McLean and Eakin Top Books of 2021

We Begin at the End

“"I loved this book! INCREDIBLE CHARACTERS: Move over Scout, 13 year old Duchess Radley, self proclaimed outlaw, has won my heart. RIVETING PLOT: You will continually be surprised where this book takes you. MANY LAYERS OF FEELING AND MEANING: The story and characters will stay with you.”

Samantha, A Great Good Place for Books

The Lincoln Highway

“Loved, loved, LOVED listening to the new Amor Towles book. The story was wonderful, but the readers made it especially enjoyable.”

Mary Jane, Island Bookstore

From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Sparrow comes “historical fiction that feels uncomfortably relevant today” (Kirkus Reviews) about “America’s Joan of Arc”—the courageous woman who started a rebellion by leading a strike against the largest copper mining company in the world.

In July 1913, twenty-five-year-old Annie Clements... Read more »

As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our... Read more »

Beach Read

“So enjoying listening to the audio book of Beach Read by Emily Henry. The story revolves around two writers. January who writes romance and Gus who writes fiction. Over one summer they come up with a challenge: January challenges Gus to write romance and Gus challenges January to write a fiction novel. What happens next makes for a great story, a perfect summer book. Beach Read is a must-listen-to on Libro.FM.”

Karen, Anderson's Bookshop

Malibu Rising

“When you’re famous, the summer party you have at your famous Malibu house is famous, and you’re famous friends and family come and so does everybody else…what could go wrong? EVERYTHING!”

Mollie, HearthFire Books and Treats

If fresh water is to be treasured, the Great Lakes are the mother lode. No bodies of water can compare to them. One of them, Superior, is the largest lake on earth, and the five lakes together contain a fifth of the world's supply of standing fresh water. Their surface area of 95,000 square miles is greater than New York, New Jersey,... Read more »

The Song of Achilles

“A sweeping emotional tale of war, passion, and devastation. You are given insight into a hero's life through the eyes of Patroclus in a way that has never been done before.You may think you know the story of Achilles and Patroclus but I promise you, you don't. Miller is able to ensnare your imagination and capture the human spirit in a way few authors before have been able to do.”

Katrina, Anderson's Bookshop

Charlie Mackesy’s beloved The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has been adapted into an animated short film, now available to stream on Apple TV+
“A surprise bestseller about kindness and vulnerability is bringing people together.” – Washington Post
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” asked the mole.
“Kind,” said the boy.

Charlie Mackesy... Read more »

Hamnet

“I wanted to live in this book forever and for it to never, ever end. I have never had a book hangover like the one I had when I finished this book. It is so, so, so, good. Every word is perfectly chosen and often not the expected choice. I can't say enough about both the writing and the narration and I already can't wait to listen to this one again.”

Elisa, Another Read Through

The #1 New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year

"A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits."—The Washington Post

The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well... Read more »

Alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, a wise, bighearted novel of love, disaster, and unconventional family—from the acclaimed author of Standard Deviation, who has been called the "literary descendant of Jane Austen, sharing Austen's essentially comic world view" (NPR).     

Jane falls in love with... Read more »

Amanda Gorman’s powerful and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration

“Stunning.” —CNN 
“Dynamic.” —NPR
“Deeply rousing and uplifting.” —Vogue


On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Taking the stage after the 46th... Read more »

People We Meet on Vacation

“What fun! This delightful book should be in every beach bag this summer. A hilariously comedic rom-com with memorable characters, set in varied vacation spots in various years. I enjoyed the changing timeline and seeing the relationship as it grew through the years.”

Shelley Lowe, Monkey and Dog Books

The Silent Patient

“The Silent Patient is an outstanding thriller centered on a spellbinding mystery with a shocking twist; in other words, you are going to love this book. Alicia was a talented painter and devoted wife until the night she was discovered still as a statue and covered in blood, having apparently killed her husband. The answer as to why has remained locked inside of Alicia, who stops speaking following the murder. Six years later, Theo, a young psychologist, is determined to get the mysterious Alicia to spill all of her secrets. The final surprise will have you rethinking every riveting scene in this brilliant debut.”

Luisa Smith, Book Passage

The Marsh King's Daughter

“After a childhood in the wilds of Northern Michigan, where her rugged, brutal father was the center of her world, Helena has made a new life with a family who doesn't know her past. Now she and her father are hunting each other and Helena must use all the skills he taught her to survive. Fascinating, dark, and disturbing, The Marsh King's Daughter is a psychological thriller most compelling in its rich descriptions of the survivalist training of a very tough little girl.”

Patty Mullins, Oblong Books

She thought she'd buried her past. But what if it's been hunting her this whole time?

From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Marsh King's Daughter comes a startling novel of psychological suspense as two generations of sisters try to unravel their tangled relationships between nature and nurture, guilt and betrayal, love and... Read more »

Firekeeper's Daughter

“This story of a young woman roped into a federal investigation of a drug ring tearing her Ojibwe community apart is riveting and sorrowful. Daunis is an 18 year old non-enrolled Ojibwe with plenty of ambition and skills and won't see a clear path to her future that doesn't involve working in her community. This book moved me in so many ways but Daunis' connection to her elders and their traditions really drove this plot. While her parents' choices keep her from acceptance and death seems to haunt her, Daunis stays focused on her values: preserving and protecting the Ojibwe way of life for the next 6 generations. I loved how Boulley wove the Anishinaabe language, traditions and teaching into this story without spelling it all out for non-Native readers. This book tells the story of some of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) and helps us connect with the stories more personally.”

Jessica, BookBar