The Trees is a super-smart, darkly satirical novel about racial lynching in the US. Very few writers could have pulled this off — I liked it a lot and respected it even more.

Liberation Day is just plain short story writing at its best. George has given us a deeply human collection of unforgettable characters and plenty to think about.

Maria, Maria is a playful, witchy collection of short stories written in different experimental formats. While I didn’t fall head over heels, I had a lot of fun reading this one.

Best of Friends is a quieter, lower-stakes novel than Home Fire, but it still crackles with scenic electricity. The character work here is also excellent. I liked it a lot.

If I Survive You is a strong, compelling collection of connected stories about a family of Jamaican men living in Miami. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

The Undocumented Americans is a moving, well-written memoir-in-essays that does exactly what I want from nonfiction: it helps open my understanding of the world and other people.

The Spear Cuts Through Water is a sweeping, imaginative, gorgeously and uniquely told story that completely knocked my socks off. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as you read along in print.

Book Lovers is a compulsively readable, super smart book that takes a common trope (small-town romance) and and subverts every single element. Reading it was very fun.

The Overstory is a sprawling, beautiful novel about trees, activism, and interconnectedness — both between us and the planet, and with one another.

A Taste of Gold and Iron is a standalone fantasy with a queer central romance, and it hooked me HARD. The characters and their arcs are so exquisitely crafted that I didn’t even mind the slow burn. LOVED.

Babel is the standalone, low fantasy, dark academia, alternative history of our dreams. R.F. Kuang has written a great story that looks unflinchingly and creatively at the devastation of colonization.

Nightcrawling is a brutal, heartbreaking, beautifully written book that just as often feels like poetry from an astounding young talent. I, like everyone else, can’t believe Leila Mottley published this at 19.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a charming, heartwarming, beautifully inclusive character-driven sci-fi that deserves every ounce of hype it’s gotten since it was published in 2016.

Good news for those who loved Psalm: this sequel does not disappoint. Sibling Dex and Mosscap are back to hug us as they puzzle through questions of purpose, belonging, and self-compassion.

The Last White Man is another stunner from Mohsin Hamid and his heartbreaking commas. It’s a quick read with lots of layers that kept me thinking long after I’d closed it.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is definitely going to be one of my favorite books of 2022. Alternating between heartwarming and heartbreaking, it’s a beautiful book about friendship and the messiness (and hope) of life.

The Long Answer is an emotional, sad, beautiful novel of stories within a story about pregnancy, motherhood, and grief. It begs not to be rushed but flows like water.

Trust is a creatively executed novel about perceived power and who gets to tell history. It stuck with me for days after I finished, and I was extremely impressed.

The Island of Missing Trees is a beautifully written, mournful little love story. While I don’t think it was perfect, I liked it very much and would recommend it.

Ordinary Monsters is an imaginative, exciting start to a new historical fantasy trilogy: think Miss Peregrine meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel.