This list is part of our Best of the Year collection, an obsessively curated selection of our editors' and listeners' favorite audio in 2022. Check out The Best of 2022 to see our top picks in every category.
Us editors of YA feel we hold a secret: This genre is the best of us. We love our list this year, filled with female friendship and love, boys and girls facing world-ending challenges, and teens finding belonging in othering spaces—overcoming bias against race, gender, and orientation along the way. We hope these affirming and empowering tales allow those of us who are growing up—or ever-growing—to find their place in the world and understand that they are never alone in whatever they are experiencing.
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Audible's YA Audiobook of the Year, 2022
Daughter of the Moon Goddess is at the intersection of all the things that mark my favorite stories—folkloric vibes, the promise of love, a great narrator, and a proactive main character. I followed Xingyin’s journey with rapt attention as she learns to make a place for herself in the Celestial Kingdom, while hiding her identity for fear of the wrath of the Celestial Emperor. Narrator Natalie Naudus’s performance is the kind where you immediately sink into the story. In short, the stakes are high, the love is deep, and the story is totally worth your time. I can’t wait to hear what Sue Lynn Tan has for us next. —Melissa B.
Casey McQuiston’s first foray into the YA genre was, in a word, effortless. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a love letter to queer teens and a reminder that there is no one perfect path forward in life. Chloe Green, an LA transplant now living in Alabama, has been competing for valedictorian with Shara Wheeler for four years. One afternoon, Shara unexpectedly kisses Chloe and then pulls a disappearing act after prom. A caper ensues, in a delightful subversion of Paper Towns, and the drama is helmed by a brilliant performance from Natalie Naudus, which deliciously encapsulates the full spectrum of teenage angst. —Katie O.
Wow, what a way to end a series! Naomi Novik is easily one of my favorite writers of the past decade, and she’s done it again with The Golden Enclaves. The Scholomance trilogy—which is about teenage witch, El, who has the power to destroy the world (and was prophesized to do so)—has accomplished the feat of getting better with each installment. El is one of the more colorful and opinionated main characters I’ve listened to in YA of late, and narrator Anisha Dadia really makes her snark shine. Plotwise, this story is a ride, but there’s a depth to the emotional heart here too, and I was left feeling stunned by this finale. —M.B.
Sonora Reyes burst onto the YA scene with her National Book Award-finalist debut, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. After transferring to a pricey Catholic school, 16-year-old Yami is determined to keep her queer identity a secret. She’s already one of the only Mexican kids at her school, and she doesn’t want another label. That is, until Bo, the very popular (and openly queer) girl at school, throws a wrench in her plans. Karla Serrato delivers a beautiful performance as Yami, delivering all the nuance, humor, and love that Yami experiences. We fell in love with Yami and this dynamic story and can’t wait to see what’s next from Reyes. —K.O.
For those of us who haven’t recovered from The Ballad of Never After, don’t worry—a sequel is coming. But in the meantime, let’s take a moment to appreciate the second book in Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon a Broken Heart series. The team of Garber and narrator Rebecca Soler is becoming the stuff of YA fantasy legend. Together they bring to life a richly imagined and deeply textured world filled with magic, second chances, and hopes of happily-ever-after, and we are hooked on Evangeline and Jacks’s journey. Did we get an emotional hangover? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. —K.O.
In another rollicking finale on our list, I’m sad to say goodbye to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s Inheritance Games series with The Final Gambit. But what a goodbye it was. Finally, all the secrets are out in the open, and Barnes surprised me yet again with a creative mystery laced with un-guessable twists and turns. It’s always more fun, in my opinion, when you are fully stumped and just along for the ride. And Avery! I want to grow up to be her. Narrator Christie Moreau really gets Avery’s badassness so well. A well-earned conclusion! —M.B.
Okay, so maybe I’m not a teenager, anymore … but I am still a fan of teen protagonists. I dipped into Daniel X: Genesis because I was curious; I stayed for the cast! Michael Cimino, wholly sympathetic as a high school kid who just wants a date and a face-melting guitar solo, anchors a full cast that includes (but is not limited to) Abigail Breslin, Mercedes Ruehl, and Jimmi Simpson. While I wasn’t surprised by the advent of Daniel’s supernatural powers, having listened to Daniel X stories before, I discovered I still had much to learn, and Daniel’s origin story kept me entertained. —Christina H.
It’s an odd thing to say, perhaps, but sometimes I just want to be devastated by a listen; Family of Liars is more than up to the task. Those familiar with the first, sensational title in the series, We Were Liars, will expect another shocking twist in this prequel—well, it’s there, and it might even outdo the original’s. Along the way, you’ll fall in love with the memorable characters, incredibly deep family psychology, and sharp yet restrained narration by Kimberly Farr. —Sean T.
If you were looking for a listen that will melt your heart with all the feel-good vibes this year, Ophelia After All is here for you. YA debut author Racquel Marie just knew how to pull my strings, and now I want to go live in Ophelia’s world with her roses and her friends and all the messy but totally realistic love lines between them. Ophelia is boy crazy but at the same time has feelings for girls and is totally confused, and I found her journey to discovering herself to be authentic and intimate. I loved living in her head, I loved the way she saw the world, and I loved the way narrator Maria Liatis captured that. —M.B.
