December reading is a lot of things. It’s cozy nights under a blanket with hot chocolate. It’s the race to finish the last of your TBR for the year. It’s quiet time on cold days. No matter where you like to read as the year draws to a close, you’re going to need good books to take you on those last adventures before New Year’s Day.
Gingerbread houses, Christmas rom-coms, and even mysteries are on our final TBR for 2022. What’s on yours?
The Gingerbread Witch by Alexandra Overy
“Maud has grown up in a house made of gingerbread, wanting nothing more than to be a witch like Mother Agatha. But just like all of Agatha’s gingerbread creations—from the magical house to the chocolate mousse squirrel—Maud will turn back into crumbs if anything ever happens to Agatha.
This seems unthinkable…until Hansel and Gretel, a pair of witch hunters, push Agatha into the cottage’s oven.
To save herself and the other creations, Maud will have to go into the dangerous forest of the Shadelands to find the First Witch’s spellbook. But with witch hunters on her trail and others interested in the book for their own means, can Maud bring back the only mother she’s ever known…or will witch hunters capture her before she can save her gingerbread family?”
The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park
“Chloe Kwon can’t stand Peter Li. It’s always been that way. Their families don’t get along either: their parents operate rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court―Korean food for the Kwons and Chinese food for the Lis. Now it’s the holiday season and Chloe’s the photographer at the mall’s Santa Land, and Peter works at the virtual reality North Pole experience right across the atrium. It’s all Chloe can do to avoid Peter’s smug, incredibly photogenic face.
But it turns out the mall is about to be sold to a developer and demolished for condos. Eviction notices are being handed out right before Christmas. Their parents don’t know what to do, and soon Chloe and Peter realize that the two of them need to join efforts to try to save the mall. Just when it seems like they can put aside their differences and work closely (very closely) together, they discover that the Kwon and Li feud goes far deeper than either of them realize…”
House of Yesterday by Deeba Zargarpur
Struggling to deal with the pain of her parents’ impending divorce, fifteen-year-old Sara is facing a world of unknowns and uncertainties. Unfortunately, the one person she could always lean on when things got hard, her beloved Bibi Jan, has become a mere echo of the grandmother she once was. And so Sara retreats into the family business, hoping a summer working on her mom’s latest home renovation project will provide a distraction from her fracturing world.
But the house holds more than plaster and stone. It holds secrets that have her clinging desperately to the memories of her old life. Secrets that only her Bibi Jan could have untangled. Secrets Sara is powerless to ignore as the dark truths of her family’s history rise in ghostly apparitions — and with it, the realization that as much as she wants to hold onto her old life, nothing will ever be the same.
Told in lush, sweeping prose, this story of secrets, summer, and family sacrifice will chill you to the bone as the house that wraps Sara in warmth of her past becomes the one thing she cannot escape…
Tyler, Harmony, Snuggles & The Christmas Tradition by Laura Bryna
Christmas is the perfect time for picture books and short stories! Create memories to treasure forever as Laura Bryna’s parrots (Tyler, Harmony, and Snuggles) discover there’s more to Christmas than just receiving presents! Join this adorable feathered trio on their journey as they come to learn the true joy of the Holiday season!
A classic in the making, this book is something you and your family will cherish forever! The Christmas Tradition is a holiday adventure that you can even sing along to.
How to Excavate a by Jake Maia Arlow
“It all starts when Shani runs into May. Like, literally. With her mom’s Subaru.
Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her monthlong paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.
It could be going better.
But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side—along with the breakup.
Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?”
