Books Full of Excitement, Drama, and Romance

Books Full of Excitement, Drama, and Romance
In 2022, the ever-expansive YA genre is continuing to serve up a fresh selection of reads across every subgenre imaginable. Whether you're looking for a Persian-folklore-inspired fantasy series, a charming LGBTQ+ rom-com, or a weighty exploration of what it means to be a young immigrant in the US, there's a book on this list for you. As usual, there are plenty of heavy hitters releasing new titles this year, including Tahereh Mafi, Emma Lord, Tracy Deonn, and Sabaa Tahir, but readers should keep an eye out for buzzy debuts as well.

One of the biggest highlights of 2022 is Casey McQuiston's YA debut, "I Kissed Shara Wheeler." The fast-paced rom-com proves the author can effortlessly move between adult and YA novels without missing a beat. TJ Klune is also returning to the world of YA to wrap up his The Extraordinaries series, and writing team Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka are releasing both a YA and an adult rom-com this year.

With so many big releases coming your way, one thing is certain: there's no way you're running out of YA books to add to your TBR in 2022.

1 "The Chosen One" by Echo Brown
By adding a dash of magical realism to her real-life experience of being a Black first-generation college student in "The Chosen One," Echo Brown weaves a story that's at once deeply honest and hopeful. As a freshman student at Dartmouth College, Echo immediately notices the campus isn't nearly as inclusive as she was told it would be. As she tries to adjust to her surroundings, she also discovers Dartmouth might just be a portal to different dimensions that only she can access in her role as the Chosen One. But before she takes that leap, she'll need to learn how to ask for help.

2 "The Ivory Key" by Akshaya Raman
"The Ivory Key" by Akshaya Raman is a fantasy debut about a quartet of estranged royal siblings who must unite to find a new source of magic before chaos overtakes their kingdom. However, each one of the siblings has their own agenda for wanting to find and control the magic, which complicates their task. If they have any hope of restoring order to their kingdom by finding the legendary Ivory Key, then they will first have to learn how to trust each other — and that might just prove to be the most difficult task of them all.

3 "The Kindred" by Alechia Dow
The fate of an entire galactic kingdom rests on the shoulders of two teens in "The Kindred" by Alechia Dow. Years ago, Kindred mind-pairings were created to ensure every person felt heard and seen. But Duke Felix Hamdi has never met his Kindred, and that's a situation he's determined to resolve, whether his family likes it not. Unfortunately for Felix, his wish comes true under the worst possible circumstances: his entire family is murdered, leaving him and his Kindred Joy Abara to steal a spaceship and solve the mystery of who wanted the royal family dead in the first place.

4 "One True Loves" by Elise Bryant
"One True Loves" by Elise Bryant is the book equivalent of a fun-filled vacation. The summer before she heads off to college at New York University, Lenore Bennett's parents take her on a Mediterranean cruise across Europe. For her part, Lenore is too nervous about her future to even contemplate the possibility of a summer romance, but it's not long before her parents befriend the parents of the seemingly (and annoyingly) perfect Alex Lee. Now the two appear to be stuck together, but as they make their way across Europe, Lenore begins to wonder if she may have misjudged her new friend.