Monster Librarian’s staff reviewed over 100 books in 2021. These included fiction, nonfiction, anthologies, short story collections, poetry, novels, graphic novels, and novellas of all kinds, for adults, teens, and middle graders, both traditionally and independently published. While many excellent books came our way, the following titles received the designation of “highly recommended” from our reviewers. With the exception of seven books on this list, these can all be purchased from our storefront at Bookshop.org.

I really hope that you will choose to support Monster Librarian by making your purchases though our storefront at Bookshop.org. or through the links provided with publication information in our reviews. We received almost no funding this year and were lucky to cover our hosting fees.

Novels:

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Lakewood by Megan Giddings
Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman
Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo
Neptune’s Reckoning by Robert J. Stava
(Con)Science by PJ Manney
Final Girl by Wol-vriey
The Between by Ryan Leslie
Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons
To Dust You Shall Return by Fred Venturini
Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling
The Deep by Alma Katsu
Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman
The Burning Girls  by C.J. Tudor
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins

Young Adult:

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani

Middle Grade:

The Girl and the Ghost  by Hanna Alkaf
Root Magic by Eden Royce
The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

Graphic Novels:

Road of Bones by Rich Douek and Alex Cormack
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (vols 1 and 2) by David Avallone, art by Dave Acosta
The Shape of Elvira by David Avallone, art by Fran Strukan (issues 1-3) and Pasquale Qualano (issue 4)
The Masque of the Red Death: Fine Art Edition by Edgar Allan Poe

Collections:

Coralesque: And Other Tales to Disturb and Distract by Rebecca Fraser
From the Depths: Terrifying Tales by Richard Saxon
Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies by John Langan
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
Grotesque: Monster Stories by Lee Murray

Anthologies:

Attack From the ’80s edited by Eugene Johnson
Howls from Hell: A Horror Anthology edited by HOWL Society
Not All Monsters: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women of Horror edited by Joanna Roye and G.G. Silverman
Wicked Women: An Anthology of the New England Horror Writers edited by Jane Yolen and Hilary Monahan
Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, and Other Horrors edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey

Poetry:

Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken. by Lee Murray, Geneve Flynn, Christina Sng, and Angela Yuriko Smith
A Complex Accident of Life by Jessica McHugh
Cradleland of Parasites by Sara Tantlinger

Nonfiction:

Cult Cinema by Howard David Ingham
Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica by Susan Snyder
The Devil and His Advocates by Nicholas Butler
Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre by Alison Peirse
The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts, and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films by Kelly Florence and Meg Hafdahl
1000 Women in Horror: 1895-2018 by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi by Sandra Niemi
Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner