"I like reading, and I read a whole lot. If I had to guess, I think I must have read at least 100 books over the course of 2021. And I still managed to greatly enjoy them, even if I finished most of them within a week."--Isaiah Kahn, 6th grade
I, however, dislike it when I finish a series. This is mostly because I have to go and find another good book to read, rather than basically having it chosen for me. I also find it hard to get into a new book, instead of getting the next book where you already know some of the plot, the characters, and the setting.
So, I decided that I would compile a list of my top 5 book recommendations from 2021 in case you’re in the same position!
Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman:
I read this book in September of 2021, I believe, and remember liking it a lot. It is very well written, has an excellent plot, and is a series of three long books. Although it is dark at times, it is probably one of my favorite series ever.
This book is science fiction, although there are no aliens or UFOs or stuff like that. It takes place on a futuristic earth, where humanity has conquered death (they can revive people, stop aging, and do a bunch of other futuristic stuff) and has pretty much reached their maximum potential.
Practically the only thing it does that I dislike, is the ending of the third and final book. In my opinion, it wraps everything up too quickly, and creates at least five fairly large plot holes while doing so. While it is satisfying for the reader and gives a pretty good conclusion to the characters, I think I would have preferred it if they made it more open-ended and took out the epilogue bit. Either way, this is a very minor problem for me and I don't really mind it that much.
Lastly, the series in chronological order goes: Scythe, Thunderhead, and lastly, Atoll.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams:
This book is hilarious. It is hands down one of the funniest books I have ever read. I absolutely love the writing style, which is extremely funny. Also, the author is British, which is probably part of the reason I like it because I dare you to not think British English words are way better than American English words.
Like most books on this list, these books can get (mildly) dark at times, but they are all very good nonetheless.
The fourth book is a lot more adult than the rest. I cannot speak for the fifth book as I have not finished it yet, but I'm at 30% and there isn't any swearing or adult themes or anything like that, and it doesn't seem like they will be.
Luckily, the third book doesn’t end on a cliff hanger or anything, so if you stop after three, you should be fine. If you want so skip four and go straight to five, you also should be fine, only possibly a bit confused on some of the references and such.
One of my only problems with the books is that they severely lack suspense or fully dramatic parts (in my opinion. There are definitely some people out there who would disagree), due to the writing style. Even so, I didn’t mind this that much.
One quote I can specifically remember that I thought gives you a good idea of the writing style, is this:
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, about a second later, nothing continued to happen.
My final problem with the books is that they can get dull and hard to read at times. I’ve had to reread more than a few chapters, due to the fact that I didn’t really understand what was going on. I think that this is mostly because it gives you a lot of random information that you can’t really figure out how it relates to the story and you end up skimming it. Also, keep in mind that this is my experience, and you might not notice this happening to you at all.
Lastly, the chronological order of the series goes: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe, and Everything; So Long and Thanks for All the Fish; and finally, Mostly Harmless.
(PS. There is also a movie adaptation, which is as accurate to the book as most movie adaptations, not to mention hard to follow. It’s still relatively okay, though.)
Masterminds by Gordan Korman:
This book is a good, fairly wholesome book with an interesting and exciting plot. The character building is also great, along with the compelling characters.
It is fully fiction, instead of realistic fiction, like most of Gordan Koman’s books. For some reason, there is a review on the back of the first book that says it’s “an all too possible scenario,” which makes pretty much zero sense, so just ignore that.
There isn’t very much else to say about this book. I would definitely recommend it, it’s very not dark or adult or anything like that. I’ll probably even think it’s pretty corny in a couple of years.
The series in chronological order goes: Masterminds, Masterminds: Criminal Destiny, and lastly, Masterminds: Payback.
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
These books are corny but good. They’re about elementary/middle school kids and a really good teacher. It’s very wholesome, and probably one of the best elementary/middle school books I have read.
The only thing I didn’t particularly like was the foreshadowing. Well, it was alright, but I thought it was weird to have an elementary/middle school novel (or any novel) have as much foreshadowing as it did.
But yeah. Other than that, it was a great, wholesome read.
Lastly, the series in chronological order goes: Because of Mr. Terupt, Mr. Terupt Falls Again, Saving Mr. Terupt, and lastly, Goodbye Mr. Terupt.
(PS. Yeah. If you couldn’t tell from even the titles, there’s a lot of foreshadowing.)
Keepers by Ted Sanders
I read this book in 5th grade, and remember it being amazing. The plot is interesting and well-thought out, and the characters have funny and unique personalities, not to mention interesting backstories. It’s also very well written.
I read this when I was in 5th grade (about one and a half years ago), so I’m not entirely sure how it compares with the books I’m currently reading. I’m almost certain I will like it just as much as I did and it will still be one of my favorite books I’ve read, even if the competition might be a bit tougher.
Also, this book is not Keepers of the Lost Cities. It just has a similar name.
(Side note: that book is also really good.)
Another thing I remember is that there were a lot of sciencey references. I didn’t understand any of them, but I remember they talked a little bit about Schrodinger's Cat and some other stuff.
This book is very severely underrated. I have not met a single person who has read it, not to mention the cover doesn’t even show up when I Google it, even though it’s probably one of the best books I have ever read.
Lastly, the series in chronological order goes: Keepers: the Box and the Dragonfly, Keepers: the Harp and the Ravenvine, Keepers: the Portal and the Veil, and finally, Keepers: the Starlit Loom.
That’s all the books for this article. I hope that you now have a good book to read, and aren’t stuck browsing library shelves and failing to get into a book.
Thanks for reading!