Best of 2021
A list of my favourite books of the year
01
The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee
Without a doubt Jade City, Jade War and Jade Legacy are three of the best books I read this year. Each one surpassed the one before it. Fonda Lee has an amazing talent for making her characters feel like family; I love the Kauls with a vengeance. The world, its powers and the sheer epic scale of the story makes this series an absolute classic of its genre.
02
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Mythology is my kink. I love The Odyssey which Madeline Miller does a beautiful version of in Circe but I wasn't sure how she would do The Iliad, which is obviously what this novel is based on, as there are just so many stories and characters to condense. I will of course trust her from now on for all myths. This was absolutely beautifully written, it read like history and poetry at the same time and had me in tears with its inevitable end.
03
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
I listened to The Hate U Give on audiobook a while ago and loved how intense but also how full of heart that novel was. I cried and laughed the whole way through it. But I was unsure about going into a prequel as I didn't know if a story about Maverick (Starr's father) was needed. Spoiler: it was. I loved it and in some ways think Concrete Rose was an even better book. The sense of family is what pulls you in and I related so much to Maverick's entry into parenthood.
04
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
An unusual sci-fi novel that sees a black woman travel back to the South in the 1800s to save the life of a young boy. This happens randomly several more times throughout the boy's life and well into his adulthood. The character relationships and the realistic time travelling was really interesting and had many layers to both elements. The novel surprised me and, ultimately, stuck with me.
05
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
This is a world where you get a curtesy call to warn you of your upcoming death that day. The two main characters, both teenage boys, receive that dreaded call on the same day and we watch them spend their last 24 hrs together. If that all sounds heart-breaking, well, that's because it is. The suspense of waiting to see if they really will die and, morbidly, how, is what made me fly through this book. A great set-up with a surprisingly satisfying ending.
06
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
An adult fantasy with a great sense of humour, lots of heists and a truly spectacular climax. The story itself isn't the most surprising or original, but I absolutely loved the magic system. Inanimate objects are given a 'voice' and can be commanded using 'tech' that has an element of sci-fi to it. The dialogue of some of these objects was just hilarious and the friendship between a thief and her key is strangely heart-warming.
07
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
This is a novella that's powerfully succinct. The writing flows beautifully and it addresses very meaningful topics. Four astronauts are travelling to other worlds which have shown signs of life but they aren't there to invade or to make contact, they're simply going to collect data. It's space travel with a heart and the novella made me think a lot without preaching its ideas to me.
08
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
I honestly didn't expect to love this book when I first started it. I was curious to finally read a Brandon Sanderson book but although the first couple hundred pages were good, it was nothing I hadn't read before in a fantasy. By the middle and end of the book, however, it got me. I loved the feeling of all the pieces coming together and in such dramatic fashion. I now totally get the hype with his books: they're fast paced, easy to read, with fun characters and plenty of satisfying twists.
09
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Interestingly I have the second book in this trilogy sat at my number 10 spot for worst book of the year, but I did honestly love the first one. Kristin Cashore is great at writing characters and, unlike other fantasies that you have to orientate yourself into the new world, I found this one super easy to get to grips with. This is a really enjoyable adventure with a realistic and shockingly healthy romance at its core.
10
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
This was my last new read of the year and it's a short book that I picked up on impulse. I tried to read Susanna Clarke's other novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ages ago and I remember thinking that the writing was pretty but the story didn't grab me, and it's a super long book so I never finished. Piranesi, however, captivated me completely. The main character has such an innocent charm to him, the prose is beautiful and the setting truly mystical. A perfect book to end the year on.
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