Best of 2021
It’s nuts to me that 2021 is coming to a close. The time/space continuum feels totally out of whack. Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe it.
As with last year December issue, this CRC Reads will merely present you with my five favorite books in each of the monthly categories, sans commentaire. Consider this a holiday gift guide, though your mileage may vary because #opinions.
Some of these titles have been highlighted in previous issues of CRC Reads. Some I'm springing on you now because why not.
Enjoy. See you in 2022.
Picture Books and Early Readers
Bright Star
A fawn makes her way through a border landscape teeming with flora and fauna native to the region.
The Longest Storm
A father and his kids are stuck inside the house together and must figure out how to connect and overcome conflict.
Mel Fell
Follow Mel on her journey from downward fall to triumphant flight in this tale of self-confidence and taking a leap of faith.
Red
A lost fox explores emotions -- fear, love, anger, and more -- through the use of vivid color.
Watercress
Embarrassed about gathering watercress from a roadside ditch, a girl learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage after learning why the plant is so important to her parents. Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor for Picture Book
Middle Grade
The Beatryce Prophecy
When a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing, Brother Edik nurses her back to health. When he uncovers her dangerous secret, she is sent away into the world with a goat and a boy.
The House That Wasn't There
Dismayed when his neighbors cut down a beloved old walnut tree that has always been a source of comfort, Alder forges an unexpected friendship with the new girl next door over a series of mysterious connections.
Just Like That
Presents the parallel stories of Meryl Lee, who is struggling to assimilate into a boarding school's traditions and social structure, and Matt, who has stolen a pillowcase full of cash from a gang.
Kaleidoscope
The story of two people bound to each other through time and space, memory and dreams. At the center of their relationship is a mystery about the nature of grief and love which will look different to each reader.
The Shape of Thunder
Estranged from the best friend whose brother killed her sister in a school shooting, a grieving Cora receives a message on her twelfth birthday from her friend, asking for her help with creating a time portal to prevent the tragedy.
Young Adult
Amber and Clay
In a warlike land of wind and sunlight, "ringed by a restless sea", live Rhaskos and Melisto, spiritual twins with little in common beyond the violent and mysterious forces that dictate their lives - which are about to collide during extraordinary circumstances. Winner of a Charlotte Huck Honor.
Firekeeper's Daughter
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
The Great Godden
At a house on the beach, the days are interchangeable. But when the Godden boys arrive, nothing will ever be the same. Nothing.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
1954, in San Francisco's Chinatown, seventeen-year-old Lily Hu falls in love with Kathleen Miller. Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
A Sitting in St. James
In 1860 Louisiana, eighty-year-old Madame Sylvie decides to sit for a portrait, as horrific stories that span generations from the big house and the fields are revealed. Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Fiction