Top 5 Books of 2022

The Team at YAbookscentral.com have worked hard all year reading wonderful books and creating insightful reviews to help readers find their next great read. The staff has reflected on their top 5 favorite books of 2022. We hope you are inspired to check out these great books too! Feel free to share your Top 5 books in the comments as well! Today we are featuring Kim Baccellia. She is a Staff Reviewer at YABC. Here are her Top 5 books of 2022 (In no particular order):

Title: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson Publisher: HeartDrum Release Date: May 10, 2022 About the Book: Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She’ll be working in her family’s ice-cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend—whose kisses never made her feel desire, only discomfort—and her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago without a word. But when she gets a letter from her biological father—a man she hoped would stay behind bars for the rest of his life—Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him, no matter how much he insists. While King’s friendship makes Lou feel safer and warmer than she would have thought possible, when her family’s business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can’t ignore her father forever. *Kim’s Review* Lou is biracial-half white and half Metis/Michif and works the summer at her uncle’s ice cream shack. She just broke up with Wyatt and wonders why she didn’t feel anything whenever they were together. Add to this her biological father has just been released from prison and is insisting on a relationship. Plus, King, an old friend, is back in town and brings up new feelings. Life can be bitter and sweet. What worked: Powerful coming of age story of secrets and intergenerational trauma of Indigenous women and girls set in a Canadian town. Strong, complex characters and relationships make this a total must-read. Perfect for the summer! There are many things that go on in this novel. There’s how Lou tries to figure out her sexuality and why she doesn’t feel any connection/chemistry when she’s with her boyfriend. Wyatt does come across as a real jerk more than a few times on how he handles Lou’s rejection. Lou’s biological father is then released from prison and insists strongly that she have a relationship with him. The emotions and struggles Lou goes through are very real here. This man raped her mother when she was sixteen. He now demands Lou recognize him as her father and basically stalks her. The intergeneration trauma of Indigenous girls and women is shown in a very real light. I really liked how her childhood friend King reappears in her life. He brings up his own secrets about why he suddenly left town and the reason why he didn’t tell her. His presence makes sense and I was hoping throughout the novel they’d connect. A big plus was how, after Lou shared her fears, he didn’t force her into something she didn’t want. Racism is also addressed in more than a few places. There’s racism against the Indigenous people in the Canadian prairies. One scene shows when Lou goes to a pharmacy to purchase a card for King’s father and how the clerk makes blatant racist, sexual comments to her. How some in town assume that all Indigenous people are alcoholics and how the police are seen as someone not to trust. The author does a good job portraying Lou’s friend Florence’s bipolar disorder. Lou and the others know Florence struggles with her illness. Kudos for not showing the stereotypical portrayal. As someone who grew up with a bipolar father, uncle, and brother I know personally that each person’s experience is different. Complex, realistic portrayal of a girl and the secrets not only in her life but in her town. *Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*

Title: Echoes of Grace by Guadalupe Garda McCall Publisher: Tu Books Release Date: August 16, 2022 About the Book: In Eagle Pass, Texas, Grace struggles to understand the echoes she inherited from her mother–visions which often distort her reality. One morning, as her sister, Mercy, rushes off to work, a disturbing echo takes hold of Grace, and within moments, tragedy strikes. Attending community college for the first time, talking to the boy next door, and working toward her goals all help Grace recover, but her estrangement from Mercy takes a deep toll. And as Grace’s echoes bring ghosts and premonitions, they also bring memories of when Grace fled to Mexico to the house of her maternal grandmother–a woman who Grace had been told died long ago. Will piecing together the truth heal Grace and her sister, or will the echoes destroy everything that she holds dear? *Kim’s Review* Grace struggles to understand her gift of ‘echoes’ where she has visions that distort her past. One morning when tragedy hits, the echoes come full force. One of them has her remembering three years previously when she escapes after her mother’s murder to Mexico. Once there she stumbles into the home of her grandmother. A grandmother she was told had died. But once there she finds her grandmother is very much alive. Past and present mingle together into a huge puzzle. A puzzle Grace tries to piece together to find the truth about what really happened to her mother. She needs to do this in order to heal both her and her sister. What worked: Wow. Just wow. I love McCall’s novels and this one held me on the edge of my seat. Such powerful writing! Grace has echoes or visions. This gift runs in her family. The relationship between Grace and her sister Mercy is so real and authentic. Grace is the nurturing one in the family and when tragedy hits, that’s when her visions grow stronger. Love the Mexican backdrop and how McCall shows a family in need of healing. There are secrets that hold back the family from moving forward. The weaving back and forth between time works. Readers see what happened three years previously in a small Mexican town. The trauma holds on to Grace’s grandmother’s house like a poltergeist with a horrific secret. The relationship between Grace and Mercy is a complex one. Just like how it is with sisters. There’s a bond that is tested and one that needs secrets to be revealed in order to heal. Atmospheric contemporary Latinx Gothic tale meets Rebecca where visions lead a girl to confront deadly secrets from the past in order to heal. Totally recommend! *Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*

Title: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds Publisher: Roaring Book Press Release Date: November 29, 2022 About the Book: What’s more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace? Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two. While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the town’s most prominent family―whose mother’s murder remains unsolved. As the three girls grow closer―Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance―the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t even imagine. With Mama Letty’s health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she’s built in Bardell―or if some things are better left buried. *Kim’s Review* What worked: Powerful, poignant coming-of-age story. Seventeen-year-old Avery moves from DC to a small town in Georgia to help her dying grandmother. There are many secrets that include intergenerational trauma. One of those secrets involves a tragedy with Avery’s family and anger that continues to haunt the family. I really loved this novel. Avery is biracial and when she is around her dying grandmother Letty she’s slowly able to piece together what happened one fateful day in Georgia to the grandfather she never knew. Avery hooks up with Jade, a girl whose family lives in a Southern Plantation and has their own secrets, and next-door neighbor Simone. The romance between Avery and Simone is a slow burn that has some similarities to their own mother’s friendship years ago. Readers follow Avery as she navigates such issues as homophobia, racism, and family trauma in a small Georgia town. Great pacing throughout with hope resonating at the end. Amazing, gripping tale of trauma that is felt for generations. A total must-read. *Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*

Title: Beneath the Wide Silk Sky by Emily Inouye Huey Publisher: Scholastic Press Release Date: October 18, 2022 About the Book: Sam Sakamoto doesn’t have space in her life for dreams. With the recent death of her mother, Sam’s focus is the farm, which her family will lose if they can’t make one last payment. There’s no time for her secret and unrealistic hope of becoming a photographer, no matter how skilled she’s become. But Sam doesn’t know that an even bigger threat looms on the horizon. On December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes attack the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. Fury towards Japanese Americans ignites across the country. In Sam’s community in Washington State, the attack gives those who already harbor prejudice an excuse to hate. As Sam’s family wrestles with intensifying discrimination and even violence, Sam forges a new and unexpected friendship with her neighbor Hiro Tanaka. When he offers Sam a way to resume her photography, she realizes she can document the bigotry around her — if she’s willing to take the risk. When the United States announces that those of Japanese descent will be forced into “relocation camps,” Sam knows she must act or lose her voice forever. She engages in one last battle to leave with her identity — and her family — intact. Emily Inouye Huey movingly draws inspiration from her own family history to paint an intimate portrait of the lead-up to Japanese incarceration, racism on the World War II homefront, and the relationship between patriotism and protest in this stunningly lyrical debut. *Kim’s Review* What worked: Wow, just wow. Powerful, poignant portrayal of a Japanese teen right before the internment camps. Huey nails Sam’s emotions with the backlash from her small Washington state community when Pearl Harbor is hit. Those who she thought were friends show their true character. But there are also small acts of kindness and courage from others. Sam’s desire to be a photographer is encouraged by Hiro, a neighbor. Their friendship grows while most in their town turn against the ‘enemy’. In this case, anyone who is Japanese American. Powerful and very moving. I was totally engrossed with Sam’s story. The scenes of racism in her high school and also among leaders of her community are authentic and painful. Stories like these need to be shared. It reminds me of another equally powerful story by George Takei of his family and his time in Internment camps. Both show the division and fear that come from racism. Captivating, powerful tale of a Japanese American family right after Pearl Harbor that shows the racism faced by those deemed the ‘enemy’. Perfect for those who love Ruta Sepetys novels. *Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*

Title: The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera Publisher: Quill Tree Release Date: October 4, 2022 About the Book: It’s the night before Death-Cast goes live, and there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can Death-Cast actually predict when someone will die, or is it just an elaborate hoax? Orion Pagan has waited years for someone to tell him that he’s going to die. He has a serious heart condition, and he signed up for Death-Cast so he could know what’s coming. Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York. He has a long and promising future ahead and he only registered for Death-Cast after his twin sister nearly died in a car accident. Orion and Valentino cross paths in Times Square and immediately feel a deep connection. But when the first round of End Day calls goes out, their lives are changed forever—one of them receives a call, and the other doesn’t. Though neither boy is certain how the day will end, they know they want to spend it together…even if that means their goodbye will be heartbreaking. *Kim’s Review* What worked: Bittersweet and heartbreaking at times story of firsts that also is filled with hope. This is an amazing prequel to THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END. I couldn’t put this story down! Silvera starts at the very beginning of Death-cast and how the first ‘Decker’s life is intertwined with others. So much to love in this gripping, fast-paced paranormal. Valentino Prince comes to NYC excited to start his life as a model. Orion lost his parents on 9-11 and is pretty sure he’ll get the death call as his heart is failing. He just happens to be at the same place Valentino is when a shooting occurs. Then that first Death-cast call comes to the person no one expects. There’s others that Orion and Valentino run into on the ‘final’ day. There are multiple points of view that all link back to each other. The landlord of Valentino’s NYC apartment; Joaquin Rosa, the owner of Death-Cast and who makes that first call; Gloria Dario, the mother of Pazito, the young actor and son of the landlord; Rolando, one of the first Death-cast callers and best friend of Gloria; and a cast of others. Usually, multiple points of view have a tendency to pull me out of a story, but in this case, it works. It’s like a puzzle and all the pieces come together in a satisfying conclusion. What I really love is how Valentino and Orion both decide to make the day one of the firsts, including their first kiss. So sweet, yet bittersweet too. Readers see two boys who decide to find some happiness even when the odds are stacked against them. Seriously, what would you do if you got a call saying you are expected to die within 24 hours? Would you just wait for the final moments or make peace with what time you have left? Beautifully written and gut-wrenching at the end. I was teary-eyed when I got to the last page, but the message isn’t one of despair but hope and celebrating your life. Poignant and bittersweet with a message of living life to its fullest. Loved this story even more than the first novel. Highly recommend. **Originally published: https://www.yabookscentral.com/2022-in-review-kim-baccellia-staff-reviewers-top-5-books/