2021 Must Reads
As the new year has begun, we think it’s time to let you know which books we are looking forward to this year.
The Project by Courtney Summers – 2nd Feb
The Unity Project saved my life.
Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo’s sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there’s more to the group than meets the eye. She’s spent the last six years of her life trying–and failing–to prove it.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S by David Levithan – 2nd Feb
Aidan disappeared for six days. Six agonizing days of searches and police and questions and constant vigils. Then, just as suddenly as he vanished, Aidan reappears. Where has he been? The story he tells is simply. . . impossible. But it’s the story Aidan is sticking to.
Murder on the Safari Star by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman – 4th Feb
Harrison Beck and his Uncle Nat are on the journey of a lifetime aboard the Safari Star – a luxurious steam train that will take them from Pretoria to the stunning Victoria Falls. Close encounters with the amazing animals and landscape of Southern Africa are adventure enough, but things get mysterious when a passenger is found dead inside a locked compartment. Is it just a terrible accident or is something more suspicious afoot? It’s up to train detective Hal and his new friend Winston to find out.
Strong as Fire fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar – 24th Feb
In 1857 India, 12-year-old Meera escapes a life she has no say in–and certain death on her husband’s funeral pyre–only to end up a servant to a British general in the East India Company. When a rebellion against British colonizers spreads, she must choose between relative safety in a British household or standing up for herself and her people.
Nick by Michael Farris Smith – 25th Feb
Before Nick Carraway moved to West Egg and into Gatsby’s world, he was at the centre of a very different story – one taking place along the trenches and deep within the tunnels of World War I.
The Great Peach Experiment 1: When Life Gives You Lemons Make a Peach Pie by Erin Soderberg Downing – 6th AprMix together a used food truck, a road trip that doesn’t exactly go as planned, and a lot of pie, and you have the recipe for this sweet middle-grade series starter brimming with humour, heart, and a family you’ll fall in love with.
Near the Bone by Christina Henry – 13th Apr
Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all.
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur – 20th Apr
1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani’s family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene.
Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin – 1st Jun
When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, they’re looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an ’89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesn’t really smoke, and a knife she’s hanging on to for a friend that she’s never used before.
Untitled (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson – TBA
Egmont has acquired two more books by Holly Jackson, the YA author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus – TBA
YA murder mystery meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, about three estranged friends who skip school and get caught up in a crime they can’t solve without exposing their secrets.
