The Luminaries

Best Books of 2022

Discover the books that made our 2022 list.

Back in 2019, Susan Dennard started a choose your own adventure storyline in her Twitter feed. For months, hundreds of fans logged on daily to "Sooz-Your-Own Adventures" and helped Winnie Wednesday on her way to becoming a hunter, dealing with friendships and family, and trying to get "boops" for Jay Friday. This book is Susan's new take on Hemlock Falls, Winnie's quest to become a hunter and all the monsters that go bump in the forest. I had so much fun reading what evolved out of the Twitter fun. #UghJay Forever!! Also... check out Susan's website if you want to read the Twitter feed version if you weren't a part of the fun back then. Recommended By Mecca A., Powells.com

From Susan Dennard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series, comes a haunting and high-octane contemporary fantasy, about the magic it takes to face your fears in a nightmare-filled forest, and the mettle required to face the secrets hiding in the dark corners of your own family.

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you. Only the Luminaries, a society of ancient guardians, stand between humanity and the nightmares of the forest that rise each night.

Winnie Wednesday, an exile from the Luminaries, is determined to restore her family's good name by taking the deadly hunter trials on her sixteenth birthday. But when she turns to her ex best friend Jay Friday for help, they discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

You'll want to get lost in the world of The Luminaries again and again."--Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"The Luminaries is exactly the thrilling, dangerous, heart-pounding fantasy I needed, with an incredibly original world and a heroine who knows and fights for her worth. Prepare yourself accordingly — I devoured this in a single sitting." Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Skyhunter

"Enthralling from the first page, The Luminaries lures you into a misty darkness rife with thrills and romance. Living nightmares may stalk across the pages, but this book is a paranormal fantasy dream. The forest calls, and you will love every second of devouring its mysteries." Alexandra Bracken, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lore

"I lost myself from page one in Hemlock Falls and its deadly forest, as vicious as it is inescapably alluring. Winnie Wednesday is the sort of outcast-turned-monster-hunter you can't help loving and rooting for." Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gilded

"Will draw you in and leave you begging for more. Rich with tension, atmosphere, and finesse, you'll want to get lost in the world of The Luminaries again and again." Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shadow & Bone and The Ninth House

Susan Dennard is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series (now in development for TV from the Jim Henson Company), the Something Strange and Deadly series, as well as various short stories and other tales across the internet. She also runs the popular newsletter for writers, the Misfits and Daydreamers. When not writing or teaching writing, she can be found rolling the dice as a Dungeon Master or mashing buttons on one of her way too many consoles.

Originally from Georgia, Dennard earned advanced degrees in marine ecology and statistics while also traveling the world. She now lives near Lake Michigan with her French husband, très mignonne daughter, and a veritable zoo of aging pets.