I did a post about my Top 10 Contemporary YA Books of 2021 this week, but my full ranking of my favorite books was a little trickier to do, since I’m indecisive and love books for so many different reasons that it’s hard to pick favorites. Eventually, I did narrow it down to 20, so I’m proud of myself for that. Thus, here are my top 20 books of the year (in order of when I read them).

Among the Beasts and Briars, by Ashley Poston

This book reads like a fairytale, and it’s just so fun and beautiful.

You Have a Match, by Emma Lord

Here is my full review of the book.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

I loved everything about this book; I’m definitely planning a reread soon.

Lovely War, by Julie Berry

Here is my full review of the book.

A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, by Laura Taylor Namey

This is a gorgeous YA contemporary book. It’s about grief, but it also has the most adorable romance, and I’d highly recommend it.

The Red Scrolls of Magic, by Cassandra Clare

This is basically just Magnus and Alec running around Europe, and I loved it much more than I was expecting considering that I don’t even remotely like Alec as a character (although Magnus is one of my favorite characters of all time, so I suppose it does balance out).

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore

I loved this book so much. I just love the worldbuilding and tone of this series. I’ve only read the first two so far, but I’m hoping to get to Bitterblue (and then Winterkeep) soon.

Spin the Dawn, by Elizabeth Lim

This was an unexpected favorite, but it absolutely enraptured me. Does that mean I’ve read the sequel yet, having read the original back in March? …no. I really will get to it soon though, and Six Crimson Cranes (also by Elizabeth Lim) as well.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab

I read this book twice this year; if I had to choose a favorite of the year, it would absolutely be this. Everybody should read it; it absolutely deserves all of the hype.

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

I’d been reading War and Peace on and off since July 2020, but finally finished it in April 2021. I loved it; it’s easily one of my favorite books of all time. It’s about humanity and life and finding meaning and Tolstoy is really an absolute genius; this is a book I’d recommend everybody read at least once.

The Secret Life of Kitty Granger, by G.D. Falksen

This is about an autistic girl spy and it’s amazing; I absolutely devoured it.

Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

I started reading this series this year and love it so much more than I was expecting! I’d never read Sarah J. Maas books before, and I feel like it’s kind of a love-her-or-hate-her sort of thing in the book community, but I’ve really enjoyed the series so far (I’m currently on Empire of Storms).

Chain of Iron, by Cassandra Clare

This is possibly one of my favorite of the Shadowhunters books; I loved it so much (as I do all of the books in that series), and it was just amazing. I honestly think that this is shaping up to be the second best arc in the series (since nothing can ever quite measure up to The Immortal Devices).

The Box in the Woods, by Maureen Johnson

I love the Truly Devious series, so it should surprise absolutely nobody that I loved this fourth book in it, which is a standalone following the original trilogy. While I prefer the original story arc, this one is still amazing, and if you remotely like mysteries then you should definitely pick up the series!

The Reading List, by Sara Nisha Adams

This is about a teenage girl and an old man who strike up an unexpected friendship as they read books together from a reading list that the girl found while working in the library. It’s a love letter to reading, but it’s about grief and so many other things as well, and I would absolutely recommend it to anybody.

The Bridge Kingdom, by Danielle L. Jensen

This is a wonderful enemies-to-lovers fantasy duology and I adored every second of it.

Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

This was so good! I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. It’s basically about a hostage situation (but don’t worry, it isn’t scary; it’s about human connection and it’s wonderful), but I can’t say more without giving away the plot, since the exact details of what happened are revealed over the course of the book. I’d recommend looking at the content/trigger warnings before reading, but otherwise recommend that absolutely everybody read this book.

A Castle in the Clouds, by Kerstin Gier

This is a quirky mystery that takes place in a Swiss hotel during the holidays, and is a simultaneous thievery-investigation and campaign to save the hotel from being sold to somebody who will destroy all of the charm and everything that people love about it. It was an unexpected favorite; I’d definitely recommend it to anybody.

Once Upon a Broken Heart, by Stephanie Garber

I love the Caraval trilogy, so it came as absolutely no surprise to me that I loved this book. I even read the entire thing in one seating. If anything, I’d say it was better than the original trilogy.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

I just finished this book a few days ago and I can’t stop thinking about it; it was absolutely phenomenal. If you’re on the fence about reading it, just do it. You won’t regret it.

Have you read any of these books? What’s your favorite book of the year? Comment below!