My 2022 Anticipated Releases: What I Thought

It’s that time of year again! At the beginning of 2022, I shared a post titled 45 2022 Releases I Can’t Wait to Read. Now, I’m back for an update on which ones I actually read this year (it turns out I’ve only read 16 of them, which is pretty terrible?!) and what I thought about them. Read on for all of my thoughts, and let me know in the comments which 2022 releases you especially enjoyed.

2022 Books I Was Excited About

When You Get the Chance, Emma Lord (release date: January 4th; YA contemporary)

I preordered this book because Emma Lord is one of my auto-buy authors, and I’m glad I did! I think my review is all I need to say: “THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE BOOK IN THE WORLD OMG I CANNOT. The book of my theater nerd DREAMS!!!… There was a lot of happy shrieking and squealing that went on when I finished this book. Emma Lord gets me.”

My Fine Fellow, Jennieke Cohen (release date: January 11th; YA historical fiction)

I DNF’d this book. According to my review, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t exciting enough to motivate me to finish.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, Meg Long (release date: January 11th; YA sci-fi)

The Iditarod, but make it sci-fi? Give it to me! Honestly, this book gave me hope–I complain a lot about how there is nothing new under the sun in YA (especially in fantasy or sci-fi), but this felt fresh. A tightly-written, fast-paced story full of genetically engineered wolves, gangsters, and snow goblins all trying to survive on a brutally icy planet, I was absolutely riveted. My expectations were high, but they still were blown out of the water! I got this for Joshua for Christmas.

Rise: My Story, Lindsey Vonn (release date: January 11th; memoir)

This was pretty good!

Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School, Kendra James (release date: January 18th; memoir)

Another solid memoir. (I read memoirs really fast and retain nothing so that’s why I have nothing to say about these, lol.)

Wishing Upon the Same Stars, Jacquetta Nammar Feldman (release date: February 1st; MG contemporary)

This was REALLY good on so many levels. I teared up multiple times. “Maybe peace will begin here, with us. Maybe, we can keep holding on.” “Sometimes home is the place you never thought it would be.”

One for All, Lillie Lainoff (release date: March 8th; YA historical adventure fiction)

I was SO excited for this book, which is an #ownvoices Three Musketeers retelling where the main character has POTS. It was amazing to read a fiction book where a character has one of the same chronic illnesses I do! Definitely recommend this one. “Sick girls had to fight for what they could get.”

Sisters of Night and Fog, Erika Robuck (release date: March 1st; adult historical fiction)

This was so good. I couldn’t put it down!!!

Being Mary Bennet, J.C. Peterson (release date: March 15th; YA contemporary)

I loved this from the very first page–I can’t say enough about it! I rooted for Marnie and felt her triumphs and downfalls so acutely (and you gotta love a girl who makes a pro/con list about whether to name her future cats with a literary theme). The characters, their relationships, and how they changed were done so well. I literally screamed my way through the last chapters and I’m already so excited to read this again. “Let’s be difficult women.”

Always Jane, Jenn Bennett (release date: March 29th; YA contemporary)

I am head over heels for anything Jenn Bennett writes. While this was not my favorite of her books, it’s a great story with a solid setting and characters. I also really appreciated and related to the aphasia representation as I experience aphasia with my seizures.

The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn (release date: March 29th; adult historical fiction)

The story of a quiet bookworm who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper? Um, yes please! I tore through this one! “I believe in books.”

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, Simu Liu (release date: May 3rd; memoir)

I teared up at the end because I love seeing marginalized individuals succeed in the arts, and because I related to Simu’s long and often misunderstood journey to success. “It is one thing to have a dream and another altogether to own it–boldly, fearlessly–in its entirety.”

Forging Silver into Stars, Brigid Kemmerer (release date: May 3rd; YA fantasy)

This is the start of a new book series set in the world of Brigid’s Cursebreakers series! It was so fun to be back in that world with the characters all grown up, but still themselves. And we love disabled MC’s. (Be warned it’s definitely steamier than her other stuff, though.)

Breathe and Count Back from Ten, Natalia Sylvester (release date: May 10th; YA contemporary)

My expectations for this book were high… and they were blown away!! The #ownvoices disability rep was SO good and I related to it so much. The part about scars and how people call you a warrior, like they need to glorify pain to accept it, really hit me. I loved the concept of Mermaid Cove. And Alex was just the sweetest.

Tokyo Dreaming, Emiko Jean (release date: May 31st; YA contemporary)

Unfortunately, this sequel fell flat for me, and I DNF’d it.

Before Takeoff, Adi Alsaid (release date: June 7th; YA contemporary)

This book had a weird premise and I almost ended up not reading it, but it’s set in the Atlanta airport and that intrigued me, so I picked it up… and then DNF’d because I had no idea what was happening or why.

2022 Books I Haven’t Read Yet

Here are the releases that I was really looking forward to, but didn’t get around to reading (there are just so many books to be read, ya know?):

God, Technology, and the Christian Life, Tony Reinke (release date: January 25th; Christian nonfiction)This Woven Kingdom, Tahereh Mafi (release date: February 1st; YA fantasy) (I got this from the library but then never got around to reading it haha)Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies, Laura Thompson (release date: March 1st; nonfiction) (same here hahaha)Lines of Courage, Jennifer A. Nielsen (release date: May 17th; MG historical fiction)You, Me, and Our Heartstrings, Melissa See (release date: May 31st; YA contemporary) (I don’t know how I haven’t read this yet? I just checked and my library does have it, so I put it on hold. Because–Julliard, and disability rep [aka two of my favorite things]? I am SO here for this!)Following Jesus in a Digital Age, Jason Thacker (release date: June 14th; Christian nonfiction)Wishtress, Nadine Brandes (release date: September 13th; YA fantasy)Greywaren, Maggie Stiefvater (release date: October 18th; YA fantasy/paranormal) (I read a chapter or two but just couldn’t get into it. I need to try again, because I love the Dreamer trilogy)Chain of Thorns, Cassandra Clare (release date: November 1st; fantasy fiction) (I need to read this!!! I love these characters so much!)

Maybe they’ll happen in 2023. And finally, here are some additional releases that were lower on my radar but I also have not yet read (this is so bad lol):

The Storyteller, Kathryn Williams (release date: January 11th; YA) Suffering Wisely and Well: The Grief of Job and the Grace of God , Eric Ortlund (release date: January 11th; Christian nonfiction)Anatomy: A Love Story, Dana Schwartz (release date: January 18th; YA historical mystery) Demystifying Decision-Making: A Practical Guide , Aimee Joseph (release date: January 18th; Christian nonfiction)Castles in Their Bones, Laura Sebastian (release date: February 1st; YA fantasy) Mirror Girls , Kelly McWilliams (release date: February 8th; YA historical fiction) The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea , Axie Oh (release date: February 22nd; YA fantasy) Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of Our Age and How We Were Made for So Much More , Jen Oshman (release date: March 22nd; Christian nonfiction) This Rebel Heart , Katherine Locke (release date: April 5th; YA historical fantasy) Debating Darcy, Sayantani DasGupta (release date: April 5th; YA contemporary) Love from Scratch, Kaitlyn Hill (release date: April 5th; YA contemporary) I Will Protect You: A True Story of Twins Who Survived Auschwitz, Eva Mozes Kor (release date: April 5th; memoir)Tears and Tossings: Hope in the Waves of Life, Sarah Walton (release date: May 2nd; Christian nonfiction)When the Wolf Camped at Our Door: My Childhood in the Great Depression, Aileen Kilgore Henderson (release date: May 24th; memoir)Together We Burn, Isabel Ibanez (release date: May 31st; YA fantasy)The Wonderland Trials, Sara Ella (release date: July 12th; YA dystopian fantasy) (Alice in Wonderland retelling)The Dragon’s Promise, Elizabeth Lim (release date: August 30th; YA fantasy) A Wilderness of Stars, Shea Ernshaw (release date: November 29th; YA fantasy)

What were your favorite 2022 releases? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!