My reads of 2022
Every New Year, I set myself a goal of books to read by the end of the year – in 2022, I vowed to read 20 books, which, I’m proud to say, I exceeded. This number has decreased significantly since I had my kid, but I’m working on increasing it steadily as the years go on. Bear with me.
But because I write down each book I read to keep track of what number I’m on, I thought I’d list them out here along with my thoughts on them because…well, why not? Reflecting back on these, I found I had a really great year for reading - there’s very few on this list that I didn’t 100% love. And even the ones that fell below 100%, it wasn’t by much.
Get ready for a lot of thrillers, a lot of sarcastic voices, and a lot of YA.
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
This book always intrigued me but I worried it would be a little boring – but oh my god, it was not. This ended up being in my top three books of the year. Despite the fact that the premise sounds a little slow, I couldn’t stop reading. The writing was so smart, so emotional, and just so good. I’ve recommended it to loads of my friends.
2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osmon
Yeah, yeah, I know this book has been a bananas chart topper and I’m a giant cliché for reading it, but I loved it, so leave me alone. It was genuinely funny, and I love an unusual murder mystery. Without giving too much away, it felt at times that the twist and connection to it was tenuous to the central characters. I prefer when the culprit has been right under your nose the entire time. But even so, I really enjoyed it and have the second one in the series queued up; I just need to find time to read it.
3. The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson
Book two of the Truly Devious trilogy, and I was here for it. I loved the remote private school setting, I loved the flashbacks to the 1920’s. Maybe not as much as the first one, but clearly not enough to hate it because book four is…
4. The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
Book three! I was desperate to read it. It was a satisfying ending to this trilogy for sure, with a baddie that, unlike TTMC, was actually part of the story. It felt satisfying and twisty, and overall great. I don’t want to get too much into it so as to avoid giving too much away, so please forgive this absolutely bare bones review.
5. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
I’ll admit, I selfishly picked this book up because mine kept getting compared to it, and while they’re wildly different stories, I do get the comparison. This book has such an incredible concept, and it’s written so earnestly and delicately. In spite of the title, I really was rooting for these characters to make it, but spoiler alert – the ending really is in the title. In spite of this disappointment, I still loved it.
6. The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
2022 was definitely a year for the Truly Devious crew. I liked this the least of the set, mostly because I think the 1920’s flashbacks/setting of the original trilogy was one of my most favourite aspects of the stories. This one was set in a summer camp, and while I did love that, it felt to me like too much was crammed into this story, almost as though that by the time we got to know the characters, we’re finding out the killer. It felt rushed, and I think it could’ve done with being split into at least two books.
7. The Arc by Benjamin Oliver
The end of an era! This was the close of Ben Oliver’s Loop trilogy, and I’ll admit, after the second book, I truly had no idea how the gang was going to foil the big plot. It looked pretty impossible. In any story where many deaths and a full apocalypse are inevitable, there’s always going to be an element of disappointment, but the ending still felt like it fit the book. Though, was it meant to be ambiguous, or did I just miss something?
8. Something Certain, Maybe by Sara Bernard
I originally read this book because Sara and I were going to be on a panel together for YALC. This meant that I didn’t have many expectations, but ended up being absolutely captivated by the writing and digging through the protagonist’s baggage. The story was incredibly relatable, not just because I too went to the University of East Anglia and lived in Norwich, but went into university thinking that I knew what I wanted to do and ultimately changed my mind a thousand times (as someone that age, with that kind of decision on their hands, does). I’ve since become a huge fan of Sara’s and have already pre-ordered her next book Where the Light Goes, whose premise sounds incredible.
9. Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth
This is without a doubt my favourite book of 2022 – it’s not even close. It was so smart, so funny, so well-written. And like, every element of it: the friends, the romance, the family parts. I absolutely rushed through it and wished like hell it wasn’t finished once I got to the end. It’s that good. If you haven’t read it, you really must.
10. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
I’d seen this book advertised everywhere and thought the premise was really intriguing. I’m a sucker for any kind of mystery, so a girl running away and a rag tag team of teenagers trying to find her was right up my alley. So it was surprising to me when it was actually the writing that drove this story for me – because oh my god, it is so funny. And so smart! Like, whip smart, to the point where I found myself jealous of how Casey McQuiston’s brain works. I love her writing for YA and need more of it ASAP.
11. Must Do Better by Kate Weston
I know this is probably controversial to say, but I think I might like MDB better than Diary of a Confused Feminist? Which honestly seems impossible, because I loved that book. The sequel to DoACF, MDB was another incredibly smart and funny book, and I think it captured really brilliantly a young person’s discovery of their sexuality when they didn’t even really know there was anything to be discovered.
12. Friends Don’t Tell by Nadz & Grace
This was another book that I read because I was on a panel with the authors at YALC. The premise is genius – two narratives, two friends that go to a music festival, only one survivor. The hook is addictive right from the first page, so I whipped through this, desperate to know how one of the girls died. I also love the idea of a narrator dying in a book mid-narrative, and this book didn’t disappoint!
13. Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
If you know me at all, you’ll know that Little Women is my favourite book of all time, and that Laurie ending up with Amy is the bane of my existence. So just the title of this book immediately sucked me in and I. Was. Obsessed. It filled every empty hole in my heart that Little Women left, and its premise was so clever; LW was written in two parts, so this book takes place as though it’s between the two narratives but still written by Jo and not Louisa May Alcott. It’s nostalgic, it’s sweet and, I’m not going to lie, pretty sexy.
14. The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
As you read above, I was obsessed with Not My Problem, so was super stoked to read this. And while I enjoyed it in parts, it felt like a first book, in that Not My Problem was (in my opinion) better written and pacier. The premise here – that two girls are acting out key moments from classic rom-coms’ falling in love montages – felt kind of out of left field to me, though the inevitable romance was a joy to watch evolve.
15. Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw
I practically attacked this book at YALC, I was so excited to buy it. I love all things Buffy lore, and after following Amy McCaw on social, knew she did too, which I can imagine helped influence Mina and the Undead. The Louisiana setting is so rich, and the scares in this book are really good. I also loved that the present (-ish, it takes place in the 90’s) was interwoven with the past, also a la Buffy. The second book in this series is definitely on my TBR list.
16. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
I listened to this book on Audible and holy guacamole, it is so good. Instead of focussing primarily (and often solely) on Jack the Ripper as many historical retellings do, this book chronicles the lives of the five women he killed, beginning with their births and ending at their deaths. Most narratives thus far just say that Jack the Ripper killed prostitutes, the end, but Hallie Rubenhold goes much deeper, revealing the complicated and often tragic circumstances that lead these women to live on the streets, and that in most cases, they weren’t prostitutes at all, just grossly misunderstood and written off by the media of that time. It’s such a gripping read, and I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone.
17. Infamous by Lex Croucher
I loved Reputation, so was eager to grab an early copy of Infamous at YALC. And honestly, I liked it even more! It’s about a young woman in Victorian England surrounded by artists while trying to find her own voice. In spite of the old timey tone, it felt super current, snappy, and very sarcastic (my favourite!). Plus, the romance is gorgeous, and so enjoyable to watch unfold.
18. Pumpkin by Julie Murphy
Julie Murphy is one of my favourite contemporary YA authors, so I was so stoked to have another book enter the Dumplin’-verse. And honestly, this might be my favourite addition. I adored the romance, I adored the storyline, of two outcasts running for prom king and queen after they were nominated as a joke. The only thing I didn’t love was the fact that Willowdean and her boyfriend Bo get a small storyline that felt really shoehorned in there. It detracted from what was otherwise a genuinely great book.
19. All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown
My goodness did I love this book. A very near-future post-apocalyptic romance? A thousand times yes please. There were times where this book felt a little directionless and I wondered where it was going, but it was still so well-written and was deeply anchored by the evolving romance. Plus, it was always really interesting seeing where the two main characters ended up on their journey down America’s east coast, and oddly very realistic (at least in my mind) of what the world would be like should a scary pandemic wipe the vast majority of us out.
20. Let’s Play Murder by Kesia Lupo
I was super lucky to get an advance copy of this book and, again, was very intrigued by the premise. It’s about five people that get trapped in a spooky VR murder mystery and start to actually die one by one. Though I don’t game much, I do like the lore, and the haunted house setting here was so rich and fantastic. Plus, I pride myself on being able to map out a story’s twist within the first third or so, but I was wrong about this one down to the last page. I was so disappointed in myself, but so impressed with the writing.
21. The Other Ones by Fran Hart
More haunted houses! More spooky vibes! God, I loved this book so much. It’s not at all what I thought it’d be, and while that might annoy some readers (my sister), I thought it was quite clever. Plus, the writing here is so beautiful and engaging, the characters beautifully drawn. It’s for sure in my top three books of 2022.
22. You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
Yet another genius premise. It’s about a girl whose boyfriend dies, and when she calls his phone to hear his voice on his voicemail one last time, he actually answers. I mean, can you even? It’s impeccable. To me, there are typically two types of YA writing styles: snappy and sentimental. This book fell into the latter category, which made for a nice change, as I tended to primarily read snappy books this year. It was a super emotional read, which oddly ended in a very satisfying way.
23. I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers
Woof, this book was heavy. Courtney Summers’ Sadie hit me like a lightning bolt when I first read it, and it’s a book I’ve never been able to forget. So I was mega stoked for I’m the Girl, which has all the same darkness and punch. It was surprisingly graphic for a YA book (in my opinion), but so incredibly written, so creepy, and so twisty. It cements Courtney Summers as one of my favourite contemporary YA authors for sure.
Next year, I’ve vowed to read 25 books, so stay tuned!