The best books of 2021 so far: What USA TODAY's critics loved reading By USA TODAY of USA TODAY | These are the great new books of 2021 that got ★★★½ and ★★★★ (out of four) reviews from USA TODAY critics, starting with “Falling,” by T.J. Newman · ★★★½ · "The plot’s construction is elevator-pitch gold: Bill Hoffman, captain of a Coastal Airlines flight headed from LAX to JFK, learns that his family has been abducted, and if he doesn’t crash his plane and kill all the souls aboard, Hoffman’s wife and two children will die. Oh, and someone onboard is a co-conspirator, so no funny business." Read the review.