The Big Book review 2022

 I missed this post last year sadly which is a shame as I read some GREAT books last year and I enjoy looking back on books I read as by the end of the year, I've forgotten quite a few of them!

Best book you read in 2022:

General fiction:

The problem with goats and sheep- Joanna Cannon was a gift from my friend Kathy. I love books which she recommends to me. This was SUCH a surprising book- I wasn't sure where the book was going or what genre it was but it was such a charming book- such an unexpected story about the drought of 1979

Children's fiction:

I probably would have to say the Taylor and Rose mysteries by Katharine Woodfine as I reread them this year and love them! However, in the interests of saying something different, I really enjoyed The Matilda Effect by Ellie Irving. It was really clever, exciting and is based on a real life concept of being passed over because people don't believe you are capable of doing something!

Crime fiction:

CBC bought Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi and really hated the ending. I read it after him but I thought it was a really clever book and a bit different from the regular Crime fiction I usually read so I am naming it my best book in this category!

Classics:

We have always lived here in the Castle by Shirley Jackson was most unusual! My brother in law lent it to me and it had vibes of 'I capture the castle' but then totally different!

Non-fiction:

Last year, I did really well with Non-fiction, this year not so much. Fungi and Mushrooms of the UK and Europe was the best non-fiction book this year! I really detest eating mushrooms but I am fascinated by finding them! This book is really useful as it has photographs, diagrams, details, measurements and details of where to find them and it's comprehensive! I borrowed it from the library but I'd definitely pick this up if I saw it in a charity shop.

YA:

The only YA I read this year were the three books I have referred to in the Dystopian fiction category so I guess they win 2 categories!

Dystopian fiction:

I didn't read any new Dystopian fiction this year but reread the entire 'Arc of a Scythe' series by Neal Shustermann and they are still brilliant! Book 1, Scythe is still the best though! 

Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2022:

I  bought Black and British by David Olusoga and I was surprised by what I learnt. There's a lot I didn't know about Black British history and it was written really clearly.

Book you read in 2020 that you recommended most to others:

I recommended the Scarlet and Ivy series to quite a few kids and also the Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tola Okogwu

Best series you discovered in 2022:

Technically, I discovered this series in 2021 but I didn't read anything except the first book then- I read all the other books in the series this year- The Scarlet and Ivy series was so exciting! I read 5 books in two week and I leant them to one of our Assistant Heads at school who also couldn't put them down as well as my favourite year 6 pupil who pursued me around school on a Friday as she was absolutely longing to borrow the next book in the series and couldn't bear the thought of having to wait another 2 days to see me to borrow it, having spent all playtime and lunchtime reading book 1!

Favourite new author you discovered in 2022:

I read The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable and I really enjoyed her book so I would like to read more from her!

Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love but didn't:

Escape Room by Christopher Edge was published this year and I was really excited to read it but although it had all the ingredients that should make me have enjoyed it, I just found it a bit weird.

Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre to you:

I'm not sure I read anything particularly from a new genre or out of my comfort zone though I did read  The unbearable lightness of being in Aberystwyth and Aberystwyth Mon Amore by Malcolm Pryce which were a sort of Fantasy Crime blend- they were very quirky and different!

Book you read in 2022 that you're most likely to read again in 2023:

I might reread Stoneheart or Iron Hand by Charlie Fletcher as I'd really like to read the 3rd book in the trilogy and might need a recap!

Favourite book you read in 2022 from an author you read previously:

I read  A small person far, far away by Judith Kerr. She died this year and I really loved When Hitler Met Pink Rabbit and Bombs on Aunt Daisy so I was really glad to read the 3rd book from this character. I really like children's books set in WW2.

Best book you read in 2022 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else:

I have been sharing books with one of our assistant heads from school and she recommended 'Julia and the Shark'by Kiran Millgrave Harward  to me. It was such a beautiful book- unusual and wonderful illustrations! I also learnt about the Greenland shark which I didn't know about!

Favourite cover of a book in 2022:

Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2022:

Hmmm, did any book have an IMPACT on me? Not really sure!

Book you can't BELIEVE you waited until 2022 to read:

Maybe not specifically THIS book but 2022 was the year I first read a Dorothy L Sayers book, Unnatural Death. People have told me for years I need to read the Lord Peter Wimsey books! I can't even remember what happened in the book by this point in the year but I remember enjoying it!

Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it (a WTF moment, a epic revelation, a steamy kiss etc). Be careful of spoilers

Favourite relationship from a book you read in 2022 (be it it romantic, friendship etc):

I read the lovely book Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher which my Godmother gave to me about statues coming to life.  The main character gets to know a Stone soldier who fought in World War 1 and the relationship between him and this character is really endearing and the character really sacrifices a lot for the boy! He's such a lovely character!

Most memorable character in a book you read in 2022:

The main character  Twitch from Twitch by M.G. Leonard was a really cool character!

Genre you read the most from 2022:

I read, by far, most books from Children's Fiction aged 9-12 category!

Best 2022 debut:

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tola Okogwu was published in 2022. It's a brilliant exciting book, the start of a series set in Nigeria, really imaginative! I'm looking forward to seeing how it continues! I've loaned the book to a few Nigerian children in Year 6 who have really enjoyed it and it's currently working its way around that class!

Book that was the most fun to read:

I really enjoyed Star Struck - Alicia Dixon and Katy Birchall. It was fun seeing how the two girls in the story swapped lives!

Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2022:

I am sure SOMETHING made me cry but I can't remember!

Book you read in 2022 that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?

I'm not really au fait with literary awards or how well books 'do' but I read The Infinity by Patience Agbabi (I read the second book in the series last year), and although I don't think it's the best book I read or necessarily one I really loved, I really haven't met anyone who has read her books and they are really intriguing and creative and clever.

December: