These are the best books of 2022, according to the NYPL

November 28, 2022

Photo © 6sqft

The New York Public Library last week released its annual list of the best books of the year. The recommendations were selected by expert librarians and staff who reviewed nearly 3,000 books and ultimately selected 260 of the best titles for kids, teens, and adults in 2022. Whether you want to buy a book as a gift for the holidays or are just interested in reading one yourself, NYPL’s Best Books of 2022 list has something for every type of reader.


Photo courtesy of Jonathan Blanc/NYPL

For nearly 100 years, the library has curated an end-of-year list to share new, diverse titles and connect New Yorkers and readers across the world with exciting, inspiring books.

“One of the biggest strengths of The New York Public Library is the passion, knowledge, and diversity of our librarians and staff,” Emily Pullen, manager of Reader Services and Engagement, said. “Dozens of our most avid book lovers are enlisted each year to assess and select books that reflect the community and patrons we serve, to entice the most reluctant of readers, and excite the most fervent of bookworms.”

A full list of this year’s best books can be found here.

Ahead, take a look at the top 10 books in four different categories:

Best books for kids:

  • Aviva vs. the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe
  • Beauty Woke by NoNieqa Ramos, illustrated by Paola Escobar
  • Blue: A History of the Color As Deep As the Sea and As Wide As the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, illustrated by Daniel Minter
  • Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee
  • Nothing Special by Desiree Cooper, illustrated by Bec Sloane
  • Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal about the Japanese American Incarceration by Elizabeth Partridge, illustrated by Lauren Tamaki
  • Sir Ladybug by Corey R. Tabor
  • Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
  • Ten Blocks to the Big Wok: A Chinatown Counting Book (English and Chinese Edition) by Ying-Hwa Hu
  • Wednesday and Woof #1: Catastrophe by Sherri Winston, illustrated by Gladys Jose

Mejores libros para pequeños (Best books for kids in Spanish):

  • A veces, yo soy todo lo que necesito by Juliana Perdomo
  • ¡A viajar, semillas! by Lorena Ruiz
  • La casita de Esperanza by Terry CatasĂşs Jennings, illustrated by RaĂşl ColĂłn
  • La falda morada de Leo by Irma Borges, illustrated by Francesco Fagnani
  • Las gallinas de Sonia by Phoebe Wahl, translated by Laura Piperno and Gema Zamorano
  • 9 kilĂłmetros by Claudio Aguilera, illustrated by Gabriela Lyon
  • Sábado by Jorge Garza
  • Tengo hambre by Menena Cottin
  • Una noche sin dormir by Micaela Chirif, illustrated by JoaquĂ­n Camp
  • Yo no fui by Ana Palmero, illustrated by Alejandra Acosta

Best books for teens:

  • All My Rage: A Novel by Sabaa Tahir
  • Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
  • I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
  • I Rise by Marie Arnold
  • Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao
  • Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer, illustrated by Jules Zuckerberg
  • So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens
  • The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
  • The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
  • Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend by Alys Arden, illustrated by Jacquelin de Leon

Best books for adults:

  • The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang
  • The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere–A Memoir by James Spooner
  • A Lady For a Duke by Alexis Hall
  • Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
  • Path of Totality: Poems by Niina Pollari
  • Shutter: A Novel by Ramona Emerson
  • Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora
  • The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird & Tom Waltz
  • Vladimir: A Novel by Julia May Jonas

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