Year archive

Best books of 2021

Books selected by independent literary juries and editorial teams in 2021, gathered into one transparent, source-linked reading list. The chronology uses the award year for prizes and list year for editorial recommendations.

Selections
388
Authors
385
Lists & prizes
16

Showing 337–384 of 388

2021Young readers

Too Small Tola

Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu

NPR Books We Love

2021Fiction & literature

Trust: A Novel

Domenico Starnone, translated by Jhumpa Lahiri

NPR Books We Love

2021Young readers

Watercress

Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

NPR Books We Love

2021Young readers

Why We Fly

Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

NPR Books We Love

2021Young readers

Wishes

Muon Thi Van, illustrated by Victo Ngai

NPR Books We Love