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2022's Young Adult Authors Reflect on an Excellent Year in YA Reading
When it comes to finding a great young adult reading recommendation, who better to ask for a suggestion (or four) than the people who write the books for a living?
We asked a handful of authors who released YA books in 2022 to reflect back on their year in reading and to select and sum up a few of their favorite young adult titles. You'll see their tastes ran the gamut, from epic fantasy to heartbreaking debuts, tender tales of love, and deliciously dark horror. Take a look at the stories that captured each author's imagination below.
Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments section, and add any tempting recommendations to your Want to Read shelf.
We asked a handful of authors who released YA books in 2022 to reflect back on their year in reading and to select and sum up a few of their favorite young adult titles. You'll see their tastes ran the gamut, from epic fantasy to heartbreaking debuts, tender tales of love, and deliciously dark horror. Take a look at the stories that captured each author's imagination below.
Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments section, and add any tempting recommendations to your Want to Read shelf.
"As both a reader and a writer, I’m always looking for books that give me a strong emotional experience—the kind where the plot twists are so shocking you need to physically set the book down for a good minute to recover, the romance so perfect you find yourself giggling in public, the characters’ pain so potent it feels like being kicked in the chest. So my favorite YA books this year delivered not only in terms of incredible writing, but also in making me cry, and I couldn’t be happier about it."
"I’m so, so delighted to be able to sum up my YA reading year as QUEER! And not just queer, but I found all kinds of books where I didn’t have to pick between queer representation and the dark, gripping stories I love; I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life to say that."
"I’d sum up my YA reading year as an inspiring refresher for my love of the age category—as both an author and reader of it—with emotional contemporaries especially capturing my heart."
"I had one of my best reading years in 2022. It’s been such a joy to debut with so many talented authors. My favorite YA reads were eclectic—to name a few, I loved the depth and truth of Riss M. Neilson’s characters in Deep in Providence; the optimistic apocalypse of Erik J. Brown’s All That’s Left in the World; the gritty and immersive worldbuilding of Deborah Falaye’s Blood Scion; and the fun, rivals-to-lovers romance of Ann Liang’s If You Could See the Sun."
Dhonielle Clayton, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, and Nicola Yoon
Authors of Whiteout
Authors of Whiteout
"Our reading year has been filled with beautiful Black love stories, because we wanted to get into the mood for our Whiteout tour. After a year of seeking out and diving into as many as we could find, these are our four favorites," says Ashley Woodfolk.
Tell us about your year of reading! Did you pick up any great YA books you'd recommend to your fellow Goodreads members?
And be sure to check out more recent articles.
And be sure to check out more recent articles.
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@John ....do you think that because they write books they can't also read them?!
Jasmine wrote: "@John ....do you think that because they write books they can't also read them?!" Many writers have a policy against reading within their genre to avoid accidentally steeling ideas.
I’m friends with a YA author and that’s almost all she reads.
Rebecca wrote: "Jasmine wrote: "@John ....do you think that because they write books they can't also read them?!" Many writers have a policy against reading within their genre to avoid accidentally steeling ideas." LOL! What a ridiculous claim. Every published author I know reads extensively within thier genre because they need to know what's in the market. Said authors are also fully capable of not accidentally "steeling" (or stealing, as its commonly spelled) ideas from others.
Fiona wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Jasmine wrote: "@John ....do you think that because they write books they can't also read them?!" Many writers have a policy against reading within their genre to avoid accidentally..."adding to Fiona's point:
It also gives them the opportunity to give recommendations for their fellow writers. It's a way of encouraging their readers to try someone else out. That's where all those nice quotes that are printed on the cover/inside come from.
Because, honestly, many of us are more likely to read a book if it's got the endorsement of an author we already love.
Perhaps those who read them.