December 1, 2021

The Best Books of 2021: Children's and Young Adult

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Special Issue

Featuring 317 industry-first reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children’s and YA books; also in this issue: Kirkus Prize coverage; the best children’s and YA books of 2021; Tracy Subisak, Adrianna Cuevas, Zack Smedley, and more children’s and YA authors discuss their new titles and the experience of publishing a book in 2021; Neel Patel; Ann Patchett on “what matters most in this precarious and precious life”

PERSPECTIVES Best of 2021: Our Favorite YA Books

PODCAST

Author Kelly Loy Gilbert joins our continuing coverage of the Best Books of 2021.

Best of 2021: Our Favorite Picture Books

Best of 2021: Our Favorite Middle-Grade Books

Best Picture Books of 2021: Julie Flett

The Best Books of 2021: Children's and Young Adult Book Lists

Best YA Fiction of 2021

Best Middle-Grade Family Stories of 2021

Best Picture Books of 2021 for Starting Conversations

Author Interviews

Previous Special Issues

Special Pride Issue 2022

June 15, 2022

Special Pride Issue 2022

Special Summer Reads Issue 2022

June 1, 2022

Special Summer Reads Issue 2022

Special Diversity Issue 2022

May 1, 2022

Special Diversity Issue 2022

Special Indie Issue 2022

April 15, 2022

Special Indie Issue 2022

Special International Issue

March 1, 2022

Special International Issue

The Best Books of 2021: Indie

Dec. 15, 2021

The Best Books of 2021: Indie

The Best Books of 2021: Fiction and Nonfiction

Nov. 15, 2021

The Best Books of 2021: Fiction and Nonfiction

Fall Preview 2021

Aug. 15, 2021

Fall Preview 2021

The Pride Issue

June 15, 2021

The Pride Issue

Summer Reads Issue

June 1, 2021

Summer Reads Issue

Special Diversity Issue

May 1, 2021

Special Diversity Issue

Special Indie Issue

April 15, 2021

Special Indie Issue

Changemakers: Books and authors that make a difference

March 15, 2021

Changemakers: Books and authors that make a difference

The Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction and YA

Dec. 1, 2020

The Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction and YA

The Best Books of 2020: Fiction and Children's

Nov. 15, 2020

The Best Books of 2020: Fiction and Children's

The 2020 Pride Issue

June 15, 2020

The 2020 Pride Issue

The 2020 Diversity Issue

May 1, 2020

The 2020 Diversity Issue

The 2020 Indie Issue

April 15, 2020

The 2020 Indie Issue

The 2020 Earth Issue

April 1, 2020

The 2020 Earth Issue

The 2020 Woman Issue

March 1, 2020

The 2020 Woman Issue

The Best Books of 2019: Fiction and Children's

Nov. 15, 2019

The Best Books of 2019: Fiction and Children's

Fall Preview 2019

Aug. 15, 2019

Fall Preview 2019

Up All Night Issue

Aug. 1, 2019

Up All Night Issue

The Pride Issue

June 15, 2019

The Pride Issue

The Diversity Issue

May 15, 2019

The Diversity Issue

The Rebel Issue

April 1, 2019

The Rebel Issue

The 2019 Woman Issue

March 8, 2019

The 2019 Woman Issue

Generations Issue

Feb. 1, 2019

Generations Issue

Beyond Our Borders

Nov. 1, 2018

Beyond Our Borders

The Legends Issue

Sept. 4, 2018

The Legends Issue

The Fun Issue

June 1, 2018

The 2018 Woman Issue

April 1, 2018

The 2018 Woman Issue

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This Issue's Starred Reviews

FICTION

BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES

By Scotto Moore
DEFENESTRATE

By Renee Branum
LESSER KNOWN MONSTERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

By Kim Fu
PRESENT TENSE MACHINE

By Gunnhild Øyehaug Kari Dickson
ENGINES OF EMPIRE

By R. S. Ford
SHIT CASSANDRA SAW

By Gwen E. Kirby
THE PAGES

By Hugo Hamilton
THE EMPLOYEES

By Olga Ravn Martin Aitken
VLADIMIR

By Julia May Jonas
ONE STEP TOO FAR

By Lisa Gardner
YOU CAN RUN

By Rebecca Zanetti
POLLAK'S ARM

By Hans von Trotha Elisabeth Lauffer

NONFICTION

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS

By Kal Penn
THE ZEN OF THERAPY

By Mark Epstein
WATERGATE

By Garrett M. Graff
WHAT IT TOOK TO WIN

By Michael Kazin
FUNNY FARM

By Laurie Zaleski
RED CARPET

By Erich Schwartzel
HANNIBAL

By Philip Freeman
ARE THE ARTS ESSENTIAL?

By Alberta Arthurs Michael DiNiscia
THE TREELINE

By Ben Rawlence Lizzie Harper
HOW TO BE PERFECT

By Michael Schur Todd May
BETRAYAL

By Jonathan Karl
THE WUHAN LOCKDOWN

By Guobin Yang
BLACK JOY

By Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
BUSTER KEATON

By James Curtis
KEATS

By Lucasta Miller
SENTIENT

By Jackie Higgins Caroline Church
INDEX, A HISTORY OF THE

By Dennis Duncan
THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS

By Jessie Singer
GOING THERE

By Katie Couric
ONE QUARTER OF THE NATION

By Nancy Foner
IN LOVE

By Amy Bloom
AMERICAN INJUSTICE

By David S Rudolf
THE ARTISANS

By Shen Fuyu Jeremy Tiang
WHAT'S SO FUNNY?

By David Sipress
DAVOS MAN

By Peter S. Goodman

TEEN

THIS WOVEN KINGDOM

By Tahereh Mafi
I MUST BETRAY YOU

By Ruta Sepetys

CHILDREN'S

BEAUTY WOKE

By NoNieqa Ramos Paola Escobar
STITCH BY STITCH

By Connie Schofield-Morrison Elizabeth Zunon
ON THE MOVE

By Michael Rosen Quentin Blake
LOVE IS HERE

By Mike Malbrough
THE WITCH, THE SWORD, AND THE CURSED KNIGHTS

By Alexandria Rogers
NOT ENOUGH LOLLIPOPS

By Megan Maynor Micah Player
VOLCANOES

By Gail Gibbons
APPLE AND MAGNOLIA

By Laura Gehl Patricia Metola
WE ARE WOLVES

By Katrina Nannestad Martina Heiduczek
OMAR RISING

By Aisha Saeed
DEAR READER

By Tiffany Rose

INDIE

CRIMINALS

By Mike Karpa
BANNED FROM CALIFORNIA

By Robert C Steele
MANDALAY HAWK'S DILEMMA

By Peter Aronson
THE TOWER PRINCESS

By Michelle Tocher Richard Row
LEAVING THE SAFE HARBOR

By Tanya Hackney
THE AUCTION

By Tom Galvin
GRAY

By Dawn Moore Roy
A GIRL CALLED RUMI

By Ari Honarvar

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The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews

Featuring 310 industry-first reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children's and YA books; also in this issue: Hilary Mantel discusses her bold new story collection, Learning To Talk; Erika L. Sánchez, Ian Falconer, and Anna Gracia; and more

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The Kirkus Star

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.

The Kirkus Prize

The Kirkus Prize is among the richest literary awards in America, awarding $50,000 in three categories annually.
See the 2020 winners.

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