Family Ties (Part 1): 9 2022 Adult Debuts About Family

This week, we're focusing on 2022 debuts about family broken down by age category. Today's features adult books where family plays a central role. We've got historical fiction, fantasy, thrillers; premises about chickens, generational magic, ghosts—and so much more. Whether you're in the mood for something steamy or heart-pounding but all about family, this list has got you covered.

Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary by Laura Stanfill from Lanternfish Press on April 19, 2022
Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary is a nineteenth-century fable that will appeal to fans of Chocolat and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. In sunny Mireville, France, Henri Blanchard grows up in his legendary father Georges’s shadow. Georges is a master serinette craftsman, building high-pitched barrel organs to train songbirds to sing human melodies—and village lore credits him with chasing off the clouds. Henri, alas, prefers making bobbin lace with the local girls to the workshop he’s supposed to inherit. But when he discovers a secret trove of letters that reveal a prodigy half-brother in America, his efforts to impress his father become increasingly outlandish—and ultimately dangerous. Populated with strong women and one odd young man who doesn’t fit into the box society has chosen for him, Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary is about finding your place in the world—even if it’s all the way across the ocean. (Secret families… secret families… SECRET FAMILIES!!!! This one smells strongly of family drama. Coupled with the historic setting, color me very intrigued.)

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Uncommon Charm by Emily Bergslien and Kat Weaver from Neon Hemlock Press on May 17, 2022 
In the 1920s gothic comedy Uncommon Charm, bright young socialite Julia and shy Jewish magician Simon decide they aren’t beholden to their families’ unhappy history. Together they confront such horrors as murdered ghosts, alive children, magic philosophy, a milieu that slides far too easily into surrealist metaphor, and, worst of all, serious adult conversation. (Neon Hemlock is a firebrand of a press. They had me at “gothic comedy,” but the other stuff didn’t exactly make my interest less piqued. Unhappy family histories is basically something just about anyone can get into.)

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The Last Feather by Shameez Patel Papathanasiou from Flame Tree Press on July 19, 2022
South African born, debut author brings a threat-and-danger, hidden-world fantasy with touches of Suzanne Collins which fans of VE Schwab or Sarah J Maas will love. Twenty-two-year-old Cassia's sister is dying, and she doesn't know why. Cassia wakes up in another realm to find her missing best friend, Lucas, who knows how to save her sister. Lucas is part of a community of Reborns, people who were born on earth and after death, were reborn in this realm with magical abilities. The original beings of the realm, the Firsts, rule over them. To keep the Reborn numbers manageable, the king of the Firsts releases a curse to cull them. Cassia needs to break the curse before her time runs out and she is trapped there forever. (Sibling stories are everything to me, so this set-up is an easy sell. Dying sisters and magical realms that maybe can save them?? Missing best friends which spells found family? Hngh!!!!)

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The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia from Tachyon Publications on August 9, 2022
In this intricately layered debut fantasy, a nonbinary refugee practitioner of blood magic discovers a strange disease causing political rifts in their new homeland. Persian-American author Naseem Jamnia has crafted a gripping narrative with a moving, nuanced exploration of immigration, gender, healing, and family. Firuz-e Jafari is fortunate enough to have immigrated to the Free Democratic City-State of Qilwa, fleeing the slaughter of other traditional Sassanian blood magic practitioners in their homeland. Despite the status of refugees in their new home, Firuz has a good job at a free healing clinic in Qilwa, working with Kofi, a kindly new employer, and mentoring Afsoneh, a troubled orphan refugee with powerful magic. But Firuz and Kofi have discovered a terrible new disease which leaves mysterious bruises on its victims. The illness is spreading quickly through Qilwa, and there are dangerous accusations of ineptly performed blood magic. In order to survive, Firuz must break a deadly cycle of prejudice, untangle sociopolitical constraints, and find a fresh start for their both their blood and found family. Powerful and fascinating, The Bruising of Qilwa is the newest arrival in the era of fantasy classics such as the Broken Earth Trilogy, The Four Profound Weaves, and Who Fears Death. (This is a literary masterpiece in the making with the Mandalorian/Witcher/Anne of Green Gables (I know, that one knocked me out) trope of a grumpy caregiver adopting a powerful orphan. Yes, this is my book, which is why I’m calling it a literary masterpiece. YMMV.)

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In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker from Forever (Grand Central/Hachette) on September 13, 2022  
GARDEN SPELLS meets PRACTICAL MAGIC, in which three generations of witchy women who have the ability to make people forget their pain are coming to a reckoning with a rival family 20 years after their town forgot an entire summer. (Rival families?? Generational magic with hijinks? A town that forgets an entire summer? Did I mention RIVAL FAMILIES?? Oh man, I am itching for this!) 

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The Registration by Madison Lawson from Camcat on September 27, 2022
In a world where most citizens have one legal murder, Lynell Mize finds herself the victim of many and has fourteen days to survive, find out why, and learn to forgive herself. (One legal murder… is quite a premise. With a ticking clock, there’s bound to be some family drama to pop up in this one. I mean, if you only had two weeks to live, wouldn’t you give some people a piece of your mind??)

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The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao from DAW Books on October 10, 2022
High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below. Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change. Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization. (Marriage drama where each half is bi! Inter-marriage rivalries! A society in need of desperate change! This climate-focused book is already rife with family nonsense, and I love it.)

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Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne from Berkley on November 15, 2022
A woman goes head-to-head with the CEO of a corporation threatening to destroy her neighborhood in this fresh and modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by debut author Nikki Payne. Liza B–The Only DJ That Gives a Jam—wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in DC. But her planned protest at their corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly—but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she’ll settle for getting him out of her head. At first, Dorsey writes Liza Bennett off as an over-caffeinated woke weekend warrior. As the adopted Filipino son of a wealthy white family he’s always felt a bit out of place, and knows a fraud when he sees one. But when Liza’s protest results in a viral meme, their lives are turned upside down and Dorsey comes to realize this irresistible revolutionist is the most real woman he’s ever met. (Gentrification stories where BIPOC are taking back their neighborhoods are *chef’s kiss*, but throw in mistaken identity, meddling families, and enemies-to-lovers, and woooooof. Boy.)

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To Get To The Other Side by Kelly Ohlert from Alcove on December 6, 2022
Trixie can’t be exactly sure what she was thinking when she stopped her car in the middle of downtown Chicago, scooped up a chicken struggling to cross the road, and drove off… but she does know that she has to find a new home for herself and her new feathered friend. The landlord at her no-pets-allowed apartment has caught Trixie in one too many pet-smuggling attempts in the past, and isn’t making any exceptions. Bear likes his quiet life, and he’s in for a rude awakening when his meddlesome sisters post an ad to rent the spare room in his simple home, without asking his permission first. Still, when captivating Trixie responds to the ad, he agrees to let her move in, despite immediate worries about keeping things platonic. Trixie’s dance background under intense stage parents has led her to rely on her constant smile, believing that letting people see your real emotions is not an option. Determined to keep her new room, the new friend she has in Bear, and give Chick-chick the care she deserves, she fights to keep her walls up and not get too close. Still, it’s not long before the pair’s proximity, chicken parenting, and money-making shenanigans ignite flames that have Trixie and Bear testing the boundaries of their platonic roomies ground rules. They have to figure out how to save a family business, pay for mounting vet bills, and navigate their own emotional baggage if they want to find the love that they all deserve. (This premise had me at “Chicago,” but for those whose home isn’t Chi-town, the holiday date of this rom-com—which, I mean, that premise—could be a huge draw. Also, stage parents who taught you to repress your emotions… brilliant.) 

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Curated by: Naseem Jamnia
​Posted by: Erin La Rosa​