The Best Books I Read in 2021

For the last seven years I’ve posted an end-of-year book survey, courtesy of Jamie Miller at The Perpetual Page Turner. It doesn’t look as if she’ll be hosting one for 2021, so my list will look a little different; however, the essentials are here! As before, rereads don’t qualify for these categories, but they still deserve some love, so I wrote about them in another post. Enjoy!

Books Read: 52
Rereads: 11
Top Genre: Horror

Best Book of 2021

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Franzen’s latest family saga is a sprawling, ambitious work exploring the intricate relationships within an American family in crisis. Russ Hildebrandt, a middle-aged pastor struggling with his faith and an unhappy marriage, is on the verge of an affair; his wife Marion is at her own crossroads, one that is revealed throughout the novel in a slowly unfolding secret past; and their four children are also in various stages of personal upheaval. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds—endlessly entertaining and brilliantly crafted. Each member of the Hildebrandt family has a point of view, and Franzen writes them all with characteristic depth, empathy, and humor. An instant classic.

Favorite Book of 2021

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury’s classic collection of science fiction stories was undoubtedly my favorite book of 2021. I loved the framing device of having the Illustrated Man’s animated tattoos tell the tales, some haunting, some horrific, all infused with Bradbury’s dark poetic prose. One story in particular, “Kaleidoscope,” was the best thing I read all year, an absolutely beautiful and shattering piece of writing that will stay with me forever.

Biggest Disappointment

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This book was hugely hyped and I was excited to read it but found it heavy-handed, preachy, and a bit too precious. One Goodreads reviewer described it as aggressively quirky, and I couldn’t agree more. Just not for me.

Biggest Surprise

The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold

For a middle grade this was super dark. The antagonist, Mr. Bunting, hunts down imaginaries (imaginary friends) and basically liquifies them and sucks them up and eats them. There are pictures to demonstrate. Anyway, a gleefully creepy tale of terror with gorgeous illustrations.

Book You Recommended Most

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

John Green is just an all-around wonderful human. I love his YA books, I love his vlog, and I loved reading his touching and humorous essays—written as reviews on a five-star scale—on everything from the history of Diet Dr Pepper to Halley’s Comet to Super Mario Kart. This was the one book this year I couldn’t shut up about, the one I think everyone should read.

Best New Series

A Key to All Mythologies by Jonathan Franzen

Of which Crossroads is only the beginning.

Best Discovery

Rebecca Stead

One of my priority reads from 2020 that I wanted to get to this year was Rebecca Stead’s The List of Things That Will Not Change. It was the first book I read in January, and I quickly followed it up with two more Rebecca Stead books because she simply writes flawless middle grade.

Best New Territory

Forever Right Now by Emma Scott

I don’t typically read a lot of romance or self-published books, but it’s not because I don’t enjoy them. I just need to do a better job of seeking them out, and this book is a good reason why. It’s perfect.

Best Page Turner

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

There were several books that, when I started, I could not put down. These include Crossroads, East of Eden, and Rosemary’s Baby, but the surprise here is Burnt Offerings because it’s a total slow-burn. Regardless, I was hooked from page one and some of the scenes were edge-of-your-seat intense (the swimming pool! the escape through the woods!). Also, the ending did not disappoint.

Best Candidates for a 2022 Re-read

The Illustrated Man and The Anthropocene Reviewed

Best Cover

Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise

Best Villain

Cathy Ames from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden

East of Eden is essentially a book about good vs. evil, and you won’t meet a character more purely evil than Cathy Ames.

Best Classic

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

I am in awe, and not a little envious, of Nabokov’s extraordinary skills. Lolita is one of those books I can’t believe I waited until now to read.

Favorite Quote

“You’ll be sorry you asked me to stay,” he said. “Everyone always is.”

From The Illustrated Man

Biggest Shock

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

I read a lot of horror this year, and a lot of it was shocking. But when I dove into The Martian Chronicles I wasn’t expecting horror. And then I read “Usher II.”

Best (Non-Romantic) Relationship

Maddie and her stepdad Sam in Melanie Conklin’s lovely middle grade novel Every Missing Piece.

Best Recommended Book

Lost Children of the Far Islands by Emily Raabe

On a strong recommendation from my daughter Abigail, and in the midst of a reading slump from which only a whimsical middle grade story could save me, I read and thoroughly enjoyed this fantastical tale of a secret island and shapeshifting siblings.

Best Debut

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant

Once I open a book and see it’s written in first-person present tense, I usually close it. The style has become ubiquitous in YA, and honestly, it’s hard to do well. But Happily Ever Afters was a happy exception. It’s very well-written, charming, and sweet—a triumphant debut from Elise Bryant.

Best Setting

The Salinas Valley in John Steinbeck’s masterful East of Eden

Book That Made Me Laugh

Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson

If you love horror as much as I do, you’ll have a bloody good time reading this celebration of the mass market horror fiction of the 70s and 80s.

Book That (Almost) Made Me Cry

The Illustrated Man (for the short story “Kaleidoscope”) and East of Eden

Book That Made Me Want to Scream

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

Why did you go back, Ben, why, why, WHY?????

Best Hidden Gem

A Totally Terrifying Zombie Apocalypse Love Story by Carrie Ann Lahain

Being a huge fan of the original Dead Town, I was thrilled when my dear friend and long-time critique partner Carrie Ann Lahain announced a reimagined version focused on Sara and Patrick’s zombie apocalypse romance. Everything that made Dead Town great is still here—the gore, the giggles, and the nonstop action. But instead of being in 14-year old Scotty’s point of view we get to see the story through his older sister Sara and her swoon-worthy admirer, ex-marine Patrick Bannon.

Most Anticipated Book of 2022

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

You guys know I am a Simone St. James SUPERFAN. I have read everything she’s written and I can’t wait for this one!

Most Anticipated Book in a Series in 2022