I read a lot in 2021. Looking back on my list now, I realize that the vast majority of the books I read were fiction, and a lot of the ones I really enjoyed were ones I borrowed from my 11-year-old son. I was hesitant to share my list of favourites after that realization - because how many grown women are reading books intended for junior high kids? - but I enjoyed them, so maybe you will too! And hey, we all need a little escape sometimes, right?
Here are some of my favourite books of 2021:
Fighting Forward by Hannah Brencher. This is EASILY my favourite book of the year, and one I will reread often. Hannah uses the analogy of a song - each song starts with a single note. Every note - and every little step you take - builds into an anthem. It’s beautifully written, full of hope and encouragement and light. If you buy one book to read in 2022, it should be this one.
All Four Stars & The Stars of Summer by Tara Dairman. I read the first two books in the series and am trying to hurry Topher along in his reading so I can steal the third one from him. It’s a great story about a really loveable little girl who becomes a restaurant critic - without anyone realizing she’s just a kid.
Ungifted & Supergifted by Gordon Korman. Gordon Korman was one of my favourite authors when I was a kid so I was very happy when I realized he still writes, and that his books are still hilarious. Ungifted tells the story of an ordinary boy who ends up at a school for gifted children, and Supergifted tells the story of one of his gifted classmates trying to fit in at regular school.
Restart by Gordon Korman. Restart is about bully who loses his memory after falling off a roof and hitting his head. He doesn’t remember being a bully - or why he was on the roof - and he has to learn who he was all over again. Then he has to decide if who he was is who he really wants to be.
Schooled by Gordon Korman. Schooled tells the story of a very sheltered ninth grade boy who ends up attending public school while he is in foster care because his grandma is in the hospital. He’s an easy target for the other kids to pick on, and he becomes the butt of a school-wide joke when he’s nominated for - and wins the job of - class president. But the unschooled teaches the schooled about kindness and acceptance.
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman. The Unteachables are just that - a group of supposedly “unteachable” kids that nobody can reach. Their teacher is just counting time until he can retire, and he only ended up with the class as a punishment after being disgraced by a cheating scandal years earlier. The book explores the question of whether the kids are really unteachable - or if they’re just misunderstood.
The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Topher begged me to read the first book in this series and I put it off for months before I even cracked the cover. I had no interest whatsoever in reading stories about Greek gods. But it only took the first page of the first book to capture my attention, and I read through that entire series, the Apollo series, the Percy Jackson series, the Magnus Chase series - and I’m waiting for the Kane Chronicles at the library. The Heroes of Olympus is easily my favourite series.