Top 10 (11 actually!) Book Covers From 2021

A few weeks ago Davida Chazan from The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog, posted her top five book covers of 2021. Her post inspired me to create my own end of year top 10. As you can see, I had trouble cutting it down to just 10 books!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58485952-the-tsarina-s-daughter

This book came to me as a competition win, the book cover is very attractive. It wasn’t until after I had finished reading it that I realised it was book #2 of a series. It’s about the Romanov family and is set in Russia during the 1700s. The writing flows well and I could effortlessly picture all the opulence and wealth, while it was also clear how starving and poor the rest of Russia’s citizens were.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49354511-the-dictionary-of-lost-words

Those pieces of word filled paper on the cover are such a big part of this story. If you love words then this book is a wonderful story. Based around the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, it begins in the late 1800s. I liked this story, particularly the detailed days in the scriptorium.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55928359-keep-walking-your-heart-will-catch-up

This book cover had me wanting to walk down its road. This book is a memoir and travelogue. Author Cathay O. Reta writes about her experience of walking the 483-mile Camino de Santiago trail across northern Spain. The scenery and the journey both physical and spiritual were very appealing.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57333061-the-music-of-bees

I love bees and this title called to me, the bees on the cover were an added bonus. This is a bee themed contemporary fiction set in the small American town of Hood River, Oregon. Each chapter began with a quotation from an old beekeeping book; they were prudent words which worked really well with the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55938053-the-lifeline

The model’s face on this book cover looks right at you and is very haunting, while the fishing boat is a vital part in this World-War-Two story. It takes place during the 1942 occupation of Norway, not a part of the war that I knew much about before reading this. It had all the gritty tension that I enjoy in this genre.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55518135-the-secret-life-of-albert-entwistle

There are a couple of different book covers for this book, but this is the one that I read. The post box says it all for me. This is the story of a postman and his search for the one person he loved and lost. A lovely, leisurely read for those who enjoy stories which focus on older characters.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55407903-the-willow-wren

The lone figure running under a sky of fighter aircraft made me want to know more about this book. The story is based on memories about Germany seen through the eyes of a young German boy, during the Second World War and for a few years after, in East Germany. Highly recommended.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56439404-i-thought-you-said-this-would-work

The cheerful yellow of this book cover suits the story inside the cover. It is contemporary fiction and involves a fun road trip, a dog and a more serious medical condition. Although a part of this story has a serious sad theme, it compliments the fun parts and works well.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56133968-a-secret-service

The young lady on the cover of this book spoke to me, she looks like she might be trying to behave. Rightly so, as standing up to the school bullies gets her into trouble. This is a contemporary young adult story set in Washington DC. There’s a freshness about some young adult stories and this one was an enjoyable story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57679455-finding-freedom-in-the-lost-kitchen

The simplicity of this book cover reflects the ethos behind Erin French’s cooking. This book is the memoir of Erin French, owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen restaurant in Freedom, Maine which has now become a world-famous place to eat. It was a very inspiring read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59130057-jenks

This book cover makes me want to ask questions. Who is the man with the gun? And who has the blue eyes? This is an action thriller which draws us into the murky world of secrets. Jenks is a professional assassin and a master of his game. I enjoyed reading this adventure.

What book covers have been your favourites this year?

Rosie’s #BookReview Of #WW2 #Histfic THE WILLOW WREN by @philippwschott @ecwpress #TuesdayBookBlog

The Willow Wren by Philipp Schott

5 stars

The Willow Wren is a based on memories about Germany seen through the eyes of a young German boy, during the Second World War and for a few years after, in East Germany.

The story began in 1944, with a memory from ten-year-old Ludwig; he and his mother looked on at the partly bombed house that was once their home in Leipzig. They’d returned to the city for Ludwig’s birthday and hoped to meet with his father.

The story then went back, and built up through the early years of Ludwig’s life. We were introduced to a young bookish boy who preferred the peace and quiet of a forest with birds and trees. When war broke out, much of it was far away from Ludwig’s life and was meaningless to him, until the bombs began to fall. While his father stayed in the city the family were split up; Ludwig and his older brother Theodore were sent to a camp, where they were ‘encouraged’ to join the Hitler Youth. Those were terrifying years for two small boys who didn’t like war games and preferred books, made worse when teenager Theodore was sent to the Russian front.

After the war they both found their way back to live in Colditz with their mother and younger siblings. It was now part of the Russian ruled East Germany and Ludwig’s memories of those years were very enlightening.

This book was such a pleasure to read, the writing flowed smoothly and I was engrossed by Ludwig’s life and his perceptions of all that went on around him. I thought that seeing the war years through an adult’s memories of his childhood worked really well; children notice different things and their understanding of events can be different from an adults. I also liked how the author interspersed parts of the narrative with what Ludwig knew later, comparing it to a current event.

Although I can recommend the whole book, two parts stood out for me; I was quite shocked to read that near the end of the war desperate German leaders kept lowering the age limit of Hitler Youth needed in the fighting fronts and children were sent to face the enemy. The other part of the book which I found very interesting was life in East Germany, especially the first few years after the end of the war, when the adjustments to living under Soviet rule were difficult.

I loved the ending and the author’s notes at the end were very enlightening and worth reading to add perspective to the narrative; I found them quite emotional after the final chapter. Definitely a book to read for fans of historical fiction and the war years.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

The touching and nuanced portrait of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany through the eyes of a resourceful German boy.

Ludwig is an odd and introverted child, growing up in Hitler’s Germany. While Ludwig’s father, Wilhelm, is a senior Nazi and a true believer, Ludwig escapes the unfolding catastrophe by withdrawing into nature and books. Eventually, when the Allied bombing campaign intensifies, Ludwig is sent to a Hitler Youth camp, where his oddness makes him a target for bullying.

As the war turns against Germany, the Hitler Youth camp becomes ever more severe and militaristic, and the atmosphere spirals towards chaos. After the Nazis abandon the camp, Ludwig returns home, and his father is presumed dead. With Ludwig’s mother descending into depression, the 11-year-old bears increasing responsibility for the survival of the family as starvation sets in under Russian occupation. Soon, it will be impossible to leave the Russian zone, so Ludwig decides that he must rally his despondent mother and lead her and his three younger siblings in an escape attempt to the west.

Based on a true story, The Willow Wren is a unique, touching exploration of extremism, resilience, and the triumph of the small.

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