The 21 Books I Read in 2021, Ranked

I read 21 books last year – four short of my goal but four more than I read in 2020. I’m calling that a win! Ranking them was much harder than I thought because so many were binge-worthy reads that I simply couldn’t put down.

1. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins // A hooked from the first sentence, couldn’t put it down, thought about it long after it was over kind of read. I really loved this book. It made me feel something. I loved that the main character was a migrant woman and mother. I found all the characters, even the ones I hate, to be compelling and well developed. American Dirt is my #1 for the year because I want to read it again, and probably will.
2. The Great Alone // This book is SO good. A Vietnam vet moves his family to the Alaskan wilderness. There they all have to learn to survive not just the harsh Alaskan climate, but the mental health struggles of their husband/father. Kristen Hannah writes such layered and interesting characters. If not for The Nightingale, which was my favorite book of 2020, this would be my favorite of Hannah’s books.
3. It Ends With Us // A stay up all night to finish kind of read. This is a heartbreaking yet heartwarming love story that had me in tears at the end. (Trigger warning: there is a domestic violence storyline) This book really stayed with me after I finished it, so much so that two days later I had to go back and reread the last few chapters. There’s a reason this novel from 2016 resurfaced and became a best-seller again in 2021.
4. The Vanishing Half // It took me about 70 pages to get into this book but then I was hooked. Can we talk about how good this book was?!? It has everything I love – a storyline that spans generations, family ties, tragedy, and romance. I found the characters to be complex and realistic and I just loved that the four main characters are women – twin sisters and their daughters.
5. The Paper Palace // I don’t know how to describe this book without giving anything away, so just do yourself a favor and read it. It’s a story of secrets, lies, love, family – set during summer on Cape Cod. It’s such a good read.
6. Beach Read // This is such a good beach read, literally. Two writers who pen completely opposite genres spend the summer in neighboring beach cabins. A beachy, literary love story I found wildly enjoyable.
7. The Four Winds // I loved this book. In fact, I think I love anything Kristen Hannah writes. The Dust Bowl was just an interesting time in history and this book painted a picture of the era in such a vivid and compelling way. I definitely cried at the end of this one.
8. The Last Flight // An addictive page-turner. “Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.” If you like anything in the thriller/suspense/murder mystery category, this should be next on your list!
9. Verity // Holy shit this book! As a thriller, it gets a 10/10 from me, but as a mother I found parts of it to be so disturbing and hard to read. However, I couldn’t put it down. And just wait for the ending, I NEVER saw that coming.
10. The Last Thing He Told Me // A fast-moving thriller. A husband’s last words to his wife are, “protect her”. The story follows the unraveling of what that means.
11. Killers of the Flower Moon // A true story that you can’t believe is true. In the 1920s, the richest people in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation. After being driven off their land not once but twice, they settled in northern Oklahoma where oil was discovered beneath their land. Soon, entire families were being killed off one by one in truly jaw-dropping ways. I had to look back to make sure this book was nonfiction because it read like a true-crime novel. 
12. The Orphan Collector // Set during the Spanish Flu of 1918, this book has major COVID vibes. A story of loss and survival, but a happy ending. Can we normalize happy endings?!
13. The People We Meet on Vacation // A solid rom-com. I preferred Beach Read by the same author but I went on a romance binge for part of the year and this book was definitely enjoyable.
14. The Girl You Left Behind // I’m here for any dual-time frame love story. Set in German-occupied France in 1916 and then early 2000s London, this book is by no means a literary masterpiece but I love a good piece of fluffy fiction. This book also had a good ending which is more of a rarity in this genre. I didn’t think it was as good as Me Before You but found it to be way better than The Last Letter from Your Lover. If you like love stories and vivid descriptions of the french countryside, I give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. 
15. Quit Like A Woman // I have to admit, I read this book shortly after doing ‘Dry January’ so I was feeling extra ‘great’ and healthy. I have a healthy relationship with alcohol and don’t see a need to cut it out of my life completely. However, the book makes great points about the pervasiveness of alcohol in our culture. We drink to celebrate, drink with coworkers, drink at baby showers, etc. No one questions when people drink, people only question when you don’t. For the past six years, I couldn’t decline a drink without someone thinking I’m pregnant. That’s a problem. Sobriety or even just abstaining from alcohol for a night needs to be more common and accepted. If you’re thinking about giving up alcohol, this book is likely to nudge you over the edge but if you’re a social drinker it’s just good food for thought.
16. Between Sisters // As with all of Kristen Hannah’s books, this did not disappoint. Definitely nowhere near The Nightingale, The Great Alone, or The Four Winds, but it was a very enjoyable read while I was waiting for other books to come available at the library.
17. One Day In December // A worthwhile book if romantic comedies are your thing. I read this right before Christmas and it was exactly what I wanted to read at the time – easy, fast, for pure enjoyment.
18. The River // Not a bad book by any means, it just read quite slow to me. Two college friends venture out on a canoeing trip and have to outrun a forest fire and a few other, let’s call them hiccups.
19. The Unhoneymooners // Maid of Honor and Best Man can’t stand each other, but as food poisoning takes out the entire wedding including the bride and groom, the two enemies end up on the honeymoon. I bet you can guess if they fall in love. Chick-lit in its purest form.
20. In a Holidaze // This is a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form. A group of family and friends vacation every Christmas in Park City, Utah. There’s a Groundhog Day aspect to the story, with a snowy, holiday backdrop. It’s a fast, fun holiday read that’s completely light and fluffy.
21. Malibu Rising // I do not understand the hype of this book. I found it to be completely predictable (not in a good rom-com way), lame characters, and frankly quite boring. PASS!