K and O: Bonkers About Books: My Favourite Books of 2021

I have to tell you that this list has taken quite some compiling, the main problem being trying to get the list short enough! It really has been an other amazing year for books and I apologise in advance to those books who missed the cut!

I know that Nisha's War hasn't been published yet but the book is just too good for me not to include in this list! I am a huge fan of Dan's books but this really is his best yet! (It's out on the 3rd February)

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/11/nishas-war-dan-smith.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-chime-seekers-ross-montgomery.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-book-of-stolen-dreams-david-farr.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-unexpected-tale-of-bastien-bonlivre.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/01/me-my-dad-and-end-of-rainbow-benjamin.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/02/then-sky-falls-in-phil-earle.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/06/children-of-quicksands-efua-traore.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/06/julia-and-shark-kiran-millwood-hargrave.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/03/starboard-nicola-skinner.html

https://kandobonkersaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-life-and-time-of-lonny-quicke.html

I'd been recommended this book by so many on Twitter but I don't think I was prepared for how much this book touched me. The story of Sami and his family who flee from Damascus after his mum and sister are caught up in a bombing in a shopping centre, we follow their harrowing journey via Turkey to Manchester where the family endure more heart-ache and upheaval. Told from Sami's point of view, this was a truly unforgettable story which had me in tears on several occasions as I travelled alongside the family and endured the challenges they had to face. It's an eye-opening book that will help children to understand exactly what people go through as refugees. It's a book that will stay with me for a long time to come and I'm very pleased I read it.

Oh, wow! What a book this is! Combining the story of Cora and Adrien, with Artificial Intelligence and the ethics around this, whilst championing Neurodiversity, this is a must-read book. The strength of Cora and Adrien's friendship is absolutely at the heart of this book and something I can imagine everybody would aspire to. Cora is one of the bravest characters I have read in while with a strength that seemed to seep from the book towards the end. This is a book that will blow you away and will reminds us all that we should never be ashamed of who we are and that our differences are what make us wonderful.

The best of the yet to be published books

There are so many amazing books due out next year and I've been lucky enough to have already read some of them. All of the books listed below are ones that I wanted to add to my favourites list above so, in order to get round the length of my list, I've added this sub-category!!