The Ten Best Books I've Read in 2021

Well, we've covered the worst of 2021, let's talk about the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. I've read just about 160 books in 2021. More than I expected. And while getting a lot of mediocrity, and a few real duds, sometimes something really good comes along that makes me doing all this feel worth it. Again, one book per sequel set just to ensure we have plenty of space to talk about plenty of stuff. Let's get positive and talk about the ten books I liked this year, in no particular order.

#01: THE DUMMY MEETS THE MUMMY

Slappy and I have a contentious history. I'm not the biggest fan of him, but I have also yet to have a Slappy book that I straight up hated. He's got two more in 2022 and who knows how either could go. But of the ones I read in 2021, The Dummy Meets the Mummy easily walks away as one of my favorite reads all year. A book that's surprisingly gory and violent early on. A book that also does away with so much of Slappy's antics and sets up the eventual battle with Arragotus super early. And boy howdy what a fight. Complete with the brain breaking moment of Slappy having heat vision. 

If there were any issues I had with the book, I will say its twist is weak and the defeat of Arragotus feels like a letdown after so much thrown at the reader so quick in the fight it's hard to really get your bearings in. But when the book offers so much insanity and fun, you can't be mad at it either. A definite case of Stine having fun with a book for once. Hopefully that's the mindset going into the next two Slappy books. Only time will tell.

#02: FUNHOUSE

Getting into the Point books was a goal this year, and while I still haven't had a chance to fully venture outside of Jovial Bob, the one Diane Hoh book I did read this year was still super strong. Funhouse doesn't really deviate too far from a lot of these Y/A horror stories, but works in how it builds the motivations for our saboteur. Why they caused the rollercoaster accident and their heart-wrenching discovery of what happened to their real parents and the conspiracy within. Makes for a good mystery. And even the ultimate reveal is still one you can believe. So it leaves me with a book that really worked and felt a bit fresher than much of Stine's writing and characters. An easy recommend.

#03: THE RICH GIRL

The only Fear Street book I've given an A+ to so far, for some reason The Rich Girl actually worked for me. Granted, we've had books about gaslighting and driving others crazy, but the way this was executed was actually clever on the book's behalf. It all comes down to the dual twists. How Jason and Emma were actually working together to break Sydney as they worried about the fate of the money. Breaking her to the point of having Sydney's fate end up being stuck in a mental hospital for seemingly the rest of her life. And that alone wouldn't have been an A+ rating, but ending with the villains of the book still being foiled, for once I can appreciate Stine's writing.

So yeah, this one I might be in the minority of for loving like I do, but of the Fear Street books I read this year, it was the first one that clicked for me. Where everything actually worked with a strong enough payoff. Granted, a lot of that came due to the fact that I read this after Silent Night and anything would be a step up, but this just really connected with me better than most of Fear Street. A diamond in the rough so far. Now that's rich.

#04: I LIVE IN YOUR BASEMENT!

Of all the Goosebumps books I reread, of course this would be the one to make its way into my top 10 for the year. What else can I say about this book that I haven't gushed about before? Stine tries for baby's first David Lynch and manages to pull off a bizarre story with some of the freakiest visual imagery of any Goosebumps book ever. It also manages to do what Don't Go To Sleep! failed to do and that's be a unique take on the concept of dreams and how bizarre they can really be. 

But what really makes the book work is the twist. How instead of Marco, we've really been following the dreams of Keith the slime monster. And it isn't something randomly thrown together as Stine adds that little bit about Marco writing a project about seeing things from other perspectives. So it would make sense then that we were always looking through Keith's eyes and not Marco's. A few wonky chapter stingers aside, there's no denying this book as one of my favorites last year.

#05: ALIEN UNDER MY BED

Our first foray into Shadow Zone (which will be continued this year for sure) turned out to be a book I really liked. While yes, the focus is on an alien who wants to abduct people, the core of the story is actually more about a kid having to deal with her life changing as her father marries two people she can't trust, only to find out that she's the one who might be the real villain here. Hayley makes for a great character because she has to come to that realization. That Angelique isn't trying to replace her from her father's love and that her new mother Chloe isn't as horrible as she thought. It's good character development. From a horror kids book of all things.

The only real downside to the book is that it's not particularly scary. There are some fun moments that utilize the alien Chuck's powers and he does feel like a threat up until the end. So the book never feels like it drags its feet, which is always a plus. The book also uses the Shadow Zone as a plot device, but of all the things within the book, I find that the weakest. But when that's my one complaint, I can't be too mad. 

#06: THE CHANGE

Originally, I was planning on giving the spot to The Andalite Chronicles, but then remembered that despite being a solid origin story for Elfangor, the book was massively flawed. Thankfully, I read The Change not long after and that easily earned the spot back. Tobias is two for two when it comes to strong books in Animorphs, with the first being a battle of what is now his two minds. His human mind and the mind of the red tailed hawk he's morphed into. This book is more Tobias wanting his humanity back after losing it in the first book. Enter the Ellimist who we still don't quite grasp yet. He says he can't interfere in the events unfolding but he can just as easily bend reality at his whim. He can also screw you over, just like he sort of does Tobias. 

Tobias getting his ability to morph back is a much needed thing for the character as it puts him back in the fight and not just play recon for the rest of the Animorphs. As for the rest of the story, the recon and rescue of the two yeerk-free hork-bajir also works for some great action. Overall, of the books I've read since coming back to Animorphs, this one has been the one with the best mix of action and character development. Easily giving it a perfect reason for being in my top 10 this year.

#07: THE ADVENTURES OF SHRINKMAN

Stine's loving sendup to the shrinking genre as well as him putting use to a scrapped Series 2000 book, The Adventures of Shrinkman was a welcome surprise when I finally read it this year. Granted, there are a few moments that seem a bit too crazy like how Danny manages to get on the giant bus, but there are also some decent harrowing moments like, again, him trying to get on to a giant bus. Stuff like the short bit with the grasshopper, almost being stepped on by Megan, him almost being killed by a rat. Stuff that does give that feel of being in a helpless state at such a small size. 

But it does come with the issues I've had mentioned before like how the Shrinkman stuff just stops mattering super quick into the story, how we just gloss over how Danny got off the bus and across the street. Being a bit too quick to forgive Megan for turning him into her science experiment and even joking about it when, you know, everyone was concerned that Danny was at death's door, or small enough to crawl under death's door at least. Easily my favorite of the un-bumped six and one of my favorites this year.

#08: CHEERLEADERS: THE FIRST EVIL

Fear Street is a real battle of highs and lows for me. And the Cheerleaders books are no exception. But of the five I read, the first one takes a spot in my favorites list just for how insane it gets. From the death and possession of Jennifer Daly to all of the weird things happening to the book pulling the rug out from under us and killing the story's main character up to that point, Bobbi Corcoran, before moving the focus over to Corky for the rest of the series up to The Evil Lives. 

In fact, the decision to give the book three unique POVs is smart. Bobbi as the focus, Kimmy as the side-focus and finally Corky to finish the story up. It's a little messily handled in places, but not to the level of Missing for example. And any Fear Street book that actually uses supernatural elements in a way that doesn't feel super contrived (well, until it got that way at least) is always going to be a book I respect more than the usual evil twins or hypnosis plots. So Ra-Ra-Ra to Cheerleaders: The First Evil making my top ten.

#09: MY TEACHER FRIED MY BRAINS

My Teacher is an Alien was a solid start, but ultimately suffered from feeling like too many things were left on the cutting room floor. Particularly why Broxholm wanted to abduct kids. Thankfully the sequel more than delivered. Setting up the map for the final two books (which I do plan to cover this year) and being a strong book in its own right. The biggest positive is redeeming first book bully Duncan Dougal as it becomes him who has to solve the mystery of who the alien teacher is at the middle school. All while accidentally turning his brain into a radio with how much he overloads on the brain fryer to improve his intelligence. 

Once we get to the reveal of Kreeblim and Duncan's capture, the book does a strong enough job of building up everything else. Giving enough backstory and even giving us Peter's return after he took off with Broxholm. It all sets up for the big finale in the fourth book while not feeling like it spins its wheels or devalues this book. For the first two tastes of Coville, I was impressed in ways that Stine can't even do well. Still, wish Susan wasn't pushed out of much of the plot. But if that's my biggest complaint than it's doing something right I guess.

#10: KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA

So the original plan for this blog did not include any plans to cover The Baby Sitters Club, but curiosity got the best of me and I ended up reviewing the first two books this past year. And of the two, the first one works as a strong first step for the series. The creation of the club, giving enough time to point out each character's quirks and characteristics, while also keeping the focus on Kristy and her issues with her mother's boyfriend Watson, feeling him to be a bad parent. And while you could argue her realization that he's not so bad comes a bit too quick, and that all of the book's loose ends tie up too easily, it never feels like a big problem that hurts the book.

And if you come for the babysitting stuff, you get enough time with each of the girls' experiences to keep you entertained. So what I was left with was a quaint book. Quaint really feels like the best way to put it. and it's that quaintness that does make me want to engage further as we go into 2022 with more BSC book reviews on the way. But for the first step forward, this was a great idea to start covering the Baby Sitters Club. And with that, thanks again for reading these blogs and have a decent 2022.