Hi everyone! We are ending yet another crazy year! It seems like just yesterday we were ending 2020! But, without further ado, we present to you our 21 favorite reads of 2021! Some of these books we’ve done blog posts on, and the ones we haven’t are coming soon….
-
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca: Reha is split between two lives: The lives she wants to live, and the life her parents want her to live. When something tragic happens, Reha has to pick one, or will she find a way to merge the two.
-
Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone (YA): When the school dress code gets out of control, Molly Frost starts a podcast, and before she knows it….a revolution.
-
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman: An extraordinary collection of poems about pandemics and much much more through the ages by the national Youth Poet Laureate of the US: Amanda Gorman
-
Girl Code by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser (YA): Meet Andy and Sophie, two girls who meet each other at a Girls Who Code camp. Together, they embark on a journey to promote girls in coding and become best friends along the way.
-
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte: Cici is leaving her friends, home, and beloved A-má (grandmother) as she flies from Taiwan to Seattle. She finally has the chance to bring A-má to Seattle on vacation for her 70th birthday: a cooking contest.
-
No Summit Out of Sight by Jordan Romero and Linda LeBlanc: The story and journey of the youngest boy to ever climb the seven summits.
-
Ban this Book by Alan Gratz: Timid Amy Anne has never in her life stood up for herself. But when her favorite book gets banned from her school library, she realizes that she has to take a stand.
-
Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (YA) Maya Aziz is hiding a secret from her parents: she doesn’t want to go to law school at the University of Chicago, but rather study filmmaking at NYU. She’s been accepted into both, and on a romantic spring break, she needs to figure out how to tell her parents her true passion.
-
The Fault in our Stars by John Green (YA): Hazel Grace Lancaster has been battling advanced thyroid cancer for the past 3 years. Now she is 16, and suffering from depression. She meets Augustus, a boy who shows Hazel to live life to the fullest, no matter what happens. They fall in love, but then something tragic happens to Augustus. Will Hazel and Augustus battle through together and survive?
-
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu (YA): Quiet and reserved Vivian “Viv”Carter is fed up with all the sexist comments flying around her school. So, she responds by starting an anonymous feminist magazine. Will the Moxie girls fight back to end the discrimination for once and for all?
-
Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow: Melissa “Melly” and her best friend Olivia are spending two weeks at an amazing music camp: Camp Rockaway. But Melly’s parents are filing a divorce, and Olivia is pulling away. Can Melly learn to march to the beat of her own drum?
-
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams(YA): Genesis has just moved to a new home and a new school with her gambling father and stressed out mother. She’ll do anything to put her family back together again, even if it means hurting herself in the process…
-
Room to Dream by Kelly Yang: Mia Tang is back at the Calvista! She is opening the door to the writing world, and she’s dealing with A LOT of rejection. But on a trip to China, will Mia realize how much it takes to stay published?
-
Blended by Sharon M. Draper: Isabella Thornton doesn’t know if she’s black or white. Will she learn to love her whole self?
-
Starfish by Lisa Fipps: Ellie has been fat-shamed her whole life. From her pushy mom to bullies at school, will Ellie find the power in her voice, and her big, beautiful self?
-
Out of my Heart by Sharon M. Draper: The sequel to Out of My Mind- Melody Brooks is back, and almost in middle school, but summer awaits her. Melody finds an awesome summer camp just for girls like her, but there will be lots of surprises along the way…
-
Rad Girls Can by Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl: A wonderful collection of stories that show how the amazing women we know and love today built themselves up and showed us how much girls can really do.
-
Fast Pitch by Nic Stone: Shenice Lockwood is the catcher and captain of her softball team: the Fulton Firebirds. But some curveballs are coming her way, and Shenice needs to learn that she might have to strike out to take the plate.
-
90 Days of Different by Eric Walters (YA): Quiet and studious Sophie has just graduated high school with her spontaneous best friend Ella. Ella has arranged for 90 very different and very wild things for each day of summer break, before college, to help Sophie find her inner rebel. What could go wrong?
-
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (YA): The story of Malala Yousafzai- The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban.
-
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (YA): Ponyboy is pretty sure that he has life figured out. It might not be easy, but with his gang of greasers, and his two brothers….he knows he’ll be okay. But one night things go too far…
Happy Reading!
Love,
Bookwanderers
Neerja and Nidhi