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The best books to look forward to in 2021
It's lining up to be a GREAT year for bookworms
It felt like the pleasures of reading truly came into their own in 2020. Stuck inside with not a lot to do (baking banana bread got old fast, right?), getting lost in a good book seemed like a pretty great idea.
Whether you were a total bookworm already or have only rediscovered the power of a brilliant book more recently, 2021 is looking like a solid year for readers. Whether you're into romance, thrillers, memoirs or essays, there'll be something for you.
Put it this way, if we were actually using public transport on the regular, these are the books you'd see glued to cool commuters hands, or spy on their Kindles. To whet your appetite, there's the much-talked-about Luster by Raven Leilani, new novels from Daisy Jones and the Six author Taylor Jenkins Reid and Three Women's Lisa Taddeo, the last book in Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses series, and memoirs from Munroe Bergdorf, Candice Brathwaite, and Stanley Tucci.
Want to know what books literally everyone (including us) will be reading next year? Read on...
“I have always known the women in my family weren’t meant to be mothers,” says Blythe, the new-mum protagonist of Audrain’s debut novel, The Push. The arrival of daughter Violet was supposed to be the happiest day of Blythe’s life but – needless to say – things don’t quite pan out that way in this exploration of love, obsession and the dark truths of motherhood. Out 7th January.
“Buzz” doesn’t begin to cover the noise around this debut, which follows Edie, a young Black woman struggling to stay afloat in love and at work. Then she meets Eric, white and married, with an adopted Black daughter. Since she has nowhere else to go, Edie becomes entangled in Eric’s family. Out 21st January.
Dean is a lawyer for Google, so you might think she’d have enough on her plate, but she’s also found time to write one of the year’s biggest debuts. Lex, AKA Girl A, escaped her parents’ “House Of Horrors” as a child, but is forced to revisit her former identity. It’s due to be made into a TV series, with the director of Chernobyl at the helm. Out 21st January.
If you want an escapist romp (with plenty of actual romps to boot), pre-order this book, pronto. We follow despondent Violet, who thinks she’s hit the jackpot when sophisticated start-up founder Lottie hires her to work at the company she owns with her husband, Simon. Only Lottie wasn’t just inviting Violet to work with them, but to have sex with them as a couple – and at parties with their friends. Messy? You bet. Out 11th February.
Maeve Chambers feels like she has zilch going for her, until she discovers a pack of tarot cards and a spooky gift for giving accurate predictions to her school friends. But then days after giving her former bestie Lily a reading, she disappears. Can Maeve bring Lily back? This is *technically* a young adult novel, but you'll love it. Out 4th February.
Viking Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Her epic 2017 debut, Homegoing, spanned three continents and seven generations, but Gyasi’s new novel is focused on a single family. We follow Gifty, who is desperate to find out more about the opioid addiction that ruined her brother’s life. Prompted by her mother, she begins to trace her family’s past. A searing story of loss and redemption. Out 4th March.
Penguin What White People Can Do Next by Emma Dabiri
From the acclaimed author of 2020's Don't Touch My Hair, comes this short but powerful read on how white people can move from being allies to taking action. Encouraging people to ditch denial and guilt and create meaningful change, this is a smart and galvanising book. Out 4th March.
Thriller queen Kelly is back with a new novel, about a dancer at the London Russian Ballet Company. After years of pain and sacrifice, Ava is finally the poster girl for her company's production of Swan Lake, but someone badly wants her to mess up - with dark consequences. Think Black Swan, but in book form. Out 1st April.
The anti-racist activist gained even wider attention last year when Justin Bieber posted one of her graphics during the Black Lives Matter protests. Here, she offers a roadmap for young Black women struggling to progress at work – and their bosses. Out 15th April.
When Debbie leaves her eccentric family and the rural dairy-farm setting of her childhood and heads to university, she finds it hard to navigate the chasm between her new and old lives. TV and film rights to this debut have been bought by the team behind Normal People, so you can bet big things are coming. Out 13th May.
If you're dreaming of that first, delicious post-COVID hot holiday, this is the book you'll want with you on your sunlounger. We meet Birdy Finch, who winds up working a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel. The only problem is, the job isn't hers - it actually belongs to her best friend, Heather, a world-class wine expert. Can she carry it off? You'll have to read it to find out. Out 15th April.
If your only experience of reading a novel about the care system was Tracy Beaker, you’re not alone. It’s not often that life in care is talked about, which is just one of the reasons we love this book about Bess, a teenager in a foster home in Shepperton who discovers she’s pregnant in less-than-ideal circumstances. Out 13th May.
Were you beguiled by Daisy Jones & The Six in 2019? Writer Jenkins Reid is back with a new novel about the four Riva children, offspring of a rock star. As their annual end-of-summer party spirals out of control, secrets are spilled and, by the end of the night, everything is chaos. Out 27th May.
Better known as Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, Macmanus has turned her hand to writing, and this is her first novel. It's about Mary, a 35-year-old woman who has lived in the same Belfast house her whole life and has a son, TJ, 18. When TJ wakes up one morning to find his mother gone, he embarks on a search to find her. Out 27th May.
The American journalist and bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble is back with a new novel about the wide-reaching consequences of a kidnapping. Carl is held for ransom but returned to his family, where he tries to bury the trauma. But then 40 years later his emotions resurface, and he wonders: "Where did that ransom money go, and if I found it, what would I do?". Out 1st June.
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
One of the leading lights in feminist historical fiction, Halls - author of The Familiars and The Foundling - explores the strict confines of Edwardian marriage in her third novel. We meet Ruby, a nurse who is charged with taking care of the offspring of Charles and Lilian England, but it soon becomes clear that her new role isn't as cushy as it seems. An atmospheric story of power and deception. Out 10th June.
From the journalist and author of running memoir Jog On comes this debut novel, which you'll adore if you have a secret hankering for violent, murderous women (a la Killing Eve). When Grace discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she sets about to kill every member of his family – with gruesome results. But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit. Out 10th June.
Another first novel from a non-fiction writer, this is Three Women's Lisa Taddeo's story of the depraved Joan, who finds her killer streak after enduring a lifetime of cruelties from men. Set in New York and sweltering Los Angeles, this is one you won't want to miss. Out 24th June.
Quercus Sista Sister by Candice Brathwaite
While her first book focused on Black motherhood, Brathwaite expands into myriad other topics for her second. This collection of essays reflects on all of the things she wishes she knew when she was growing up as a young Black Londoner, from Black hair to friendship and sex. Out 8th July.
What began as a newsletter where the likes of Dolly Alderton and Esther Perel bared their souls about relationships has become a book, which had publishers grappling in a 16-way auction. Exploring love in all its guises, Lunn splices memoir with interviews with other love luminaries. Out July.
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