Kimber here. Nestled all snug in my bed,
While visions of bacon strips dance in my head;
And Mom in her …

Wait. What?

“Wake up, Kimster” chirps She Who Shall Remain Nameless.

Can’t she see I’ve just settled down for a long winter’s nap?

“C’mon! We need to come up with a snappy Top Ten Tuesday post. Today’s theme is Best Books I Read in 2021.”

That’s like asking me which puppy I like best. So Mom and I?  We’re doing Top 20 Literary Heroes and Heroines instead. (Well, it was mostly me. Mom helped. A little.)

To make the list, characters must be a cut above. As in, they’re memorable. Radiate personality like a neon sign. Have a splash of sass and spunk. They’re also fresh. As in, not recycled cardboard cut-outs. 

So here, in no particular order, are our Top 20 Literary Heroes & Heroines from 2021. (They may or may not be main characters. See above.) How many do you recognize?

Top 20 Heroes & Heroines From 2021:

1. Large Marge from The Great Alone (Kristin Hannah)

2. Gemma Alcott from Sanctuary (Raena Rood)

3. Aslan the Sheltie from Aslan: Running Joy (Kristin Kaldahl)

4. Hayden Falling Into Magic/ the Destiny Falls series (Elizabeth Pantley)

5. Hette from Heartless Hette (M.L. Farb)

6. “Co-hanna” from News of the World (Paulette Jiles)

7 & 8. Isabelle and Viane Rossignol from The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah)

9. Belle Endicott from The Red Button (Keith Elred)

10 & 11. Diane and Robin Marsh from The Captain’s Daughters (Doreen D. Berger)

12. Mari Sandoval from Spies Never Quit (M. Taylor Christensen)

13 & 14. Roxy Silva’s loveable golden retriever, Buddy, and Detective Kyle Ransom‘s black lab, Clyde from Hunt for a Hometown Killer (Mary Anne Dodge)

15. Quanah Parker from Empire of the Summer Moon (S.C. Gwynne)

16. Maud Baum from Finding Dorothy (Elizabeth Letts)

17. The dog from Muzzled: An Andy Carpenter Mystery (David Rosenblatt)

18. Mira from The Red Thread (Rebekah Pace)

19. Samuel Sooleyman from Sooley (John Grisham, review forthcoming)

20. Susan Pohlman from A Time to Seek (Memoir, Susan Pohlman)

Hey, Mom. Can I go back to bed now?