Zibby Mag

By Diana Tramontano & Sherri Puzey

We’re so excited to share some of our top picks published in 2022! Because we read so many amazing books, it was hard to narrow it down to a few of our favorites. The books below stood out with intelligent writing, propulsive plots, and emotional depth.

We hope you love these books as much as we do!

In case you missed it, check out our author interviews with Kennedy Ryan and Catherine Newman!

Diana’s Picks:

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

In a charming yet mysterious manner, debut author Charmaine Wilkerson tells the story of a family filled with secret identities, multiple lives, and tragedies buried deep between bloodlines. It was captivating right from the start, bringing the reader straight into the present day with Bryon and Benny, then weaving us back through the life of their mother. Somehow, Wilkerson made each perspective equally riveting and pivotal to the plot. I was thoroughly impressed by this novel!

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

This was definitely my favorite summer read! With each chapter alternating from past and present, I loved uncovering the young love story that made me feel everything these characters experienced. It was a quick read and as the story unfolded, each chapter left me wanting more.

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh

This book was sweet, emotional, mysterious, and shocking. I was intrigued right from the start, and I loved how each chapter alternated between both Emma’s perspective and that of her husband, Leo. We were left constantly guessing at the gaps in Emma’s history and how it related to the disaster in their present life.

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

This story is one of second chances, grief, forgiveness, and love. Readers will be able to see glimpses of themselves in this novel, whether as a mother, partner, divorcée, or child. You might relate to the mental struggles, the need for independence, facing insurmountable grief, overcoming trauma, accepting your feelings, or finding love again. Ultimately, you can find a piece of who you are or who you want to be.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

This book was the perfect balance between fiction and reality. It was highly relevant to the challenges our society has faced over the past few years. I encourage everyone who reads this book to take the time to read the author’s note as well. Celeste Ng is such a talented writer and storyteller—this is a must-read!

Sherri’s Picks:

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott

As someone who finds delight everywhere she looks yet also notices all of the dangers, Mary Laura Philpott writes about her craving for a feeling of safety and wholeness in a world riddled with uncertainty. This memoir-in-essays collection is centered on a frightening incident involving Mary Laura’s teenage son, but other essay topics range from everyday worries to childhood memories to grappling with the weight of knowing the people we love will at some point die or leave us. This book made me feel so seen: I, too, am so grateful for and overwhelmed by the love I feel for my people that I grieve their eventual losses in advance. I think of Philpott’s beautiful insights and wise words often since I finished this one in the spring.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach

This is a coming-of-age story featuring Sally Holt, who is one of the most memorable protagonists I’ve read in a while. This book is laugh-out-loud funny yet simultaneously heartbreaking—a combination I love. Sally and her older sister Kathy are obsessed with Billy Barnes, a rising senior and basketball star in their town. A tragedy alters their family for decades to come, while also intertwining Sally’s life with Billy’s. An unforgettable story about sisters, family, grief, and love.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

I loved everything about this book: the exceptional writing, the complex and fully-formed characters, and the intricately woven story. It’s a story about memory and time, family and neighbors, secrets and choices, love and loss.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

A brilliant and beautiful debut adult novel about friendship and life and love and grief. It’s a joyful and wise celebration of female friendship even in its final moments. Anyone who’s ever had a friend, lost a loved one, been a mother, or had a mother—that is to say, everyone—should read this book.

French Braid by Anne Tyler

This family saga spans six decades, but it’s not overdone in any way. The beautiful writing is sparse; each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the members of the Garrett family, and the entire book comes in at under 250 pages. It’s insightful and funny—an exploration of all of the kindnesses and cruelties of our everyday lives and those with whom we are forever intertwined.