I said I'd come back and fill in these missing reviews once the HarperCollins strike ended, so here I am, a month or two late but hopefully no dollars short. I felt especially bad about omitting my reviews for Tiffany D. Jackson's titles, as I read both WHITE SMOKE and THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD last year and was blown away by both, so don't miss those ones below!
2. THE SEVENTH SUN by Lani Forbes Really vivid worldbuilding here (though I would have liked it even more if Ms. Forbes had differentiated her fantastical world from the Mesoamerican cultures she clearly drew from).
3. GREYTHORNE by Crystal Smith I really enjoyed Ms. Smith's debut, BLOODLEAF, and this sequel picked up right where the first book left off.
4. AN INCONVENIENT MINORITY by Kenny Xu This one really made me think. Though I didn't agree with all his points, they made me reevaluate my worldview as a human being of European, Asian, and Pacific Islander descent.
5. THE LITTLE BOOK THAT BEATS THE MARKET by Joel Greenblatt A quick, insightful read on stock market investing.
6. THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND by Joan He A beautiful and memorable YA dystopian.
7. THE YEAR OF SHADOWS by Claire Legrand Just the right amount of spookiness for an MG read.
8. LUCK OF THE TITANIC by Stacey Lee Ms. Lee's historicals are all lush and atmospheric, and this one was no exception.
9. SUGAR TOWN QUEENS by Malla Nunn Set in Durban, South Africa, this YA contemporary provided me a vivid peek into a culture that I previously didn't know much about.
10. BLACK WAS THE INK by Michelle Coles Told in alternating timelines, this YA novel combines a charged contemporary narrative with an in-depth look at the work of Black congressmen and aides during the Reconstruction era. Highly insightful and informative.
11. KNEEL by Candace Buford Football and social activism? Yes, please!
12. MANY POINTS OF ME by Caroline Gertler A poignant MG read about loss and grief. Bonus points awarded for the emphasis on art!
13. THE TAMING OF THE DREW by Stephanie Kate Strohm Read and loved Ms. Strohm's LOVE A LA MODE a few years back and wanted to try another of her books. A fun summer read for all of you theater nerds (or for everyone who wishes they were a theater nerd!).
14. NIGHT MUSIC by Jenn Marie Thorne A lyrical YA contemporary romance featuring two musicians.
15. MAGIC UNLEASHED by Devri Walls An intense YA urban fantasy that takes place in two dimensions.
16. IN ANOTHER TIME by Jillian Cantor I'm a pushover for women's, historical, and speculative fiction, and IN ANOTHER TIME was a combination of all three. Read this one really quickly.
17. THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA by Axie Oh A vivid retelling of a Korean folktale. One of my favorite reads this year.
17. THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA by Axie Oh A vivid retelling of a Korean folktale. One of my favorite reads this year.
18. AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS by B.B. Alston Harry Potter meets Men in Black, but with supernatural creatures. My thirteen-year-old and I both really enjoyed it.
19. THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES by Jennifer E. Smith I'm a huge fan of Ms. Smith's YA contemporary romances, and this one held my interest, too.
20. I MUST BETRAY YOU by Ruta Sepetys A heartbreaking novel set during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Beautifully written as always.
21. HEALING HEARTS by Sarah M. Eden A sweet historical romance between a Wild West doctor and the mail-order nurse he also thought would be his bride.
22. THE SPLENDOR by Breanna Shields I love it when a book's setting is so lush and well-developed that it feels like an extra character. The titular hotel in Ms. Shields's THE SPLENDOR is both these things and more.
23. THE SLOW MARCH OF LIGHT by Heather B. Moore A novelized account of an incredible true story. When an ordinary soldier agrees to become a spy in Cold War-era East Germany, he never dreams that he'll get caught--until he winds up in a Soviet prison.
24. ASHES ON THE MOOR by Sarah M. Eden Can you tell I've got a thing for sweet historical romances? :) This one is set in a small mill town in Victorian England.
25. FLIRTING WITH FATE by J.C. Cervantes A delightful YA contemporary romance with a dash of fantasy and a touch of genealogy.
26. THE RED PALACE by June Hur A YA historical mystery set in the capital city when Korea was still called Joseon. I could have read this in one sitting.
27. THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN by Sarah M. Eden Another sweet historical romance, and probably the best one I read last year. Elizabeth and Fletcher are wildly successful penny dreadful authors who end up dueling behind their pseudonyms while falling in love in real life.
28. THE GENTLEMAN AND THE THIEF by Sarah M. Eden A companion novel to THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN that features two new leads.
29. DEFY THE NIGHT by Brigid Kemmerer Loved the fractured and multifaceted relationships in this first book of a new YA fantasy series.
30. THROW LIKE A GIRL by Sarah Henning The book combined two of my favorite things: football and YA contemporary romance.
31. FAMILY OF LIARS by E. Lockhart Ms. Lockhart's prose never disappoints. If you liked WE WERE LIARS, you'll almost surely like this one, too.
32. HEARTBREAKERS AND FAKERS by Cameron Lund A quick, breezy summer read featuring a love rectangle and a pair of jilted exes who decide to start fake dating and inevitably fall in love.
33. THE MERCHANT AND THE ROGUE by Sarah M. Eden Another companion novel to THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN. I could read these all day!
34. HOLLOW FIRES by Samira Ahmed A heartbreaking but important read.
35. ENDURING FREEDOM by Jawad Arash and Trent Reedy An incredibly impactful story that's essentially a novelization of how the authors met in real life during the war in Afghanistan. I had the amazing opportunity to hear these two talk last summer, while Mr. Arash was still in the midst of fleeing his homeland after the United States withdrew and the Taliban took Kabul.
36. THE SILENCE OF BONES by June Hur Another YA historical mystery set in Korea when it was still called Joseon. The relationship between Seol and the police inspector she works for was particularly interesting.
37. TIPS FOR MAGICIANS by Celesta Rimington A bittersweet MG contemporary with a dash of fantasy and a healthy dose of hope.
38. THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS by June Hur See THE RED PALACE and THE SILENCE OF BONES above. The setting in this one was especially atmospheric, and Ms. Hur clearly has a knack for coming up with titles.
39. I GUESS I LIVE HERE NOW by Claire Ahn I discovered k-dramas last year and must have been subconsciously drawn to other Korean stories because I randomly picked up a bunch at the library, too. I really enjoyed this book set in present-day Seoul.
40. KEEP YOU CLOSE by Karen Cleveland Found this one on clearance at my local grocery store! I don't read many adult thrillers, but this one kept me reading.
41. THOUGHTS & PRAYERS by Bryan Bliss Also found this one on clearance at my local grocery store! Tackling gun violence in a YA novel is a tall task, but Mr. Bliss took a unique approach by telling us what happened to three loosely connected survivors.
42. THE REVOLUTION THAT WASN'T: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors by Spencer Jakab A most intriguing look at 2021's weird stock market machinations. Nonfiction usually takes me a few days longer to read, but I galloped through this book.
43. THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova Very methodically paced, but as an homage to--and, in some respects, a continuation of--Bram Stoker's DRACULA, it was pretty much perfect.
44. YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS by Melissa See Another YA contemporary romance featuring two musicians. I also appreciated the disabled representation.
45. THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU THE MOST by Medina I randomly picked up a handful of books last year featuring adopted MCs, but this was the only one written by an adopted author. As a fellow adoptee, I appreciated that.
46. THE OTHER SIDE OF PERFECT by Mariko Turk A YA contemporary about a rising ballerina who suffers a career-ending injury and auditions for her high school's musical to find new meaning in life. As a midlist author struggling to find her place, I related to Alina and the emotional journey she went on over the course of this book. One of my favorite reads last year.
47. THE HIKE TO HOME by Jess Rinker An engaging romp just off the Appalachian Trail to find a legendary castle. I think this is just the sort of vicarious adventure MG readers want to go on.
48. THE PAPER GIRL OF PARIS by Jordyn Taylor Told in alternating timelines, this YA novel combines a charming contemporary romance with a historical spy thriller. Both timelines ended up holding my attention (which is really hard to do!).
49. WHITE SMOKE by Tiffany D. Jackson I don't read a ton of horror, and the horror I do read is generally of the MG variety, so I started reading this with a fair amount of trepidation. I needn't have worried. Ms. Jackson nailed the tension and the escalating stakes without drifting into gore. I especially loved the twist!
49. WHITE SMOKE by Tiffany D. Jackson I don't read a ton of horror, and the horror I do read is generally of the MG variety, so I started reading this with a fair amount of trepidation. I needn't have worried. Ms. Jackson nailed the tension and the escalating stakes without drifting into gore. I especially loved the twist!
50. SOLO by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess THE CROSSOVER will forever be one of my all-time favorite novels-in-verse, so I'll pick up just about anything Mr. Alexander writes, no questions asked. The fact that this novel-in-verse was about a young man on the hunt for his birth mom was a delightful surprise.
51. THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD by Emily Henry This book is problematic from a representation standpoint, but it did hold my interest and compelled me to keep reading.
52. THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU by Sarah Henning Another of my favorite reads last year. A gender-swapped Princess Bride? Yes, please!
53. KIKI KALLIRA BREAKS A KINGDOM by Sangu Mandanna MG fantasies based on Indian mythology are quite common these days, but I really liked how this one incorporated art.
54. THE QUEEN WILL BETRAY YOU by Sarah Henning The sequel to Ms. Henning's THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU. If that one's concept reeled me in, this one's intricate worldbuilding and complex relationships kept me thoroughly hooked.
55. RIVALS by Katharine McGee The third installment in Ms. McGee's American Royals series. Am I aware these books are essentially soap operas? Absolutely, yes. Will that make me stop reading them? Absolutely not.
56. THE KING WILL KILL YOU by Sarah Henning A fitting conclusion to Ms. Henning's trilogy. Though the story did feel thinner (in all likelihood because Ms. Henning originally envisioned this as a duology), I was so wrapped up in the characters I couldn't have cared less:)
57. GALLANT by V.E. Schwab I'll always be a fan of Ms. Schwab's alluring prose, and though the pace of this book could be lovingly described as deliberate, I loved how much life she breathed into each of the book's settings.
58. THE HAWTHORNE LEGACY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes A fitting sequel to Ms. Barnes's THE INHERITANCE GAMES. Thank goodness Avery finally picks a boy in this one! :)
59. THE GIRL FROM EARTH'S END by Tara Dairman A sweet story about developing your talents to save a family member. I especially liked the lush fantastical world in which this novel was set.
60. THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by Tiffany D. Jackson Saw this one at the library after reading WHITE SMOKE and immediately snatched it up. This book was creepy, heartbreaking, and incredibly brave. (And quite a bit bloodier than WHITE SMOKE, admittedly, though I wouldn't say the descriptions were too graphic.) Maddy, the MC, turns out to be many things--including a mass murderer.
Would still love to hear your favorite reads and recommendations of 2022!
