GMA Book Club List 2021
The GMA Book Club List 2021 is a list of the Good Morning America Book Club picks for 2021, along with reviews of the books Kirsten and I read. I wanted to make this list to see how the book choices change and evolve from year to year. I have been a fan of GMA for a long time, but I sometimes get confused about which book was released when. To keep it straight, I wanted to divide the full list by year.
Kirsten and I read a lot of books, especially celebrity book club picks. We often get spoilers in advance, so we have the opportunity to read the book before the release dates. We want to ensure that we are reading the best books so we can give you the best recommendations. If you are looking for the complete Good Morning America Book Club List, I have that list too.
Whether you are reading the book for yourself or to read with a book club, picking your next book can be difficult. I hope this list helps give you some great ideas of what to read next. The GMA Book Club chooses a wide variety of books. You will find everything from YA fantasy to thrillers and historical fiction. Kirsten and I consistently love the GMA book club picks.
The Best GMA Book Club Books 2021
Each colorful block below represents the best book from the GMA book club in 2021. Click on the arrow to reveal my “best” pick in any category.
1.
Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti
2.
We Are Not Like Them by Jo Piazza and Christine Pride
3.
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.
The GMA Book Club List 2021
The Push
Author: Ashley Audrain
Year: 2021
Genre: Thriller
More info: January 2021 GMA Book Club Pick
Age Range: 18+
Plot
This is a domestic noir that will scare the pants off most mothers. It’s compulsively readable.
Blythe Conner comes from a long line of bad mothers, but she’s determined not to be one. When she has Violet, she struggles to connect with her.
The reader is left wondering if Blythe is a mother who sees the worst in her child or if there is actually something off with Violet; something that even her husband can’t see. There is a reason this domestic thriller was chosen by GMA, it is a crazy good read and will have you on the edge of your seat.
Trigger Warnings
Child death, mental illness
Why Kirsten loves it
This was a crazy domestic thriller that was a compulsive read. I could not put it down. I was never sure if Blythe had become like the bad mothers before her or if Violet was mentally ill. The constant questioning had me turning the pages.
Find this book in: Books About Mothers and Motherhood / Psychological Thriller Books / Domestic Noir Books / Best Books for Book Clubs to Read / Best Books of 2021Â
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
Author: Cherie Jones
Year: 2021
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
More info: February 2021 GMA Book Club Pick
Age Range: 15+
Plot
Set in Barbados, this searing fiction story peels back the facade of paradise.
Trigger Warnings
Rape
Why Kirsten loves it
Lala, the main protagonist in this story, felt alive to me as I read this powerful story. A robbery gone wrong, a dead baby, a murder, drug smuggling, and more captivated me as I was consumed by the story within the pages of this book.
Find this book in: GMA Book Club List 2021
Klara and the Sun
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Year: 2021
Genre: Sci-fi
More info: March 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range:
Plot
I’m not usually a sci-fi girl, but this book was just so special. It’s told from the perspective of Klara, an artificial friend who starts the story waiting to be purchased.
We see Klara’s life in the store as she waits for a friend, and then what her life is like when she’s chosen to be a companion for a young girl with a mysterious illness.
Klara draws her power from the sun, and so she believes she can use the sun’s healing rays to save her friend too.
Why Kirsten loves it
This moving story had me caring for a robot in a way I knew would have thought possible. It is definitely on my list of best sci-fi books of all time.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Novels/ Popular Dystopian Novels / Good Morning America Book Club
Of Women and Salt
Author: Gabriela Garcia
Year: 2021
Genre: Literary Fiction
More info: April 2021 GMA Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
I understand why this book was chosen as the GMA book club for April. It is a story that captures the heartbreak and betrayals that have shaped the lives of the women in this story with wonderful writing and metaphors woven throughout.
Trigger Warnings
Domestic Abuse
Why Kirsten loves it
The writing in this story is beautiful but the story is heartbreaking. At times, I had trouble following the non-linear timeline with so many characters. For me, it took away from the writing and the story as a whole.
Find this book in: GMA Book Club List 2021
Olympus Texas
Author: Stacey Swann
Genre: Fiction
Release Date: May 2021
More info: May 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Plot
This is a book that weaves elements of classical mythology into a modern family saga. It follows the Briscoe family after March returns home, two years after having an affair with his brothers wife. Soon, someone is dead, and marriages are ending.
The Other Black Girl
Author: Zakiya Dalila Harris
Year: 2021
Genre: Thriller
More info: June 2021 GMA Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
Nella is the only black girl at her publishing house until Hazel is hired. Thinking she’s found an ally, instead, she begins to wonder if Hazel might be an enemy instead. As Hazel’s career soars, Nella is left questioning her identity, her ideals, and what it means to be a black woman in the business world while trying to uncover who is behind the scary notes she keeps receiving.
Trigger Warnings
Racism
Why Jackie loves it
Wow. I’m still processing this genre-defying novel. It’s a social commentary and a thriller all in one. It makes me want to sit down and discuss it with everyone.
Find this book in: Good Morning America / Ultimate Thriller List / Women in the Workplace / Books About Books / GMA Book Club List 2021
The Personal Librarian
Author: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murphy
Year: 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: July 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
This fictionalized version of Belle de Costa Greene was wonderful! Greene was tycoon J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian and later the librarian for his heir. She was also a black woman passing as white. This biographical fiction story tells the story of her incredible rise to prominence and the sacrifices she had to make along the way.
Trigger Warnings
Racism
Why Kirsten loves it
It’s so upsetting to know that Belle couldn’t ever let anyone know about her real identity. It’s a blight on our country that such a remarkable woman had to keep her roots hidden to hold her job, but I’m glad her real truth is being told now.
Find this book in: Books set in Libraries / Biographical Fiction Novels / Gilded Age Books / GMA Book Club List 2021
The Husbands
Author: Chandler Baker
Year: 2021
Genre: Mystery
More info: August 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Age Range: 14+
Plot
Ladies, get your book clubs geared up for Chandler Baker’s newest novel. It’s part mystery, part social commentary, but it’s the latter that packs a punch in this contemporary fiction.
Baker examines the mental load that women carry as wives and mothers, particularly working women, and how it differs from what society expects of men.
Murder in the desirable Dynasty Ranch neighborhood has lawyer and prospective buyer, Nora, looking into what happened. With all the Stepford-style husbands she is meeting, she’s starting to wonder what kind of place Dynasty Ranch is after all. You will have such a great discussion about this book about motherhood.
Why Kirsten loves it
This is a perfect book for book clubs, it is such a thought-provoking book. You will have such a great discussion about this book about motherhood, family, and societal expectations.
Adaptation Information
Kristen Wiig is set to produce and star in the movie adaptation of this popular story!
Find this book in: Good Morning America Book Club / Thought-Provoking Books / Books About Mothers and Motherhood / Best Books for Book Clubs to Read
Several People are Typing
Author: Calvin Kasulke
Genre: Fiction
Release Date: August 2021
More info: September 2021 GMA Book Club Pick
Plot
This pick from the GMA book club list 2021 is told through Slack messages. Gerald is a mid-level employee at a public relations firm whose conscioiusness has been uploaded into the company’s slack channel. Now that his prodictivity is off the charts, everyone is very happy to have him work from home. But Gerald needs help from his co-worker to find out what happened to his body. This satire is perfect for fans of The Office.
We Are Not Like Them
Author: Jo Piazza and Christine Pride
Year: 2021
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
More info: October 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Age Range: 14+
Plot
A contemporary fiction book set in Philadelphia! This is the story of 2 local girls, who have been best friends since childhood. Riley is a black woman living her dreams of being a reporter, while Jen is a pregnant white woman married to a cop.
Their friendship is put to the test when Jen’s husband kills an innocent black boy while in pursuit of a thief and Riley is the lead reporter covering the case.
Told from the perspective of both women, this gripping story covers systemic racism in the police force while dealing with the nuances of navigating a bi-racial friendship. If you are looking for powerful books about friendship, this is one that will make you think.
Trigger Warnings
Police Brutality
Why Kirsten loves it
This doozy of a book was enthralling and thought-provoking. I knew it was a perfect book for book clubs from the very first chapter.
Why Jackie loves it
This book had me thinking long after I finished the last page. The characters were rich and believable and the plotline was realistic as well which is what make it so compelling to read.
Find this book in: Good Morning America Book Club List / Books About Friendship/ Best Books for Book Clubs / Best Books of 2021
Still Life
Author: Sarah Winman
Year: 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: November 2021 GMA Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
In 1944, Ulysses, an English Soldier, finds himself in a deserted villa in Italy. When he meets Evelyn, an art historian trying to save paintings, they form an unlikely friendship. This relationship will stay with Ulysses long after he returns home to London.
Years later, when he receives an inheritance, he knows that he has to return to Italy.
Why Jackie likes it
This is a beautiful sweeping story that is written in Winman’s beautiful prose. At almost 500 pages, the story is not a fast-moving one. Rather, it is a character-based story where people come together to create a family.
Find this book in: GMA Book Club List 2021
Dava Shastri’s Last Day
Author: Kirthana Ramisetti
Year: 2021
Genre: Fiction
More info: December 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
I DEVOURED this contemporary fiction story of a billionaire music mogul who releases her death announcement 2 days early so she can read her own end-of-life articles. The best part was that during the snowstorm that trapped her family with her at the ski chalet, she neglected to tell them about her terminal illness and her harebrained scheme.
Trigger Warnings
Cancer, Death
Why Kirsten loves it
We get to see the impact the decision has on her family as well as get a look at her colorful life before her cancer diagnosis. This family drama was so compelling, I totally understand why it was a book club pick.
Find this book in: Books About Mothers / Family Drama Books / Family Sagas / Contemporary Fiction Novels / Best Celebrity Book Club Picks / GMA Book Club List 2021
Expert Tip
The GMA Book Club has chosen so many great books since it began in 2019 that it can be hard to choose your next book. Here are some helpful hints:
- The GMA Book Club offers the widest variety of genres among all celebrity book clubs. If you love mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, or fantasy, the GMA Book Club might be your best bet to find a book you love.
- Are you a “Kirsten” or a “Jackie”? Have a look at our reviews of the books to help you choose
- This list includes books that may not be on other lists because we did not love all the books. Have a look at the thoughts section.
- If the description says “why I love it”, it’s a 4 or 5-star book.
- If it says “why I like it”, it’s a 3-star book.
- If it says “thoughts”, it was not a winner for Kirsten or me.
- If you love a certain genre, pick a book from that genre as your next read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best books from the GMA book club in 2021?
The Best books from the GMA Book Club List 2021 are:
1. Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti
2. We Are Not Like Them by Jo Piazza and Christine Pride
3. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Epilogue
What is your favorite book from the GMA book club list 2021?
