2021 Staff Favorites
With 2021 coming to a close, we asked our library staff what their favorite reads of this year have been. Check out our recommendations and borrow some today!
ALEX:
Sistersong by Lucy Holland
As the King of Dumnonia embraces Christianity, the threat of invading Saxons grows. Riva, blessed with healing magic, can’t cure her own deep scars. Sinne’s burgeoning magic furthers her dreams of adventure and romance. The king’s abandoned magic firmly roots itself in transmasculine Keyne, who only wants to be accepted as the king’s son and rightful heir.
I knew this was a retelling of “The Twa Sisters,” an English murder ballad from around the 17th century, so I knew where it would go from the beginning. But the journey along the way turned me into an emotional wreck of a reader in the best way. Compelling, lovely, and particularly excellent in audio.
BEN T:
Gideon the Ninth & Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Tamsyn’s writing is enchanting throughout, compelling her readers to come along for a ride through a setting full of interesting characters, heart-rending choices, questions about the nature of a god-emperor, perfectly placed dashes of humor, and sci-fi necromancy.
BETH:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Nerds like me rejoice when Andy Weir writes a book! I loved the geek-wisecracking voice of Mark Watney in The Martian, and Project Hail Mary gives not one, but two fresh voices that are hilarious and heartbreaking. Details would ruin the story, but this book gave me my favorite character of the year.
Land of Outcasts by Josh Gauthier
And my second favorite character of the year is…Sasha the Battle Unicorn!!! If you haven’t picked up Josh’s book yet, you absolutely should. Sasha alone is worth the price of admission, and the story is such a fun jaunt through Josh’s imagination.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I love a story that loves being a story, if that makes any sense. This is a fantasy/historical/romance/time-jumping book that you just hop in for the ride and love the journey.
COURTNEY:
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Hoover presents a mind boggling read that is unlikely to be predicted. Both a mix of psychological thriller touched with romance, her writing blurs the lines of fiction and reality. If you’ve written about something, have you experienced it too? Verity tempts readers to challenge character motives and morals. What’s real and what isn’t? A must read for anyone looking to finish a book in one night.
HARPER:
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
A science fiction re-imagining of historical Chinese figures that reads simultaneously like a fantasy adventure story and no piece of YA literature I have ever read. There is so much good in this that it is hard to list it all — scathing criticism of misogynistic gender roles, a “love triangle” that actually turns into a healthy consensual polyamorous relationship, a corrupt and mysterious government, are-they-actually-evil aliens, giant mecha robots…I could not put it down. Brutal and nonstop while also containing moments of tenderness, with a twist at the end that will have readers immediately wanting more.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
A stunningly written portrayal of young Chinese lesbian girl, Lily, exploring her identity in 1950s Red Scare-era San Francisco. A beautiful, moving coming of age story that seamlessly weaves together historical context with Lily’s multifaceted cultural & sexual identities.
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
Queer orc girl escapes the cult of the death god she was raised in and traverses dimensions. What more do you need?
Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
The best book about all different kinds of bodies!
I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne & Julia Kuo
Absolutely stunning story & illustration, sad but beautiful.
Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson & Qin Leng
I don’t always find wordless picture books engaging, but the story in this is so clear and heartwarming.
IVY:
What I Carry by Jennifer Longo
The story of a girl raised in foster care trying to decide what to do and how to survive as she ages out. It’s hopeful, realistic, and so quietly appealing that it’s hard to put down.
Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon
This book was so fun!! Great characters, story, and writing.
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
LOVED the main character, the story, and the beautiful world building and imagery of this re-imagined fairytale.
Thirsty Mermaids by Cat Leyh
The quirky characters are a blast!
This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews
Unexpected, charming, delightful, and fun.
We Are Grateful: Otsalihelig by Traci Sorell, Illustrated by Frane Lessac
Recommend listening to the CD while reading to get the full effect. Beautiful concept of gratitude through the seasons in a way that introduces readers of all ages to connection and reverence for the earth/nature.
IZZY:
The Witch King by H. E. Edgmon
Like usual, my favorite book of the year is never necessarily “The Best” book I’ve ever read, but is often the book that found me in the right place and at the right time that year. The Witch King checks a lot of the boxes in what I look for in my favorite reads: angsty romance, themes of self-discovery, a strong cast of characters, and a bit of fantasy. Reading this book this year was like meeting a fast friend and it helped me get through a particularly hard time.
JOSH:
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Both a love letter to and a reimagining of the slasher story, My Heart is a Chainsaw succeeds both as a horror novel and a deeply empathetic tale of one teenage girl fighting to find her place in a changing and uncertain world. Frightening and heartfelt by turns, this book is an incredible work from one of the most remarkable writers of our day.
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
Bringing art to the tumult of the past few years, Gorman gives language to our collective grief while also calling for change and envisioning hope for our future. This book is an incredible work of literature that arrived at precisely the time so many of us need to hear what its author has to say.
MATT:
Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill
Great for anyone into true crime, conspiracy theory, or the California counterculture. It’s not so much a re-investigation of the Manson murders, but an investigation of the investigation of Manson and his whole milieu. I devoured it, a real page turner.
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
A distant-future, inter-planetary, post-mass extinction, eco-utopian, genderqueer romance, AI political thriller…if that make sense. It’s extremely interesting and fun.
SARA:
The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips
The Blackbird Girls by Ann Blankman
I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner
When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling
BEN H:
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
The Pale King is an unfinished novel that follows a group of employees at the Internal Revenue Service’s Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Illinois in 1985. In the words of the editor, “[the novel] takes agonizing daily events like standing in lines, traffic jams, and horrific bus rides—things we all hate—and turns them into moments of laughter and understanding.” I understand it’s hard to make a book about the IRS and mundanity sound interesting, but that’s exactly the point of the book; to zoom in on all of the things that we consider to be mundane, listen to the background noise we normally filter out, and make constant & conscious choices about what we pay attention to.
Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World’s Greatest Art Heist by Stephen Kurkjian
A thrilling account of one of the most spellbinding unsolved mysteries in Boston’s history, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist of 1990.
We hope you all have had a good year of reading, listening, watching, playing, and learning, and that everyone is looking forward to seeing what is to come in 2022!
We leave you with one last recommendation from Beth, who wanted to share her favorite 2021 poem: How Will This Pandemic Affect Poetry? by Julia Alvarez
