Books to Read in 2021
Itâs a NEW YEAR, everyone!Â
We made it through 2020, and whether or not you hit your reading goal this past year, donât worry! 2021 is a new year for your TBR, and we have an AMAZING line-up of books you should add to your reading list ASAP.
THE LIFE IâM INÂ
This story of the power of forgiveness and second chances presents the unflinching story of a young woman trapped in the underworld of human trafficking. In Sharon G. Flakeâs latest and unflinching novel, we follow Charlese Jones, who, with her raw, blistering voice speaks the truths many girls face, offering insight to some of the causes and conditions that make a bully. Turned out of the only home she has known, Char boards a bus to nowhere where she is lured into the dangerous web of human trafficking.
HOLD BACK THE TIDE
A darkly seductive story of murder, betrayal, love, and family secrets in a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Alva knows that her father killed her mother, but she canât prove it. The more she investigates though, the more she realizes that the truth can be more monstrous than lies/ And while you might be able to outrun anything that emerges from the dark water, you can never escape your past âŚ
MUTEDÂ
Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean âMercuryâ Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights â plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it. Until theyâre not. Denver begins to realize that sheâs trapped in Mercâs world, struggling to hold on to her own voice. As the dream turns into a nightmare, she must make a choice: lose her big break, or get broken.
THE POETRY OF SECRETS
A lyrical portrait of hidden identities and forbidden love set against the harrowing backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. Isabelâs dreams to pursue poetry and a partner of her own choosing are thrown into jeopardy when the Spanish Inquisition reaches her small town.Â
SHURI #2: THE VANISHEDÂ
Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda (and sister to the Black Panther), sets out to save a group of kidnapped girls in this all-new, original novel by New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone!
BRIDGE OF SOULS
Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows âŚunless itâs the other way around? Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. And the cityâs biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.
FOLLOW YOUR ARROW
When bisexual influencer CeCe breaks up with her girlfriend, Silvie, sheâs devastated. But then she starts falling for a new guy who has no idea sheâs internet famousâŚand CeCe wants to keep it that way. But as her secrets catch up to her, she finds herself in the middle of an online storm, where sheâll have to confront the blurriness of public vs. private life, and figure out what it really means to speak her truth.  Â
MIRRORâS EDGE
The danger rises and the deception grows in the heart-stopping third book in the New York Times bestselling Impostors series! Are twins Frey and Rafi on the same side ⌠or are they playing to their own agendas? If their father is deposed from Shreve, who will take control? And what other forces may be waiting in the wings?
ZARA HOSSAIN IS HERE
Zaraâs family has waited years for their visa process to be finalized so that they can officially become US citizens. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low. But when her tormentor vandalizes her house with racist graffiti, a violent crime puts Zaraâs entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place sheâs ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.
REMEDY
Itâs a mystery - why is Cara so sick? It feels like sheâs been sick all her life ⌠but she and her mom have never stayed in one place long enough for doctors to really understand whatâs happening to her. Now, at fourteen, Cara is tired of being tired, and sick of being sick. Unable to afford the care she needs, Caraâs mom starts a Caring for Cara campaign online. The money starts pouring in. But somethingâs not right to Cara. And the harder she looks, the less she understands.
HEARTSTOPPER VOLUME 3
The third volume in the poignant and sweet Heartstopper series, featuring beautiful two-color artwork! Charlie didnât think Nick could ever like him back, but now theyâre officially boyfriends. Nick has even found the courage to come out to his mom. But coming out isnât something that happens just once, and Nick and Charlie try to figure out when to tell their friends that theyâre dating. Not being out to their classmates gets even harder during a school trip to Paris. As Nick and Charlieâs feelings get more serious, theyâll need each other more than ever.
THE BLOCK
In the second book of The Loop trilogy, Luka is trapped in a fate worse than death. But now that he knows the truth about what he and his fellow inmates are being used for, itâs more important than ever that he not only escapes, but that he builds an army.
ON THE HOOK
Hector has always minded his own business while he works towards a better life. Until Joey, whose older brother, Chavo, is head of the DiscĂpulos gang, tells Hector that heâs going to kill him: maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And Hector, frozen with fear, does nothing. From that day forward, Hectorâs death is hanging over his head every time he leaves the house. But when a fight between Chavo and Hectorâs brother escalates, Hector is left with no choice but to take a stand. Itâs up to Hector to choose whether heâs going to lose himself to revenge or get back to the hard work of living.
MISTER IMPOSSIBLE
Do the dreamers need the ley lines to save the world ⌠or will their actions end up dooming the world? As Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde try to make dreamers more powerful, the Moderators are closing in, sure that this power will bring about disaster. In the remarkable second book of The Dreamer Trilogy, Maggie Stiefvater pushes her characters to their limits â and shows what happens to them and others when they start to break.
THE GHOSTS WE KEEPÂ
Everything happens for a reason.At least thatâs what everyone keeps telling Liam Cooper after his older brother Ethan is killed suddenly in a hit-and-run. Feeling more alone and isolated than ever, Liam has to not only learn to face the world without one of the people he loved the most, but also face the fading relationships of his two best friends in the process. Soon, Liam finds themself spending time with Ethanâs best friend, Marcus, who might just be the only person that seems to know exactly what theyâre going through - for better and for worse.
SIMONE BREAKS ALL THE RULES
Simone is shaking things up by making a bucket list of everything she hasnât been able to do thanks to her strict Haitian immigrant parents. But as the list takes on a life of its own, things get much more complicated than Simone expected. Sheâll have to discover which rules are worth breaking, and which might save her from heartbreak.
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
Skylar is ready to show everyone that her latest app is brilliant by winning an academic competition. To do that, sheâs going to use it to win State at the Scholastic Exposition, the nerdiest academic competition around. But when she falls for one of her team members and things get complicated, is her path to greatness over before it begins?
THE GIRL FROM THE SEA
A graphic novel about family, romance, and first love! Morganâs biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl. Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesnât seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything theyâre each trying to hide will find its way to the surfaceâŚwhether Morgan is ready or not.
RISE TO THE SUN
Three days. Two girls. One life-changing music festival. Toni is reeling in the wake of the loss of her roadie father and desperate to figure out where her life will go from here. Olivia is a hopeless romantic whose heart has just taken a beating (again). When the two collide at the Farmland Music and Arts Festival, it feels like kismet. But when something goes wrong and the festival is sent into a panic, Toni and Olivia find that they need each other, and the music, more than they ever imagined.
YOU & ME AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Hannah Ashton wakes up to silence. The entire city around her is empty, except for one other person: Leo Sterling. Leo might be the hottest boy ever (and not just because heâs the only one left), but heâs also too charming, too selfish, and too devastating for his own good, let alone Hannahâs. Together, they search for answers amid crushing isolation. But while their empty world may appear harmless ⌠itâs not. Because nothing is quite as it seems, and if Hannah and Leo donât figure out whatâs going on, they might just be torn apart forever.
IN THE SAME BOATÂ
Sadie is ready for the race of a lifetime: The Texas River Odyssey. But then her brother ditches her and she has to pair up with her former best friend, Cully. Itâs irritating enough that he grew up to be so attractive, but once theyâre on the river it turns out heâs ill-prepared for such a dangerous race. But as the miles pass, the pain of the race builds, they uncover the truth about their feuding families, and Sadieâs feelings for Cully begin to shift. Could this race change her life more than she ever could have imagined?
THE GREAT DESTROYERSÂ
In this alternate-history novel, Jo joins the Pax Games: an Olympics-style competition that pits pilots of mechas against each other. But when fighters start dying in the arena, Jo is drawn into a deadly political plot. In a global arms race between superpowers, playing out in violent games that only humanity could create, comes a chilling story of clashing titans, ruthless competition, freedom, and the girl caught in the middle of it all.
