Happy New Year’s Eve!

I thought long and hard about whether to do my annual favorite reads post this year, and when it came down to it, I just couldn’t choose a top 10. I read way too many fantastic books this year, and the majority of them were by my fellow debut authors.

BUT, I don’t want to leave you without a year-end wrap-up, so here are all of the books I read in 2021, with some extra info and links.

Of the 88 books I read this year, they broke down as:

• 15 middle grade
• 63 young adult
• 10 adult

And 57 of the 88 were books by fellow #the21ders, so approximately two-thirds. If you’re interested in books by #the21ders, check out our Bookshop page, where you can order them directly and support an independent bookstore.

On to the books I read in 2021! If I reviewed the book in one of my roundups this year, it’s linked, and if it’s a debut book, I noted that as well. Also note that there are a few books toward the end of the year that I still plan to cover in a roundup soon!

1. Glitter Gets Everywhere by Yvette Clark (MG debut)
2. Maybe This Time by Kasie West
3. The Scottish Bride by Catherine Coulter
4. Dragonfly Girl by Marti Leimbach (YA debut)
5. The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks (YA debut)
6. Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant (YA debut)
7. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
8. Sea of Kings by Melissa Hope (MG debut)
9. First Comes Scandal by Julia Quinn
10. Glimpsed by G.F. Miller (YA debut)
11. The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto (YA debut)
12. The Other Side of Perfect by Mariko Turk (YA debut)
13. A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
14. Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles (MG debut)
15. Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce (YA debut)
16. Alone by Megan E. Freeman (MG debut)
17. You Have a Match by Emma Lord
18. A Pho Love Story by Loan Le (YA debut)
19. A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen (YA debut)
20. Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass (YA debut)
21. Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
22. The Wide Starlight by Nicole Lesperance (YA debut)
23. The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
24. The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity (MG debut)
25. Prepped by Bethany Mangle (debut)
26. The Bright & The Pale by Jessica Rubinkowski (YA debut)
27. An Occasionally Happy Family by Cliff Burke (MG debut)
28. Beach Read by Emily Henry
29. American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar (YA debut)
30. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (YA debut)
31. Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau (YA debut)
32. Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price (YA debut)
33. Sisters of the Snake by Sarena and Sasha Nanua (YA debut)
34. No Offense by Meg Cabot
35. The Last Windwitch by Jennifer Adam (MG debut)
36. The Gilded Girl by Alyssa Colman (MG debut)
37. Summer of Lost Letters by Hannah Reynolds (YA debut)
38. Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto
39. Many Points of Me by Caroline Gertler (MG debut)
40. Kind of Sort of Fine by Spencer Hall (YA debut)
41. The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (MG debut)
42. Baby & Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma (YA debut)
43. Shipped by Meredith Tate
44. Not Our Summer by Casie Bazay (YA debut)
45. Where It All Lands by Jennie Wexler (YA debut)
46. Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George (YA debut)
47. Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud
48. Made in Korea by Sarah Suk (YA debut)
49. You & Me At the End of the World by Brianna Bourne (YA debut)
50. Curse of the Specter Queen by Jenny Elder Moke
51. The Half-Orphan’s Handbook by Joan F. Smith (YA debut)
52. In the Same Boat by Holly Green (YA debut)
53. Everywhere Blue by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz (YA debut)
54. Manatee’s Best Friend by Sylvia Liu (MG debut)
55. Breath of Magic by Teresa Medeiros
56. Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi (MG debut)
57. My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand & Jodi Meadows
58. Blue Hawaiian by Carla Luna
59. Time Villains by Victor Pineiro (MG debut)
60. Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez (YA debut)
61. Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne (MG debut)
62. 14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph (YA debut)
63. Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston (YA debut)
64. How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao
65. Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
66. How Not to Fall in Love by Jacqueline Firkins
67. Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain (YA debut)
68. Loathe At First Sight by Suzanne Park
69. Like A Love Song by Gabriela Martins (YA debut)
70. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
71. For All Time by Shanna Miles (YA debut)
72. Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
73. Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach (YA debut)
74. The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
75. 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston
76. Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer
77. The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith (YA debut)
78. The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland (YA debut)
79. Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
80. The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams by Mindy Thompson (MG debut)
81. Every Other Weekend by Abigail Johnson
82. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
83. Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan (YA debut)
84. Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly DeVos
85. Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood (YA debut)
86. Starling by Isabel Strychacz (YA debut)
87. Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd
88. So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow

I’m not yet sure how my reading will look in 2021. I had a particular goal of reading as many books by fellow debut authors as possible this year, and I still have more of those on my list. I’ll still look out for 2022 debut authors next year to support, but I will also probably return to re-reading some of my favorites and working less off a list.

How did your reading go in 2021? Did you read any of the same books? And what do you have on your TBR for 2022?