My Top Ten Reads of 2021

I read sixty books last year, which honestly seemed a little low until I remembered that, thanks to the pandemic, I'm not getting to the library nearly as often as I used to. Still, sixty isn't nothing, and in the spirit of New Year's, I thought I would share my ten favorite reads with you (in the order that I read them, not the order that I liked them).

1. RHYTHM OF WAR by Brandon Sanderson Mr. Sanderson is one of my very favorite authors, and the books in his Stormlight Archive are my very favorites of his books. RHYTHM OF WAR is the fourth book in the series, so if you want to start at the beginning, check out THE WAY OF KINGS.

2. YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED by Michelle I. Mason I got to read this as an ARC, which is why it shows up so early in this list. Michelle is one of my oldest and dearest writing friends, but I would have loved YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED even if she weren't. The first few chapters, in which the MC finds out her very normal-seeming flight landed twenty-five years to the day after it took off, totally sucked me in.

3. BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER by Jewell Parker Rhodes I loved this book so much I paid my kids to read it, too, and discuss its themes with me. An age-appropriate but compelling look at race, unequal treatment, and genealogy--and did I mention that there's fencing? :)

4. FURIA by Yamile Saied Méndez Anyone who follows me on Twitter has probably figured out that I watch a lot of sports, so it stands to reason that I would love sports books--but FURIA is so much more. A worthy addition to Reese Witherspoon's book club.

5. EDUCATED by Tara Westover I know I'm exceptionally late to this party, but EDUCATED was just as impactful as I'd heard it was. Though it was hard to read in places, I also found it to be an excellent example of narrative nonfiction.

6. FADEAWAY by E.B. Vickers I love the true-crime trend that's making the rounds in YA (see my reference to A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER below), and though this starts in that same vein, it eventually develops into something much more meaningful. Must-read YA at its finest.

7. LOVE FROM A TO Z by S.K. Ali I heart Ms. Ali's YA romances because I feel such a sense of kinship with her YA characters. I wasn't raised Muslim, but my Christian faith came with a similar set of modesty and dating standards, so I wholeheartedly relate to Janna and Zayneb. This is my new favorite of Ms. Ali's books.

8. AS GOOD AS DEAD by Holly Jackson Ms. Jackson's debut trilogy, which starts with A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER, is a tour de force. That said, I didn't like this book--BUT I thought it was amazing. Ms. Jackson took some massive risks with her plot and characters, and though it pained me to see what her characters became, I couldn't help but tip my hat to her sheer audacity. How's that for contradictory? :)

9. CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS by Kaela Rivera This MG fantasy has it all: criaturas, brujas, and a courageous MC determined to consort with one so she can become the other (and save her sister in the process). A glittering debut that left me hungry for the sequel.

10. WHEN WE WERE INFINITE by Kelly Loy Gilbert My goodness, where do I start? I fell in love with Ms. Gilbert's writing when I read her debut years ago (that one's called CONVICTION, and you should also check it out), and thematically, this book hit even closer to home. Ms. Gilbert doesn't publish books nearly as often as I wish she did, but every time a new one comes out, it's a must-read for me.

Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think? And which books made your top ten?