Life seems like a blur now that the pandemic is over and everything is returning to a new normal in the beautiful summer of 2021. Resuming travel plans, going out with friends, and even watching a movie at the theater on the weekend has become possible post-pandemic. It seems that many people have been home for a year, enjoying their time flipping through the latest Netflix movie and catching up on the latest romance novel.

Even though people are enjoying more outdoorsy activities, many people are still enjoying the cool breeze while going down their summer book list. There is a lot of variety in book genres, and people will want to read all types of books starting from thrillers to romantic comedies to fantasy novels. Here is a list of award-winning novels that have made it to our Top Five List for summer 2021:

My Brilliant Life By Ae-Ran Kim

My Brilliant Life by Ae-Ran Kim is a Family Saga/Fiction novel that was published in February 2021. The book talks about protagonist Areum’s rare condition that makes him age eight times as fast as any teenager. Areum is trapped in the body of an 80-year-old even though he is only 17. The book explores themes of family, friendships, life’s struggles and disappointment. 

The novel is a heartwarming story that won the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, Kim Yu-Jeong Literary Award, Lee Hyo-Seok Literary Award, and the Prix de l’lnapercu. Her other works include No Knocking in This House, which also won the Daesan Literary Award, and her spotlight novel Run, Daddy, Run. She was noted to be the youngest writer who was awarded the Yi Hyosok Literary Award. 

The book My Brilliant Life was adapted into a film starring A-List actors Kang Dong Won and Song Hye Gyo. The film won the Third Place Audience Award at the Far East Film Festival in 2015. 

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun Mi Hwang

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly is a bestselling Korean children’s folklore and mythology fable that stars a protagonist hen named Sprout. Sprout is a hen who escapes her home and imagines that she could hatch her own chicks. Through her road away from home, she tackles life’s struggles and bonds with new friends.

Even though the story is about a chicken, the story’s themes relate to real-life experiences. The book teaches children about important life lessons such as family tradition and freedom. The inspiration for the story came from her own relationship with her farmer father. The story also teaches about how to achieve one’s dream and how important family and friends are to people. 

The book has sold over two million copies and is an international bestseller for over 10 years. The book was also adapted into musicals and an animated film that is the highest grossest animation in Korea. The book has won an award for the SBS Media Literary Award in 2001 and the 36th Sejong Children’s Literature Prize in 2003.

All You Can Ever Know By Nicole Chung

Nicole Chung’s novel is a memoir about growing up as a transracial adoptee. She explains her life story as she was adopted into a white family at a young age. She explains her struggles with relationships growing up with her family and later on with her own husband and children. The book’s themes are relatable to many transracial people who are adopted into a different world at an early age.

She explores the topic of adoption and American identity in modern society. The book is a powerful story that will capture people’s emotions and inspire many young readers going through similar struggles in life. 

Nicole Chung’s book received many accolades, including being a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, Long-listed for the PEN Open Book Award, Finalist for the ABA Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year Award, and Finalist for the 2019 NAIBA Awards.

Skinship by Yoon Choi

Skinship by Yoon Choi is a bestselling book about Korean American families. The book is a wonderful book for the summer because they teach about the importance of life’s struggles and relationships with our families and prior generations. There are eight short stories compiled into one book. Skinship is a realistic book about marriages that are relatable to our own. 

The book is about dark secrets and painful pasts, with one of the characters struggling through life after being abused in her former years. The critics have praised the book for being realistic and truthful that people can associate with.

Yoon Choi is a Korean American writer who was born in Seoul, Korea and grew up in Long Island, New York. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with her bachelor’s and from Stanford for her master’s degree. Her book was published in New England Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Narrative Magazine, and The Best American Short Stories 2018.

Black Flower by Young-Ha Kim

Black Flower by Young-Ha Kim is a story about a Korean family who leaves for Mexico in order to escape war and poverty in 1904. The story illustrates the struggle of trying to adapt to a Mexican society as emigrants under a different government and culture. Many of the emigrant families have been sold into slavery.

One of the girls named Iljeong, an orphan who was on the ship to Mexico, falls in love with a daughter of a nobleman. He promises to find her after they are separated. Young-Ha Kim tells the unique and little-known story about Koreans who traveled to Mexico and explores themes of greed, suffering, and cultural identity. The book received Korea’s Dong In Literary Award.