Best Books I Read in Fall 2022: Reading Recap

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Best Books I Read Fall 2022

Best Books I Read in Fall 2022 – Reading Recap

This is a relatively new thing I’ve been trying out. I’ve been posting most-anticipated reading lists for the season, with my most looked-forward-to new young adult and middle grade releases and why I’m excited about them. Then at the end of the season, I post a look back at the list following up. How many books from the list did I actually read? Which were my favorites? So. Here we are with a list of the best books I read in fall 2022. Let’s get to it!

How many books from my Most-Anticipated Fall Reading List did I actually read?

I created two separate posts to talk about upcoming fall books, one for middle grade and one for young adult with 37 books total. This time, I managed to read all the books on my most-anticipated lists plus about 15 others that are a combination of last-minute requests or books from earlier in the year that I finally managed to read. Here are a few highlights from those 15.

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: This graphic novel was longlisted for the National Book Award and tells the story of Olympic Medalist Tommie Smith as he lifted a black-gloved fist to protest the treatment of Black athletes in the United States.

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: I’m not usually a horror girl, but so many things about this book hooked me. The post-apocalyptic setting. The escape from a traumatic, abusive cult. Love in the midst of pandemic and disaster. I loved it. Though I was eagerly looking forward to this one, somehow it didn’t make it onto my most-anticipated list.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: This has been a great year for me with reading novels in verse, but this one is my favorite of all. I loved the magical Prague setting. The sweet, slow burn romance. It was all beautiful and fantastic.

Best Books I Read in Fall 2022: Favorites by Familiar Authors

In the last few months, I read 15 books by authors I’d read before. Brigid Kemmerer (9 books) and Courtney Summers (6 books) are the authors I’ve read most. For most of the other authors on the list, I’ve only read one book by them before this fall.

Here are my favorite YA, MG, and nonfiction titles from all the books I read by familiar authors.

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: Honestly, I liked this one even more than THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END. I think it perfectly celebrated its predecessor and brought entirely new ideas and characters into the Death Cast world. This was a total win for me.

The Other Side of the River by Alda P. Dobbs

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: I really enjoyed Dobbs’ debut novel and the first book about Petra Luna, but this one is even better. I loved the community she weaves around her and the surprises those connections bring.

The Antiracist Kid by Tiffany Jewell

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: I think this is the only nonfiction title by a familiar author that I read this fall. I love that this book makes justice and activism accessible to kids. It was a very easy read and very encouraging.

Best Books I Read in Fall 2022: Favorites by a New Author or Author New to Me

The majority of the books that I read this fall were by authors who were new to me. Some of them were debut authors, which is always exciting. You never really know what you’re going to get with a debut, so I feel like when a debut is amazing, it’s all the more awesome to feel like you’ll get to follow that author’s writing right from the beginning.

Some of the authors who are new to me are authors I’ve really wanted to try for a long time. For the first time this fall, I read books by Crystal Maldonado, Justina Ireland, Dean Atta, and Susan Dennard. All of them are authors I’ve heard amazing things about and just hadn’t managed to read yet. My reading list only gets longer the more great authors I discover!

At any rate, here are my favorite books by authors I’d never read before this fall. I chose one each for YA, MG, nonfiction, and backlist books.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: I don’t know what I expected going into this book, but I was completely blown away. The forest is creepy and the small community feels so real with its prejudices and complex connections. And… ugh Jay. (I loved Winnie and Jay!)

Ravenfall by Kalynn Josephson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: I adore this book with its cat-who-is-not-a-cat and its sentient inn filled with a magic-wielding family. And the boy on his own looking for answers. This was the book I didn’t know I needed.

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: I had heard really great things about the adult version of this book, so when I saw that there was a young adult version, I jumped at the chance to read and review it here. I loved the introspective questions, the history and ecology lessons woven together in perfect harmony.

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: A beautifully written novel in verse following a biracial gay boy as he comes of age in London and discovers drag.

Book that Surprised Me the Most

Reading a lot of new authors gives me a LOT of room to be surprised by a book, and I love that. I do enjoy the security of reading a book by an author I’m familiar with and having a really high likelihood that I’ll enjoy the book. But I also like to gamble and see what other voices are bringing to the book world. This season, I’d say that gambling more than paid off because several books completely blew me away in ways I couldn’t have predicted.

It Looks Like Us by Allison Ames

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: Did I mention that I’m not usually into horror? I couldn’t get enough of the Antarctic setting. The tenuous friendships disrupted by an alien or infection. Also, there’s a wildly rich, rocket launching, electric car manufacturing guy named Anton Rusk. Lol.

Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | My Review

What you need to know: Another title longlisted for the National Book Award– and so deservedly! Lotus is vibrant and talented. I loved the way she heard music in everything.

Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Review to Come

What you need to know: This one had been on my TBR for years. A journalist puts together a series of interviews and research on indirect aggression and bullying between girls. It’s a bit of a harrowing but necessary read.

What are the best books you read this past fall?

Now I’ve shared all the best books I read in fall 2022. What are your favorite books that you read this fall? Tell me about your favorites so I can check them out, too. Did you read any of the books on my lists? What did you think of them? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought.

Review: 5-Minute Devotions for Teens by Laura L. Smith

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5-Minute Devotions for Teens: A Guide to God and Mental Health
Laura L. Smith
Zonderkidz
Published December 6, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About 5-Minute Devotions for Teens

5-Minute Devotions for Teens: A Guide to God and Mental Health removes the stigma on mental health and advises Christian teens what they can do when they are depressed and anxious. Scattered throughout the book are tips to help teens maintain good mental health practices such as meditation, disconnecting from social media and technology, saying affirmations, and much more.

Each day includes a Scripture verse, short devotional, and a prayer or prompt.

This 100-day devotional will help teens 13 to 17 years old:

deal with mental health issues, depression, and/or anxiety.
re-enter normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic.
develop an authentic relationship with God and deepen their faith.
5-Minute Devotions for Teens is an affordable resource that can be read again and again.

My Review

Laura L. Smith’s books always seem to find me at a moment when I need the messages within them. This devotional is broken down into 100 one page sessions. Each one begins with a verse from the Bible and then a few paragraphs discuss how the verse relates to our lives. The paragraphs always encourage, offering compassion, wisdom and even humor.

The subtitle of the book says it’s about God and mental health. I feel like that can be a fraught combination for a lot of us, so I want to speak to that for a second. The way I read the book was with an intent to encourage and uplift. The author does make it clear that getting professional help and treatment for mental health needs like depression and anxiety are really good things. She also offers some basic wisdom on how to care for our bodies with good mental health in mind. Things like, going outside, tracking our thought life and focusing on gratitude. Stuff like that.

Each page closes with a journal prompt to get you thinking about what’s happening in your life and help you identify parts of your life that aren’t healthy or good for you and parts that are. I like the simplicity and straightforwardness of the writing and how overall positive it is.

Gift Ideas

I think 5-MINUTE DEVOTIONS FOR TEENS would make a great gift — or even a stocking stuffer! It’s pretty small– for a teen who’s interested in deepening their Christian faith. I think the book perfectly lives up to its name. The devotions took only a moment to read and always led me on some interesting thought journeys.

If you’re looking for something a little meatier and more in-depth but like the sound of this, check out RESTORE MY SOUL by Laura L. Smith, which explores 30 Psalms, or HOW SWEET THE SOUND, which explores 30 beloved hymns. I really liked both of those, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Contains verses from the Bible with prayer and journaling prompts to help readers explore and deepen Christian faith.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of 5-MINUTE DEVOTIONS FOR TEENS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Legend of Brightblade by Ethan M. Aldridge

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The Legend of Brightblade
Ethan M. Aldridge
Quill Tree Books
March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Legend of Brightblade

A young prince must learn to be his own kind of hero in this stand-alone graphic novel from the acclaimed creator of the Estranged duology. Perfect for fans of the Amulet series and The Witch Boy.

Young Prince Alto dreams of being a hero like his mother, the Lady Brightblade. Her well-known legend was woven into stories by the magical bard who fought by her side.

The kingdom may be at peace now, but Alto believes that the world still needs heroes. He has been learning the bard’s magic, and has grown restless with royal life. Determined to have an adventure of his own, Alto runs away from the palace.

On his journey, he finds himself making new friends and encountering new and exciting magic. But when he discovers that there are dangers threatening the kingdom, Alto realizes that he might not be able to handle them alone–and making his mark as a hero is harder than the stories made it seem.

My Review

I received a copy of one of Aldridge’s other books for review, and since then, I’ve bought two of his books– this one and ESTRANGED. I loved both the books in the Estranged duology, so when I spotted this book on Goodreads, I added it to my shopping list. The color palette in the other duology appealed to me a lot more than the colors of this book. Now that I’ve read it, though, I think they’re perfect for the vibe in this story.

So basically the story is a troupe of (magic-wielding) bards who fight evil with music. Just that premise alone is enough to hook me into the story. Pair that with Aldridge’s fantastic worldbuilding and character expressions, and I feel like it’s impossible not to love this one. Alto cracked me up with his ideas for the group’s name. (Letting someone else choose was probably the best idea!) I loved both Ebbe and Clarabel, Alto’s friends and troupe members. And I loved the background story about the three warriors who defeated the dragon before the story begins.

All in all, this was a spunky, fun story, every page entertaining. I’m super glad I read it, and will absolutely be buying/reading more by Ethan Aldridge in the future.

Content Notes for The Legend of Brightblade

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
The main characters are from different (made up) races.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
List.

Violent Content
Some (cartoon-like) battle scenes and situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Ironhand by Charlie Fletcher

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Ironhand (Stoneheart #2)
Charlie Fletcher
Hodder Children’s Books
Published October 1, 2007

Amazon | Audible | Goodreads

About Ironhand

Now that George Chapman has upset the fragile truce between the warring statues of London, he has been drawn into a war that will test his mettle. He and Edie, a glint who can see the past, may have succeeded in their quest to find the Stoneheart, but their journey is far from over.

Edie and the Gunner, a statue of a World War I soldier, have been captured by the Walker, and it’s up to George to save them. But first he must deal with the three strange veins, made of marble, bronze and stone, that have begun to grow out of his hand and curl around his wrist. Legend has it that unless he successfully completes three challenges, the veins will continue up his forearm, and eventually pierce through his heart.

As George struggles to find the strength within to face the choice he has made, to take the Hard Way, he is determined to use his power for good—even as others wish to harness it for its great potential for evil.

My Review

It looks like IRONHAND is out of print, which is really sad, because I liked it a lot. I listened to the audiobook version, which is narrated by Jim Dale. His performance is, as always, fantastic.

The story begins with a section that kind of reminds readers what happened in the first book, which was perfect for me, since I read STONEHEART more than a year ago. I’ve thought about continuing the series a bunch of times since reading STONEHEART, which is usually a pretty good indicator that I’ll actually do it. If a book sticks with me the way this one has, I feel like it’s worth the investment.

I really enjoyed getting back into the London with living statues and following George, Edie, and the Gunner through a new adventure. I love Edie’s indomitable courage. She is fierce and never gives up. The thing that really struck me this time about George is the way he has the power to change things.

For example, he winds up befriending a gargoyle, whom he calls Spout. Only certain human statues are supposed to be George’s allies. Gargoyles should be working against him, but perhaps because he helps this one and gives it a name, it changes its allegiance. It begins trying to help and protect him. There was something about that relationship that struck deep for me. I loved both the story of the friendship between the two of them, but also then Spout’s role in the story. He helps George understand who he is and what he can do.

And, yet again, I love the Gunner. He’s loyal and protective and smart. Edie doesn’t really have anyone in her life she can count on. So, I feel like that makes her relationship with the Gunner even more incredible. He never stops fighting for her. I love his story in the book so much, too.

I might have liked IRONHAND better than the first one? I’m not sure. I liked it a lot, and I’m really excited to read the third book in the series now. If you like magical adventure stories like THE STORM KEEPER’S ISLAND by Catherine Doyle, you definitely need to check out this series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
George and Edie are both white. Most other characters are statues.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Statues come to life and are either working to help George and Edie or harm them, depending on the nature of the statues. George is a Maker. He can magically create things from stone, but if he doesn’t fulfill his promises, he will die. Edie has the ability to see history or memories witnessed by stone or statues.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief but scary battle violence.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Up All Night edited by Laura Silverman

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Up All Night: 13 Stories Between Sunset and Sunrise
Edited by Laura Silverman
Algonquin Young Readers
Published July 13, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Up All Night

When everyone else goes to bed, the ones who stay up feel like they’re the only people in the world. As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible.

It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love—for finding yourself.

Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep into these rarely seen, magical hours.

Full contributor list: Brandy Colbert, Kathleen Glasgow, Maurene Goo, Tiffany D. Jackson, Amanda Joy, Nina LaCour, Karen M. McManus, Anna Meriano, Marieke Nijkamp, Laura Silverman, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters, Francesca Zappia.

My Review

I’ve read stories by about a third of the authors with stories in this book. Lots more of them have been on my TBR list for a long time, so I was excited to read this collection in order to sample some of those authors and some new ones, too. Here’s what I thought about some of my favorites from UP ALL NIGHT:

“Under Our Masks” by Julian Winters

This is the first time I’ve read anything by Julian Winters, and I feel like I’ve been missing out. I loved this casual super hero story. In just a few pages, I felt like I knew the characters and had a sense of the city where they were. I also loved the anticipation as it built up toward the end of the story.

“Missing” by Kathleen Glasgow

I feel like I’m kind of on a roll with Kathleen Glasgow’s storytelling. I just finished THE AGATHAS, which I loved, and YOU’D BE HOME NOW tore out my heart in the best possible ways. So my expectations for her work were really high, and this story absolutely delivered for me. It’s intense, creepy, and powerful. I think it’s my favorite from the whole collection.

“Old Rifts and Snowdrifts” by Kayla Whaley

This story took advantage of some of my favorite romance tropes and centered them around a wheelchair-bound character. I loved the aching romance and the swirling snowstorm blanketing the world outside the flower shop. Also, it was a perfect nighttime, snowed-in-together story.

“The Ghost of Goon Creek” by Francesca Zappia

This is another one that had expert setup, so that in just a few words, I felt like I knew the main character and could understand how she felt about a troop of outsiders stomping through a grief-bound tradition of hers. And yet… I loved watching the relationships morph and change, and seeing her realize she had an opportunity for new friendships, and to wrestle with how to move into that. Great stuff. I loved this one, too. Francesca Zappia is another author that I am new to, but now really want to read more of.

I liked lots of the other stories in this collection, too. The first couple were the weakest for me in terms of hooking me into reading, but there are so many really good ones here. I’m super glad I had a chance to read UP ALL NIGHT.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Rep varies per story, but the collection is pretty diverse, featuring LGBT+, black, Latinx, and disabled characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Varies per story. Extreme profanity appears in some stories, used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl. Kiss between two boys.

Spiritual Content
One story features ghosts. Another features legends about a ghost.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. In one story, girls explore an abandoned mental institution and face danger and harm.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol in at least one story.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Earnshaw

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

A Wilderness of Stars
Shea Earnshaw
Simon & Schuster
Published November 29, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Wilderness of Stars

In this magical romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep, a mysterious illness cursing the land forces a teen girl astronomer to venture across the wilderness in search of the stars’ message that will, hopefully, save them all.

If magic lives anywhere, it’s in the stars…

​Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But after her mother dies, Vega begins to see stars falling from the sky. It’s an omen she can no longer ignore, forcing her to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. But the outside world turns out to be much more terrifying than Vega could have imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.

What Vega keeps to herself is that she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from generation to generation—and she is the only one who carries the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to the cure. And so when locals spot the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an astronomer—chaos erupts as the threats her mother warned her about become all too real.

Fearing for her life, Vega will be rescued by a girl named Cricket who will lead her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos. On the run from the men who are hunting her, Vega, Cricket, and Noah will set out across the plains in search of the cure the stars speak of. But as the lines between friend and prisoner begin to blur, Vega must decide whether she will protect the sacred knowledge of an astronomer. Or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.

My Review

I liked a lot of things about this book. The writing is really cool. It’s a little bit artistic, but not so flowery that the story doesn’t feel real, if that makes any sense. It has a post-apocalyptic feel that reminded me a little of THE BALLAD OF DINAH CALDWELL.

The characters sometimes tripped me up, though. At one point, two girls are running from a group of men who seem intent on severely harming them, and they keep passing a bottle of liquor back and forth between them and drinking it. I was confused because it didn’t seem like something that someone in fear of their life would do. Drinking is going to dehydrate you and slow you down, which both seem like bad things?? So I was confused.

There’s also a thing about Vega’s tattoos needing to be covered. She decides to leave her hair down and move carefully so that her hair doesn’t expose her tattoo. I kept thinking she should use a scarf or something more reliable. She believes her life is in danger, and she’s trusting her hair not to move? That seemed a little strange to me. If she explained that she couldn’t wear a scarf without calling more attention to herself or arousing suspicion, that would have made more sense. She’s in several dangerous situations where she depends only on her hair, so I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I will say that the way the story unfolds was really cool. There were things I looked forward to happening, and when they did, that was super satisfying. There were other things I did not predict that kind of blew my mind.

All in all, I would say I still enjoyed the book. I wish some of the little things were explained better or made more sense, but on the whole, I loved Vega, Noah, and Cricket so much. And I loved the directions the overall story went, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
I’m not sure of the representation in the story. Some of the character descriptions were a little bit confusing to me. At least one minor character is described as having copper skin and curly hair.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, they undress in front of one another and kiss. It’s hinted that they have sex as well.

Spiritual Content
Vega tells some of the mythological stories behind the constellations in the sky.

A group of people believe that the last Astronomer can cure the plague that is killing people.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A violent band of men terrorize people, executing anyone who doesn’t cooperate with them, charging money from all businesses for “protection.” Descriptions of battle and gun fatalities. A man interrogates someone, preparing to torture them.

Drug Content
Teen characters drink alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of A WILDERNESS OF STARS in exchange for my honest review.