Carol's 2021 Top 12
What is it about year end lists? I can't help but read those top movies, books, series, photos of the year articles.
I went over my own book list for 2021 and decided to pick out my top 10. I read 62 books and winnowing it down was not easy. I got stuck on 12, which actually makes more sense with 12 months in a year. I think it includes a good variety, too.
They are in alphabetical order, because ranking them was more than I could do!
This is a writing tour de force. Three fascinating storylines, linked by an ancient text (also created by the author). A story about stories that will stay with you.
Carol
A fascinating look at the WWII Yalta conference through the unique perspective of the daughters of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Harriman, who accompanied their fathers.
Carol
What a powerful story of a young Ojibwe woman living in the UP of Michigan, who becomes involved in an FBI investigation into the source of meth in her community. This is a young adult book, but I know it will have crossover appeal to adults.
Carol
An engrossing saga about a woman in the early 1900s who wants nothing more than to be a female pilot, juxtaposed with a current day story of the actress playing her in a movie.
Carol
This is excellent historical fiction about Shakespeare's son, grief, and the plague, but I was most drawn to the strong, fascinating character of Hamnet's mother.
Carol
A feel good fantasy story about orphans with magical powers, the adult caregivers who protect them, and the investigator the bureaucracy sends to report on them. It reminded me of how I felt reading the first Harry Potter book.
Carol
Wow. First, you're reading a satire of an upper middle class Brooklyn family on vacation, then it becomes something else when a couple knocks on the door of their air bnb in the middle of the night, claiming to be the owners, then it becomes something even more disturbing, and you've read all 241 pages without being able to put it down!
Carol
I think I'd follow Amor Towles anywhere his books want to take me. This time we start in Nebraska with 3 young men released/escaped from a juvenile work farm, one precocious younger brother, a Studebaker, and a planned trip to California that is highjacked to NYC--the other end of the Lincoln Highway. A great adventure story that reminds you of how many books find their roots in Homer's Odyssey.
Carol
In 1916, Sven banishes himself to Svalbard to make a new life in the harsh mining towns and the even harsher environment of the Arctic Circle. It is poignant and often funny, full of memorable characters, witnessing the strength of the human spirit and the heart's need for human connection.
Carol
Another adventure story, this time set in Northern Wisconsin. Two young boys take off into the woods after one shoots the other's father. The local sheriff and those who care for the boys take off after them, fearing that they will come to harm. A page-turner full of characters you come to love and cheer for.
Carol
What a fun new mystery series! A group of retirees meets weekly in their retirement village to try to solve cold cases--then they get involved in a murder in their own backyard, matching wits with the unamused local officials.
Carol
We Begin at the End is a heartbreaker with unforgettable characters, especially 13 year old Duchess, the self-proclaimed outlaw. Long after I finished, I kept thinking about all the pieces of the story that were ultimately revealed, as well as the many unintended consequences of actions taken with the best of intentions or those motivated by revenge. This book will stay with me.