For the first time in my life, this year I decided to start tracking the books I read. I had never seen the appeal, but now I do! I tend to read really quickly, and then almost immediately forget a lot of what I read. Being able to see the list of books is not only helpful for remembering the details of those books, but also helps me remember the books I loved or that struck a chord. 

And it also is very helpful for making “best of” lists, it turns out! So, in case you’re looking for some great reads in 2022, I thought I’d share the 10 best books I read in 2021. I had a hard time narrowing it down and was tempted to make it a “15 best books” list, but I heroically chopped some books after all. 

About half of these were 2021 new-releases, and the other half are older books that came my way for whatever reason. Hopefully one or a few of these will call your name! 

(Also: I’m trying to be better about including trigger warnings for each book I recommend, but have a hard time remembering when a book needs them and for what (see: aforementioned memory issues). So, this is me doing my best, I hope I get them all!)

BEST BOOKS 2021

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

If I had to pick a favorite, this would probably be it. I just looked and this one doesn’t actually release until Jan. 4, 2022 (I got an early copy through Book of the Month), but I HIGHLY recommend grabbing it in the new year if you get a chance! Olga and her brother Prieto are high-profile New Yorkers: he’s a congressman, she’s a wedding planner for the super wealthy. It’s their background as hijos of their radical Boricua mom (a former Young Lord, who left them to be raised by their grandmother while she fought for la causa in Puerto Rico and beyond) that was the most interesting to me, though. I LOVED how this story weaved family secrets, political corruption, activism, a little romance and The American Dream™. I also appreciated how the novel is so rich with Puerto Rican culture and history– I learned a lot! 

(TW for vulgar language, (implied) rape & sexual assault, death of a parent, drug use) 

Transportes González e hija by María Amparo Escandón

​​Libertad González is serving a prison sentence in Mexico, where the rest of her fellow inmates have revealed (sometimes proudly) the reason they’re locked up. Libertad, however, can’t find a way to share her story until she opens a random book from the prison’s library and begins to “read.” Thus the prison club de lectura is born, where each week Libertad unfolds the next installment of her life story while turning the pages of random books. Born and raised on the road with her father (a former professor of literature who fled Mexico after a frightening experience in his past, to become a trucker in the U.S.), Libertad is a tremendous character that I fell completely in love with. And honestly I could say the same for a lot of the other eccentric female prisoners! I read this in Spanish which I HIGHLY recommend, but if that doesn’t appeal it’s also available in English as “Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Co.” The storytelling in this one!

(Another TW here for misogyny, violence, and death)

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

When the book starts like this: “It was her idea to tie up the nun,” you know it’s going to be good. It’s the story of a Colombian family—half in the U.S. and half in Colombia—and I loved the way this book highlights so many different immigration experiences: a deported father, an undocumented mother, kids raised in the U.S. with and without U.S. citizenship, and a U.S. citizen raised in Colombia.  Besides the fact that it was a joy to read such a nuanced immigration story (which is no small thing), the writing is incredible! (The mom in the story muses that her daughters, one born in Colombia but raised in the U.S., the other born in the U.S. but raised in Colombia, are like “repotted flowers, creatures forced to live in the wrong habitat.”) And though the author doesn’t shy away from writing the pain, overall this story is a gorgeous portrayal of hope and one family’s commitment to each other (that I couldn’t put down and blazed through in a couple of days).

(TW for sexual assault/rape and I think also alcoholism)

Layoverland by Gabby Noone

This book tells the story of Beatrice Fox, aka Bea. After she “ruins” the life of her younger sister Emmy, she goes for a tearful drive and gets in a car accident and… dies. But the story doesn’t end there! Instead of ending up in heaven or hell, she’s sent to purgatory (which in Layoverland is… a giant airport). To atone for her sins on Earth, she’s tasked with a role as part of the Memory Experience team, where she has to help 5,000 people resolve whatever issue is holding them back from moving on to heaven. Of course, one of the first people she’s paired with is a fellow teen named Caleb. It turns out, he’s the dude that crashed into her. And as much as she would love to see him suffer instead of helping him reach the pearly gates, in true YA fashion, a blossoming romance complicates things. This was a perfect vacation rom-com. 

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

I had been meaning to read Just Mercy for a couple of years, but because I knew basically what it was about, it took me a while to get to it and also quite a while to get through it during YET ANOTHER pandemic year. It’s a heavy book, but I’m also so glad I finally read it. If you haven’t heard of this one yet (or watched the movie version), it’s a powerful story about the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer who founded it. Just Mercy tells the story of the early days of the EJI, when the organization was just getting started defending the poor & the wrongly incarcerated. I learned so much about mass incarceration and the death penalty in the U.S. (I also cried multiple times, but hopefully understand better what kind of reforms are needed). 

(TW for horrific racism, violence)  

Outlawed by Anna North

I thought the premise of this book was really interesting: a “Speculative Western,” set in an alternate version of old-timey ‘Merica. It’s 1894, and in this imagined version of U.S. history, a woman’s fate is tied to her ability to bear children (to replace the enormous number of deaths from the Great Flu). And while Anna, the protagonist, has a bright future as an apprentice midwife, after a year of marriage with no baby, she has to flee everything she knows in order to avoid being incarcerated or hanged as a witch like all “barren women” are. She ends up joining the notorious Hole in the Rock Gang, a group of women and gender-fluid outcasts that have banded together as outlaws. This book was billed as super feminist, but it’s definitely not of the intersectional feminist variety (leans pretty “straight white feminist” IMO). I did find it very entertaining though! 

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

Listen, you already know I love a good book about immigration! Following three generations of Cuban women from Cuba to Miami to Mexico (and a few places in between), this book is short-ish but really packs some powerful meditations on how immigration shapes the lives of our mujeres. While Jeanette battles addiction in present-day Miami, her Cuban immigrant mother Carmen tries to figure out how to help her (while also fiercely guarding the family secrets that made her leave Cuba in the first place). We also get the stories of Jeanette’s family members in Cuba, from her tatarabuela María Isabel rolling cigars in 19th century Cuba, to her present-day cousin. And a few chapters are dedicated to little Ana, the Salvadoreña neighbor Jeanette brings into her home after her mom is detained by ICE. If you’re thinking that’s a lot of storylines to pack into ~200 pages, you’re right; but author Gabriela Garcia writes her characters so generously that the lives of all of these mothers and daughters feel rich and true. Well worth the read! 

(TW for some violent scenes)

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

My cousin sent this one along and it was just the perfect book to read over summer vacation! Willowdean, aka Will, is the self-proclaimed fat daughter of a beauty pageant mom. She’s always been at home in her own skin, has zero interest in the beauty pageant life, and is happiest hanging out with her all-American beauty of a BFF, Ellen. When Will gets a new job and meets Private School Bo, a hot jock, she’s surprised to find that he’s as into her as she is into him. It weirdly freaks her out, so she decides to reclaim her confidence by entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant (inspiring a lot of other unlikely candidates to do so, too). Lots of Dolly Parton songs and references in this book, which just added to the awesome. This one is also a movie, apparently!

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Do you want to go on a road trip? Then pick this one up! It’s 1954 in Nebraska, and 18-year-old Emmett Watson has just finished his time at a work farm for accidentally killing a boy that was bullying him. His only family is his 8-year-old brother Billy, since their mom is long gone and their dad recently deceased. Emmett’s plan is to pick up Billy and head to Texas to make a new life there. But when the warden drives away, lo and behold, two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car and have a very different plan for how the next few days, and their own “fresh starts,” should look. Enjoyed this one so much I passed it on to my dad! Amor Towles is a very talented storyteller. 

(TW for suicide) 

Las hijas del capitán by María Dueñas

Last but not least is this giant! It took me a while to get into the story (and even longer to get through all ~800 pages), but once I did I was hooked. In 1936 NYC, the Arenas sisters & their mother have just migrated from Spain to join their father, who after years of sailing the world doing random jobs to support his family, has settled in New York and decided to run a restaurant. But almost immediately after they arrive, papá Emilio is killed in an accident, leaving his family to try to figure out a way in this new world. The sisters–Victoria, Mona and Luz–were super unhappy to leave Spain in the first place, so as you can imagine this new development is extremely unwelcome. I’ve loved Maria Dueñas’ previous books and so enjoyed reading about the Arenas sisters’ dreams, adventures, disappointments and feisty fight for survival in this one. 

(TW for sexual assault)

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Et voila! The 10 best books I read in 2021! I didn’t mean for this post to be soooo long but apparently I have a hard time summarizing books I loved. If you end up reading any of these, let me know what you think!

P.S. How to read more books, in case you need to make space in your life for reading before picking any of these up!

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“Whatcha doing?” my husband Josh asked me the other day. “Oh, just maxing out my holds requests at the library,” I responded.

I love making a great big summer reading list! I never really get to all of the books on it (sometimes this is because I’m #658 on the library waitlist…), but half the fun is just making the list in the first place.

But what I don’t love? Is wasting my precious reading time on a mediocre book. ¡No gracias! I used to feel this weird obligation to finish every book I started (is this a Capricorn thing?), but now I just give myself permission to stop reading if it’s not doing anything for me.

But it’s always nicer to start off with a book that I’m pretty sure I’ll love. 🙂 These 8 below have been some of my favorites that I’ve read recently (or recently-ish), and I think they’d be perfect for YOUR summer reading list!

Almost none of these are new releases (in fact, some are quite old), so hopefully you can avoid being #658 on the library waitlist and actually read them in the summer instead of, say, January when it’s finally your turn.

BOOKS BY A LATINX AUTHOR:

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez

This book follows the story of Arturo and Alma Rivera and their beautiful daughter Maribel, who all move to the U.S. from their small town in Mexico. After a horrific accident that left fifteen-year-old Maribel with a brain injury, they’ve waited and sacrificed to get the right papers to come to los Estados Unidos, the country that they hope will help her get better. Amid all of the struggles and difficulties the Rivera family faces in this new country, one bright spot is their friendship with their Panamanian neighbors, the Toro family. Mayor Toro (their teenage son) and Maribel become especially close. But all of those relationships are tested as a number of incidents occur which set in motion a chain of events that will change each of their lives forever. I really liked how the author wove in testimonios of other men and women (neighbors in their apartment complex who also immigrated to the States) throughout the book. This is a short-ish, engrossing read that goes by fast!

The Seamstress: A Novel by Frances de Pontes Peebles

The Seamstress was released 10 years ago, but I just discovered it this year after reading the author’s newest book. Sisters Emília and Luzia dos Santos start off as seamstresses in a small town in backcountry Brazil. Left orphaned at a young age, they live with their aunt, who teaches them how to mend, cut and create. Both long for escape, and both find it: Luzia is (willingly) abducted by a band of outlaw cangaceiros (bandits) led by the infamous Hawk; and Emília (the family romantic) finangles her way into a marriage with the son of a wealthy and politically powerful doctor and moves to the big city. Though the sisters’ lives diverge in drastic ways, they keep track of each other through occasional mentions in the newspaper (Emília in the society section, Luzia in the headlines when the cangaceiros do something particularly brutal or barbaric). This is an epic, long novel (600+ pages), but I was so engrossed in all of it and thought about the book for a long time after I finished it. I definitely wouldn’t classify this as a “light” read (both the story and the writing are intense), but it’s excellently written and the author does a great job of creating strong, believable characters and situating them perfectly in the context of 1930’s Brazil.

MEMOIRS:

Love Warrior: A Memoir by Glennon Doyle

I’m not the first person to recommend Glennon Doyle’s memoir (though I am in excellent company because Oprah picked it for her book club), but I couldn’t leave it off this summer reading list! Starting with her early descent into bulimia and alcoholism, this book takes us through Glennon’s beautiful, brutal journey to get sober for marriage and motherhood. Three kids later, she discovers her husband is wrestling his own addictions: to porn and infidelity. What makes the story so riveting is her account of how she– and he– rebuild their lives, together and separately. Doyle started off as a blogger who gained a massive following for her vulnerable writing, and that honesty and warmth totally shines through in her book.

At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe by Tsh Oxenreider

I picked up this book because we have several friends who have done some version of what Oxenreider and her family did: packing up a house and spending a year wandering the world. I’m not sure that type of travel is for me (give me a home base and a routine for my kids, please). But I still loved following the Oxenreiders as they load up their three kids and set off on an adventure, starting in Beijing and ending in London. The most interesting part of this book for me was the way Oxenreider worked to balance her love of travel, of seeing the world and exploring new places, with her love of roots, stability, and community. It’s a tension I feel (and, I suspect, so do many others), and her reflections on family and home and community really resonated with me. I also really like her thesis that travel isn’t mutually exclusive with having kids (preach!). Pick this one up if you want a way to satisfy your wanderlust from your couch this summer (though the end result might be that you book a plane ticket to see the world— you’ve been warned).

BOOKS SET OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES:

The Last Days of Café Leila by Donia Bijan

I grabbed this off the library shelf on a whim solely because my oldest daughter is named Leila, and was pleasantly surprised by it! Noor is a (happily— or so she thinks) married doctor living in San Francisco, but a personal crisis leaves her reeling. Dragging her unwilling teenage daughter along, she decides to take a long-overdue visit to her father, Zod, in Iran. As Noor rejoins the world of Cafe Leila, the restaurant her family has been running for three generations and the backdrop of her Persian childhood, she must rethink who she is and figure out her plan for the future. I’m a big fan of immigrant stories, and this one beautifully weaves together Iran’s complex history with the more domestic story of food, family and homecoming.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

In this book we read the parallel storylines of Li-yan, who grew up in a remote Chinese village among the Akha people, and her daughter Hayley, adopted by an American couple in California. As a teenager Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, violates Akha cultural taboos in several significant ways, including having a baby out of wedlock (and later marrying the baby’s father despite her family’s disapproval). Rather than standing by tradition, Li-yan wraps the baby in a blanket, tucks in a tea cake, and leaves her near an orphanage in the nearest city. The rest of the book is the story of Li-yan’s emergence from the insularity of her village and her introduction to modern (1990’s) China; it’s also the story of Hayley’s search for answers as she grows up the privileged, well-loved Asian daughter of a White couple. Ultimately, they both find what they are seeking in the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for generations.

LIBROS EN ESPAÑOL

El tiempo entre costuras by María Dueñas

This is the book that inspired one of my faaaavorite TV series (same name in Spanish, or “The Time in Between” in English.). Sira is the daughter of a Spanish seamstress. When Spain becomes politically fraught leading up to the Spanish Civil War, Sira ends up escaping the country with her gorgeous lover and heads to Morocco. However, she soon finds herself abandoned, penniless, and heartbroken in an exotic land. This story follows Sira as she reinvents herself and opens a successful atelier in Morocco, but the adventure doesn’t end there. At the height of World War II, Sira’s new friends persuade her to return to Madrid and adopt an entirely new identity, embarking on the most dangerous undertaking of her career. A little bit love story, a little bit spy story, and lots of beautiful clothes, I couldn’t put this book down! It’s on the long side, so if you’re looking for an epic summer reading project I think this would be a great option.

Largo pétalo de mar by Isabel Allende

Obviously no summer reading list of mine would be complete without something by Isabel Allende, and luckily she has a brand new book out this month! Coincidentally, this story is also set during the Spanish Civil War. Víctor Dalmau, a young doctor, finds himself fleeing Barcelona along with his pianist friend Roser Bruguera aboard the Winnipeg (the ship that poet Pablo Neruda commissioned to sail from France to Chile with two thousand Spanish refugees aboard). Roser and Víctor had to marry before boarding the Winnipeg to be allowed aboard, but despite the fact that it was a marriage of convenience they settle in Chile and live happily for several decades. However, when President Salvador Allende is outed in a military coup, the threat of a new dictatorship puts everything they have worked for at risk.  

Any good recommendations for me? I’d love to add another book (or 15) to my summer reading list!

P.S. How to read more books 🙂 (in case you’re feeling crunched for time!)

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