★★★★☆ A decent but unremarkable debut about a young girl's disappearance, its impact on her family, and ultimately their path to reuniting.

★★★★☆ Set in the 1930s, an expansive cast from the Black and Jewish section of Pottstown, PA come together to rally around a common cause.

★★★☆☆ The semi-autobiographical account of the author's childhood, focused on him leaving the reservation to attend a white high school.

★★★☆☆ A character study of two neighboring families on the outskirts of New York City. I hoped for spellbinding; what I got was milquetoast.

★★★☆☆ A mostly tragic decades-spanning debut about a young woman dealing with adversity while growing up in rural Colorado circa 1950.

★★★☆☆ Inflated expectations probably diminished my enjoyment of this river odyssey tale. It's an okay story, but Ordinary Grace it is not.

★★★★☆ Hart's tale of women finding their power through witchcraft is diluted by her one-dimensional portrayal of universally horrible men.

★★★☆☆ A rushed sophomore slump of a novel that fails to live up to Boulley's first book, Firekeeper's Daughter, in almost every way.

★★★★☆ Societal commentary abounds in this story of a white author stealing the final manuscript of an Asian American author after her death.

★★★★☆ The 2nd book in the Danny Ryan Trilogy fails to live up to the 1st, but it's a quick read if you want more time with the Dogtown crew.

★★★☆☆ Audrain once again examines the trials of parenting, but this time fails to balance character flaws with anything remotely redeemable.

★★☆☆☆ A disjointed mess of a novel about a young woman growing up during Prohibition in rural Virginia. I wanted this to be so much better.

★★★★☆ Napolitano once again tugs at heartstrings by creating memorable characters who share moments of happiness amid plenty of tragedy.

★★★★★ A 1961 coming-of-age story about a boy in rural Minnesota, who is forced to deal with tragedy as he navigates his path to manhood.

★★★☆☆ It's primarily a character study, but for all the time spent developing the characters, I unfortunately didn't especially like them.

★★★★☆ Thinking this is going to be the "Indian Godfather" is setting your expectations way too high, but it's an intriguing character study.

★★☆☆☆ Welcome to A Tale for the Time Being, or as it may alternatively be known, “the most depressing book I've read in years".

★★★★★ The reunion of 2 siblings around a mysterious house is the backdrop for this lyrical beauty of a novel, my favorite of 2022.

★★★★★ An ode to Charles Dickens in the form of a modern retelling of David Copperfield, set in Appalachian Virginia over the last 30+ years.

Happy New Year! It’s time once again for what has become an annual tradition, my Books of the Year list. 2022 was a busy year of reading,...