Time to get excited about the must-read books of 2022 for kids aged
9 to 12 and young adults, from a magical sequel to The Hatmakers
to a new Maximum Ride thriller.
The Worst Restaurant in the Universe
by Jaco Jacobs and Dale Blankenaar
Find out what happens when you are stuck with Monster Glue to the prettiest girl in school. Meet the boy who ate Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popcorn. Give Aunt Bridgette a kiss – if you’re brave enough! Learn how to make brilliant toe jam. And discover how a blob of chewing gum can save the Earth from an alien invasion. A hilarious collection of laugh-out-loud stories.
The Mapmakers
by Tamzin Merchant
Ever since Cordelia discovered the hidden map in her father's precious telescope, she's been searching the streets of London by starlight and trying to uncover its secrets. She's sure that her missing father is out there somewhere, and that if she follows his map, she'll finally discover the truth about his disappearance. She never expects to stumble upon a secret society of Mapmakers – or to learn that magic isn't limited to the few Maker families, but instead is all around, if you just know where to look . . . But danger is lurking around every corner, and Cordelia must convince the rival Maker families to work together for once – not only to bring her father home, but to save the very essence of magic itself . . . A gorgeous adventure and return to the spellbinding world of Cordelia Hatmaker in this soaring magical sequel to The Hatmakers.
The Midnighters
by Hana Tooke
Ema Vašková has always felt different. In a family of famous scientists, there's not much room for superstition or omens – but they seem to follow Ema wherever she goes. It doesn't help that she appears to predict events before they happen, and has a peculiar fear of shadows . . .
When Ema is sent to stay with her eccentric uncle in Prague, she fears she'll lose the chance to ever fit in. But then she meets Silvie – a girl who finally sees Ema for the extraordinary person that she is. Soon the girls are meeting for secret midnight adventures, and facing Ema's fears together.
But then disaster strikes. Silvie goes missing – and it's up to Ema to find her. Now she must gather the courage to hunt the city, find her friend, and uncover the secrets of the one clue Silvie left as to where she might be – inside the mysterious Midnight Guild . . . From the bestselling author of The Unadoptables.
City of the Dead
by James Patterson and Mindy McGinnis
For Hawk, being a hero weighs heavily on her wings. In the City of the Dead, life happens in the shadows. That's why a war is brewing against an enemy no one can see. Hawk and Maximum Ride never back down from a conflict, or from each other, and they argue more than they agree. But as the dead begin to outnumber the living, a mother's experience and a daughter's instinct can make one powerful arsenal.
Halley’s Comet
by Hannes Barnard
Pete de Lange must survive as a teenager in a small Natal town during the 1980s, together with his new-found friends, Sarita and Petrus. In a country marked by turmoil and racial conflict, this is not as easy as it seems. Pete and his friends witnessed a horrendous crime, and the perpetrator is on their case. Will justice prevail? In between all of this, Pete must try to make the first rugby team and win the heart of his high-school crush, Renate. This is an excellent Bildungsroman, full of emotion and nostalgia, set in a troubled country where doing the right thing was not always easy.
The Merciless Ones
by Namina Forna
It’s been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is. There are now wars waging across the kingdom. Oterans now think jatu are traitors to the nation. Deka is called a monster.
But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge. Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses. Only as she begins to free them, she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor. There’s something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses. Even worse, it seems to repel her powers. She can’t command or communicate with the new deathshrieks. In fact, she can’t even understand them when they speak.
Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning. She can tell that whatever dark force it is, it’s powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol – something merciless – that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles. But Deka’s powers are only getting stronger… and her strongest weapon could be herself. Fans of The Gilded Ones will love this second book in the series.
Image: StockSnap/Ben White
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