eva and Shane are both authors but they couldn’t be more different. Eva writes romance and calculates out every step of her life, while Shane is a recluse hiding from the fame of his award-winning writing career. When they both show up at the same event, the Black writing community goes wild. What they don’t know is Shane and Eva spent a love-drunk week together twenty years ago and the trauma they face each day because of it shapes their everyday lives.
Why I loved it: Complex and twisty with characters you can’t help but fall in love with. I loved the story line and couldn’t stop reading to find out what happened during those seven days in June.
8. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
The premise: On the California coast in 1977, the Davidson family hangs on to what is left of the logging town they live in. Challenged on all sides by a dying industry, herbicides poisoning the water, and infertility, the Davidsons try their best to protect themselves and their son.
Why I loved it: This book was beautifully written and tremendously heartbreaking. It brings to light so many issues from our past and present.
7. Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations by Jonny Sun
The Premise: What happens when you decide to make more time for yourself, but your anxiety regarding productivity is constantly screaming at you? Apparently, this book happens. Jonny Sun has compiled a series of essays, thoughts, and drawings that explain his experiences while dealing with burnout. He writes on a variety of topics including loneliness, happiness, and saying goodbye over and over again.
Why I loved it: Each topic or event Jonny Sun chose to examine builds upon the last, creating a piece that is truly unique and special. I can’t think of a better book to represent the feelings a lot of us are having as the pandemic rolls on, in a way that is not in your face or annoying.
6. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeny
The premise: Adam and Amelia Wright have been struggling through their marriage. For their tenth anniversary, they head to Scotland to find out if they can reconnect and mend their relationship. But things aren’t quite right on this supposedly romantic getaway and the truth about the last decade is about to come out.
Why I loved it: This is one of those books where you will never see the twist coming. It’s so big and so good you’ll be absolutely blown away by how the author crafted this story.
5. We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange
The premise: Sunday Brennan wakes up in an LA hospital after a drunk driving accident she caused which has her heading home to her family in New York. Five years ago, she fled from them and her fiance without warning, and they all have questions for her. The longer she’s home, she realizes her family needs her just as much as she needs them. But for this to work, the truth needs to come out.
Why I loved it: The pacing of the book is so unique as each chapter gives the reader just enough information to press forward but withholds enough to keep you demanding more. The characterization is so well done and the ending will have your jaw on the floor.
4. We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker
The premise: Walk is a sheriff who never left the town where he grew up. Years earlier, his testimony sent his best friend, Vincent, to prison and he still hasn’t recovered. Now Vincent is getting out of prison and things feel awful. Duchess is only thirteen and has to be the parent not only to her five-year-old brother, but her own mother as well. It doesn’t seem like these two have very much in common, but their lives will become entwined in more ways than one.
Why I loved it: The story is gripping and gutting, and you won’t be able to put it down. The relationship between the main characters is unique and emotional with plenty of highs and lows.
3. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The premise: Every year, Nina Riva throws a blowout end-of-the-summer party at her home in Malibu. The year is 1983 and the buzz is growing by the minute about how epic this year’s bash will be. Her siblings are all helping to prepare for the party since Nina’s husband recently, and publicly, left her for another woman, and things just haven’t been the same.
Why I Loved It: This book is split in several different time periods as well as chunks of time throughout the day and night of the party. I adored the personalities of each family member and how they deal with the anticipation of the party. The 80’s setting was full of nostalgia and was the perfect era to set the book.
2. The Guncle by Steven Rowley
The premise: After the death of Patrick’s dear friend and sister-in-law, he’s charged with the responsibility of taking her kids, Maisie and Grant. But Patrick is used to being alone in the desert of Palm Springs, California, and has no experience with being the “parent” to children. Over time, Maisie and Grant teach Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP) a thing or two about living life, loving, and learning how to step back into reality after a long time of isolation.
Why I loved it: This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It is both funny and touching, sad and hilarious. It’s easy to fall in love with the characters over and over again.
1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Premise: Farmers across Texas are faced to make a painful choice during The Dust Bowl: stay and endure the endless agony, or head West to find jobs and better lives. As the dry land continues to swallow up every family farm for miles, people are fleeing in droves. Elsa Martinelli will stop at nothing to make sure her family is taken care of, even if it means sacrificing her pride and personal comforts.
Why I loved it: This book is endlessly sad and will break you to your core. Even though she’s a fictional character, Elsa’s strength and resilience is inspiring. Being a historical fiction book, it’s so true to the time period and the descriptions of the setting and events of the Dust Bowl are impeccably done.
Top 10 Books of 2021: Honorable Mentions
When I say this list was so hard to make, I truly mean it. Here are some other reads you absolutely should check out even though they didn’t make the top 10 books of 2021:
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
Love People Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn
The Unfit Heiress by Audrey Clare Farley
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
The Push by Ashley Audrain
