I’m an avid reader and have always loved books. When I was little, I read anything I could get my hands on, from encyclopedias to chapter books. Other kids my age would sleep with stuffed animals. I rejected them and asked for books when I went to sleep. From psychological thrillers to coming-of-age, I will read almost any genre except horror.

In 2022, I read seventeen books. Here are my top four and a couple of honorable mentions.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was hands-down my favorite book I read last year and one of my defaults when people ask me what to read next. Published in 1999, before the film adaptation, this stand-alone book follows the life of Charlie. He’s a freshman in high school struggling with mental health and his social life after his best friend’s suicide. Chbosky’s representation of mental illness, specifically PTSD, is accurate and very well done, and he portrays it in a positive light that doesn’t demonize those struggling with mental health. One thing I love about perks is that it’s not told by a stereotypical narrator but through a series of letters written by Charlie. It lets you connect with him on a deeper level as a freshman in high school struggling to fit in. If you’re like me and love annotating, this is the book to annotate, and it will leave you feeling all sorts of emotions. Keep in mind this book comes with trigger warnings for mental health/suicide, substance misuse, assault, and abuse.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This trilogy includes, in order, The Inheritance Games, The Hawthorne Legacy, and The Final Gambit. Tobias Hawthorne, one of the wealthiest men in Texas, wrote Avery Grambs into his will, along with his two daughters and four grandsons. But Avery has no idea who he is and has never met him. When Tobias dies, Avery gets a “small” amount of the money and inherits something of importance to Tobias Hawthorne, right? Wrong. She becomes the heir to everything; the mansion, the land, and the finances. With new threats posed to Avery, it’s up to her, Grayson, Jameson, Xander, and Nash, the four grandsons, to solve a series of puzzles and games to solve why Avery is the heiress and everything that has gone wrong in the boys’ life. Each game leads to something new. Filled with twists, mystery, and some romance, this series is impossible to put down. The fourth book, The Hawthorne Brothers, is set to release on August 19, 2023.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a psychological thriller that will mess with your mind and, in all honesty, is unsettling. What you think is real might not be. Even the summary of the book says you will assume things and assume nothing. Both are true. It follows the jealous ex-wife of a man named Richard, who is obsessed with Richard’s new wife. But the reason you might think she’s obsessed with the new marriage is not what you think. I can’t say much without spoiling the book, but it’s packed with secrets and plot twists, facts that may not be facts, and lies that may not be lies. Keep in mind this book has heavy content and comes with trigger warnings for psychological and some physical abuse, stalking, and victim blaming.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This book made me cry. I rarely cry at anything, but this book made me cry. It’s a devastating romance between high-school students Violent and Finch who meet on the school’s roof, and it’s unsure who saves who. Finch picks Violet for a school project, but because of the new unlikely friendship, Violet, who deals with survivor’s guilt, and Finch, who is obsessed with death and struggles with mental health, they extend the project for themselves and visit different attractions together. They impact each other in intimate (not in the sexual sense) and significant ways, so when the unexpected happens to a character in the book, it hurts even more. Keep in mind this book deals with mental health and suicide.

These books did not make my top four, but I could not talk about my favorites without mentioning Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angelline Boulley and Every Day by David Levithan. They are very different from each other but very good all the same. Their summaries and information are linked in the text.