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It's the end of the year, and time to look back on the best books of 2021!
AUTOBIOGRAPHY: "My Name's Yours, What's Alaska?" by Alaska (Chronicle Books)
Fan favorite from "RuPaul's Drag Race" and crazy quotable Alaska tells all about their rise to fame, from humble beginnings and all about their once relationship with other "Ru girl" Sharon Needles. Starting out as a small-town prom king to an obsession with wanting to BE Catwoman, to starting drag and eventually throwing in with Sharon and doing shows together and dating, Alaska is very candid about everything. There's wild parties, some rocky relationship issues and a bunch of "cool girl" allure hiding some inner turmoil. Fans of the show and Alaska herself with come away understanding her a bit more and enjoying the wild ride.
MEMOIR: "The Quiet Zone" by Stephen Kurczy (HarperCollins)
A journalist looks at the families living around Green Bank, West Virginia, and their lives without much technology. Kurczy, someone who doesn't use cell phones himself, heard about Green Bank and the astronomers around the Observatory,and made assumptions about the people and the restrictions, and what he finds is small town made up of a mix of people -- including scientists who came to work at the Observatory, "electrosensitives" who claim Wifi is deadly and they can only find peace there (though plenty of people in Green Bank do use WiFi), a small sheriff's department working to solve a record of unsolved murders, the former site of a cult, the former site of a supposed "free" hospital that never actually happened, a small camp of Neo Nazis watching their membership dwindle and die down and a whole bunch of normal people just trying to live their lives. This is an interesting look on technology's place in our lives and our dependence on it, but it is also of small towns and the people that live in that particular one. You could probably dredge up all kinds of crazy but interesting history in just about any small town, and this is one picked from our own state..
THRILLER: "Rock Paper Scissors" by Alice Feeney (Flatiron Books)
A story from both sides of a marriage is told over a snowy weekend -- and someone isn't coming back from it. Adam and Amelia won a free trip to a Scottish rental, and they are hoping it will help their failing marriage. But a trip in the middle of a snowstorm is only making them more on edge, and when they get to the place, it is an old church remade into a house in the middle of nowhere with literally no one around. With already frayed nerves, they explore the place, all while feeling like someone is watching. Meanwhile, in "flashback" writing, Adam's wife is writing him letters that she will never send on their anniversary, detailing their life together and its downward spiral. As the past and the present collide in a way no one expected, who will make it back home? This is a story in which the reader will think they know what's going on -- and they won't, not until the final page. It's a chilling thriller that also features a main character with face blindness, which is an interesting twist. I ate this one up in one evening, not wanting to stop for anything.
HORROR: "The Final Girl Support Group" by Grady Hendrix (Berkley)
What if the final girls from every horror movie you remember met up to try to get past their trauma? Lynnette survived a horrific attack against her parents, little sister and boyfriend as a teenager, and as an adult, lives a hermit-like existence of always checking behind her, locking every door and window, having multiple escape routes and no friends beyond her support group -- a counselor and five other women who have been through the same thing and lived to tell about it. All of them have witnessed their story become part of pop culture and been made into movies, seen their "monster" be turned into a pop icon, and even had betrayal from within. When one of the final girls says she's not going to come to group anymore, Lynnette feels like her world is spiraling out of control. But when one of the members doesn't show up, it appears a sequel is in the works once again, as terror has arrived at a small camp and their friend was one of the body count. But as each woman gets targeted, Lynnette soon realizes that someone who knows too much is trying to pick them off one by one, and there may not be anyone she can trust. As she decides to try to help a young girl who just went through her own ordeal, will Lynnette be tempting fate and will her past finally catch up to her? This is an ode to the slasher movies of the 80s and 90s, and readers will easily be able to pick out who each character is supposed to be. For those who ever wondered what would happens to those Final Girls once the movie ended, this definitely explores that thought. It also explores trauma and overcoming it as well. And there's plenty of creepy scenes to enjoy. This needs to be made into a movie ASAP.
MYSTERY: "Survive the Night" by Riley Sager (Dutton)
A college girl's rideshare in the 90s takes a twisty turn. Charlie knows she needs to leave college after her friend and roommate's murder by a serial killer that has been stalking the campus for years. She just can't deal with the guilt of leaving her friend alone at a party after a fight. Though her boyfriend wants her to stick it out, Charlie decides to leave a week before finals and head back to Ohio. A campus ride board seems the perfect idea to share a ride with someone going that way. She lucks into a meeting with Josh, who says his father had a stroke and he also needs to get back to Ohio ASAP. The two have a long drive ahead of them in the middle of the night, but Charlie is sure it will be fine... And then Josh starts to be a little suspicious. Charlie starts to catch him in some lies. Though her love of movies has given her some waking fantasy moments during times of stress, she's sure she didn't imagine that she saw a different name on his driver's license. And did he really say something about a clue to the murders only the police know? Is it possible she is in the car with a serial killer? Charlie must keep her wits about her if she's to survive the night. There are so many twists in this story that it will keep readers guessing and guessing. Pretty much everyone is a suspect, and just when it seems like the case is solved...it isn't. Sager's books are always a thrilling treat, and this is absolutely no exception. How one of these books hasn't become a movie yet is beyond me.
ROMANCE: "People We Meet on Vacation" by Emily Henry (Berkley)
Two best friends reexamine their relationship. When Poppy met Alex freshman year of college, neither of them knew they'd made a best friend for life. By the time they share a ride home, their friendship is cemented. Every year, Poppy and Alex go on a summer vacation together, no matter their relationships, jobs and time have drove them apart. It's been a 10 year tradition, and but an encounter in Croatia strained their friendship. Now, two years later in New York, Poppy is feeling burnt out and wants another Alex trip. But will he agree? When the trip finally happens, she has a week to repair their friendship. But is it just friendship between the two? The characters of Poppy and Alex are well illustrated and the reader can't help but love both of them and want them to make the jump to a real relationship they both want. The stories of their older trips are fun and their hijinks this time around were enjoyable.
HISTORICAL FICTION: "The Lost Apothecary" by Sarah Penner (Harlequin)
A historical fiction novel delves into revenge thriller. In 1791, Nella was once an ordinary apothecary that catered to women -- a trade that she inherited from her mother. Now she caters to women in a whole other way -- as a secret seller of poisons to kill the men that have abused and betrayed them. When 12-year-old Eliza shows up to buy poison for her employer's husband -- on behalf of both the employer and herself -- Nella doesn't know how much Eliza will change everything. And in modern day London, Caroline has gone on her 10th anniversary -- without her husband, whom she just learned has been cheating. At a loss of what to do now, she goes mudlarking and finds a vial that looks like it once belonged to an apothecary. Thus two women in different times are intertwined -- and their fates unravel in the story. This was a story that I loved all the characters, and in some instances, wanted them to get away with it. The characters are all relatable. Historical fiction readers will love it and mystery fans will love it.
Amy Phelps can be reached at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com