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As 2021 has ended and a new year has begun, I wanted to share my favorite novels and book series this year. I have read about a hundred books last year, and so I am very excited to share my favorites of them all! One of my goals in 2021 was to expand my reading genres, and I am happy that it did! I have found a plethora of books than I would not have found if I had stayed to the same categories. The books I have liked the best and will read again include classics, mysteries, Catholic fiction and non-fiction, and romance. I hope you all have an incredible new year! God bless!
1: A Girl of the Limberlost
GENE STRATTON PORTER
Age Range: 12 and up
Elnora Comstock is a poor but smart sixteen-year-old girl who wants nothing more than to go to highschool. She lives in the country, and the only high school is in the nearby city, a three-mile walk, so she has to go there and back every day. Elnora has no money for school, books, or new clothes but is determined to go even though she gets harassed by her mother.
2: The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch
T. M. GAOUETTE
Age Range: 13 and up
Ten-year-old Benedict has changed foster homes more times than he can count or remember, and every one of them has been just as unpleasant as the others. When he gets to Sunshine Ranch with his little foster sister, he can't imagine why everyone is nice and friendly and not rude and abusive like the other homes he has been to.
3: Mara, Daughter of the Nile
ELOISE JARVIS McGRAW
Age Range: 13 and up
Mara has been a slave for as long as she can remember, and she is done, done having people tell her what to do—done cleaning and standing all day every day—done being a slave. But then Mara is sold to a dangerous man who wants her to be a spy, and if Mara does what he tells her to do, then she will be freed and no longer be a slave. Mara jumps at the chance to be free finally.
4: Treasures: Visible & Invisible
THERESA LINDEN, SUSAN PEEK, etc.
Age Range: 13 and up
Treasures: Visible & Invisible is a fantastic Catholic anthologies book for teens about St. Patrick's Day! 1st: Patrick's friend is in danger and needs saving, but maybe Patrick is the one who is genuinely in danger. 2nd: A 16-year-old monk feels as if he will never be as good as the other monks until he reads a scripture verse that changes his life.
5: Surrender
CARMEN MARCOUX
Age Range: 16 and up
Surrender is the fantastic sequel to the novel Arms of Love, continuing right after Brandon and Joanie's wedding but focusing on Joanie's other two sisters, Maggie and Amie Collins. Maggie has always known that she would enter religious life and has never once doubted that fact. She joins a group of sisters to see if the religious life is really for her and expects everything to go along smoothly, but it doesn't.
6: The Palace of the Great King
JULIE ASH
Age Range: 15 and up
Char Fisher is just about done with her annoyingly beautiful and popular little sister, Kayla, that everyone likes better, even her mother. All of the boys seem to follow Kayla around, and every time the phone rings, it's never for Char but Kayla. Char and Kayla couldn't be any farther apart when they take a family trip to Cleveland that changes everything they thought they knew.
7: Murder on the Orient Express
AGATHA CHRISTIE
Age Range: 13 and up
The high-end Orient Express has never been filled with so many people during the cold winter, with not one seat left empty. Famous detective Hercule Poirot makes it in time for the last-second class seat and is ready to enjoy a few days without solving mysteries. But just after midnight, a wealthy American man is murdered in his sleep, stabbed twelve times with his door locked from the inside.
8: They Loved to Laugh
KATHRYN WORTH
Age Range: 12 and up
After the death of her parents, shy sixteen-year-old Martitia Howland goes to live with her Quaker doctor and his family. The problem is that there are five brothers and a disapproving sister, and their favorite hobby is to laugh, specifically at Martita. Living on a farm is hard for Martitia since she has never had to do chores before, and she is teased constantly.
9: The Robe
LLOYD C. DOUGLAS
Age Range: 15/16 and up
The Robe is an remarkable story about a Roman soldier who put Jesus to death and his conversion. Marcellus Gallio is a regular Roman tribune, but after insulting a Prince, he is forced to become a soldier and then ordered by Pontius Pilot to kill Jesus the Nazarene. After winning the robe of Jesus while gambling, Marcellus undergoes an experience that changes his life forever.
10: A Song for the Stars
ILIMA TODD
Age Range: 12/13 and up
On the Hawaiian Islands in 1779, Maile, the second daughter of the royal chief, had a perfect life laid out and waiting for her. Maile was allowed to marry for love, so she was ready to marry her best friend in a month, and he was teaching her how to navigate the waters when the white men from England came bearing dangerous weapons.
Favorite Book Series of 2021: Faith & Kung Fu Series
T. M. GAOUETTE
Age Range: 14/15 and up
The Faith and Kung Fu series is by far my favorite book series that I have read in 2021, and I am so glad that I found it! It is so hard to find an author who I trust to write good Catholic books appropriate for the age group written for, so finding T. M. Gaouette was terrific.
The series follows Hollywood star Tanner Rose, and from the young age of fourteen, she is already corrupted by her movie-star lifestyle. In desperation, she is sent to live in a small country town in the middle of nowhere. As the story progresses, Tanner learns her mistakes and tries to fix her life with the help of Gabriel, a solid Catholic guy, into Kung Fu.
If you have read these book, let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear your thoughts! What was the best book or books you read this year? Let me know, and I'll add it to my list to read! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you're here!
