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The 45 Best New Books of 2023 You Won’t Put Down

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From fizzy summer beach reads to highbrow literary fiction, 2023’s most noteworthy releases so far are highly personal and deeply memorable. At the start of the year, readers were treated to heartfelt debut novels by Jessica George and Delia Cai. Throughout the spring and summer, modern literary forces like Brandon Taylor, Ann Patchett, and Zadie Smith returned with highly anticipated novels that were worth the wait. The momentum isn’t ending with the calendar year, either. Books arriving in fall and winter include Elizabeth Hand’s bone-chilling A Haunting on the Hill and Class , Stephanie Land’s follow-up to her best-selling memoir Maid . From a study of Brooklyn’s gilded upper class in Pineapple Street to a scammer’s anxiety-inducing lurch through the Hamptons in Emma Cline’s The Guest , this year’s best new books hook you from the first scene. Their characters are so memorable, you’ll want to revisit them again in the not-too-distant future. (Even the antiheroes.)

Read on for the best books of 2023 to add to your reading list now—and read a second time later—organized by release date. From the moment you pick them up, you won’t want to put them down. And if there’s a book lover in your life, any one of these titles would fit their definition of a luxury gift for the holiday season.

The Survivalists: A Novel

The Survivalists is one of the year’s most noteworthy new books on premise alone . Aretha, a partner-track lawyer who thrives on corporate success, descends into the world of Armageddon bunkers and doomsday arms dealing after she begins dating a coffee entrepreneur whose roommates are preparing for all sorts of unknown catastrophes while managing the roastery in their shared brownstone. On execution, The Survivalists delivers with a portrait of an underground corner of Brooklyn that’s so vividly captured, you may question what’s going on behind your favorite coffee shop.

Maame: A Novel

Maddie, the narrator of Jessica George’s stirring debut novel, has spent most of her 20s caring for her father, who has Parkinson’s disease. Her mother is in Ghana; her brother is on the road with a musician; neither offer much in terms of money or help. But a moment for Maddie to finally figure out what she wants from life, independent of her family, is on the horizon—just not in the way she initially expects. This is a coming-of-age novel that finds beauty in the messiness and complexity of growing up, with a narrator whose singular voice instantly captivated readers and reviewers.

There’s more where Maame came from: The novel has already been picked up for a TV adaptation.

Central Places: A Novel

Heroines who travel from a bustling city to their flyover-state hometown for the holidays often find trouble and maybe a new love interest in their old zip code. But Audrey Zhou, the narrator of Central Plac es, isn’t on the Hallmark trajectory when she books a Christmas trip back to Hickory Grove, Illinois, for her first visit since high school. Audrey intends to spend the week introducing her Chinese immigrant parents to her white fiancé and helping them feel like one family—a tough order, considering Audrey and her mother aren’t on the best terms. Instead, after run-ins with a past crush and old acquaintances, Audrey embarks on a self-reckoning that’s hilarious at some times, heartfelt at others, and impossible to put down the whole way through.

Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear

Wolfish ’s explorations of predators and prey in both the natural and man-made worlds defies easy categorization. The way Berry weaves an ecological adventure story about OR-7 , a wolf who makes a record-breaking journey away from an Oregon pack, with tales from her own coming-of-age, asks readers to reconsider their relationships with fear and the creatures who induce it.

I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel

Is I Have Some Questions for You a campus novel, a noir murder mystery, or a literary dissection of #MeToo social dynamics? With literary sensation Rebecca Makkai steering journalist Bodie Kane back to her high school alma mater to teach a workshop and, eventually, sift through the files on a former classmate’s death to potentially exonerate a wrongly accused killer, the answer is all of the above.

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock

In 2019, Jenny Odell drew our collective attention to the attention economy’s downsides with her book How to Do Nothing . Saving Time offers another chance to shift our perspective on the systems we accept as the standard—specifically time, and how we structure and spend it. You might just put this book down with a whole new outlook on how you measure your days.

Pineapple Street: A Novel

Comedies skewering the 1 percent have borderline overstayed their welcome in film, but this novel’s take on the subgenre in fiction is laugh-out-loud good. It follows three women connected to the wealthier-than-wealthy Stockton family and their Brooklyn Heights brownstone: two Stockton siblings, Darley and Georgiana, and their sister-in-law with a middle-class background, Sasha. Love and money have always mixed like oil and water (not well), but Jackson finds new humor and warmth in her particularly witty debut.

Brother & Sister Enter the Forest: A Novel

Richard Mirabella braids two timelines into one propulsive narrative about survival. In the first: Justin, a queer teen, sets off on a catastrophic road trip with his first boyfriend after his love interest gets into violent trouble. In the second: It’s several years later, and Justin has arrived on his sister Willa’s doorstep, desperate for refuge but at risk of damaging them both with the aftereffects of his trauma.

Hello Beautiful: A Novel

Little Women fans will be endeared by Hello Beautiful ’s homage to the March siblings, in the form of the four Padavano sisters. Any lover of a sweeping family saga will be moved by the Padavanos’ unraveling after eldest daughter Julia meets Will, a man whose tragic past comes back to disrupt the entire family.

Romantic Comedy: A Novel

The title doesn’t lie: Curtis Sittenfeld sets up her latest novel with a plot that demands a fizzy on-creen adaptation, ASAP. Sally Milz, a writer on a fictional SNL twin, The Night Owls , has more or less given up on romance when pop star Noah Brewster signs on to host the show. Over a week of writing jokes and rehearsing the week’s lineup, Sally feels something that’s a lot like love—but you’ll have to read to see if their connection is real or just another sketch.

A Living Remedy: A Memoir

On one level, Nicole Chung’s second memoir is an elegy for her adoptive parents. On another, it’s an indictment of the broken health care systems that prevent a disappearing middle class from receiving the affordable care it desperately needs. Chung writes about and through her grief with clarity and wisdom. Her reflection on her early life and her parents’ last days is a salve for any reader who has experienced the specific devastation that is losing a parent.

Happy Place: A Novel

Happy Place is a different kind of Emily Henry romance. Harriet and Wyn, its leading duo, aren't a couple in the making. They're partners since college who quietly broke up months ago—and didn’t tell any of their friends before an annual group trip to Maine. Back at their usual summer escape, Harriet and Wyn have to fake that they’re still together for the friends they haven’t clued in to the truth, and maybe come to a new understanding with one another in the process. Don’t be surprised if you’re weeping through the last few chapters (in a cathartic way, we promise).

Homebodies: A Novel

Tembe Denton-Hurst’s debut novel astutely captures what it’s like to fight for yourself in a world that’s stacked against you. Unfairly ousted from her job, Mickey Hayward puts her experiences as a Black woman in media to paper in the hopes it’ll wake up the industry to the racism and sexism she endured. Instead, it hardly makes a ripple—until Mickey has left New York for her Maryland hometown and her letter reappears amid a larger scandal involving her old workplace.

Wildflower: A Memoir

How did Aurora James found her CFDA award–winning label Brother Vellies and galvanize retailers to take a stand for Black-owned brands through the Fifteen Percent Pledge? James’s forthcoming memoir recounts the peaks and valleys from childhood to adulthood that led her to the fashion industry—where she changed things for the better.

The Guest: A Novel

Emma Cline’s best-selling novel became the book of the summer for a reason. The Guest invites you to follow a down-on-her-luck scammer through one chaotic week in the Hamptons—where each day bring her to more desperate means of survival and manipulation than the one before.

Yellowface: A Novel

The unexpected death of acclaimed author Athena Liu presents (what looks like) an opportunity for struggling writer June Hayward to finally break through—by stealing Liu’s last manuscript and inventing an Asian-American identity to pass off Liu’s masterwork as her own. Posing as “Juniper Song,” June gets a taste of the literary success she stole and definitely doesn’t deserve. As she soon learns, she can’t keep up the lie forever—can she?

R.F. Kuang’s satirical thriller covers everything from white privilege to internet culture with increasingly eviscerating precision, the further June/Juniper spirals away from the truth.

The Late Americans: A Novel

Brandon Taylor’s third book is the most dazzling example of his sharp pen and keen observations of human nature yet. The Late Americans assembles a troupe of Iowa City student-artists and their lovers, friends, and neighbors in a novel that tracks their shifting relationships over the course of a single year. Taylor develops his characters so precisely, they feel like close friends: recognizable, sometimes infuriating, and always worth following to the book’s last page.

(Bonus recommendation: Check out Taylor’s literary newsletter while you wait for The Late Americans to arrive.)

Girls and Their Horses: A Novel

Tensions have always run high in the elite (and usually, rich) equestrian world. Girls and Their Horses dials up the intrigue by several degrees, embedding a new-money family into an insular and highly competitive horseback riding community—where deceit, romance, and even murder aren’t out of the question in pursuit of a blue ribbon.

The Mythmakers: A Novel

Keziah Weir’s debut novel takes an age-old literary question—“Is this fiction actually based on reality?”—and twists it into a compelling story about art, perspective, and the line between inspiration and transgression. The Mythmakers isn’t from the perspective of a novelist, though: It begins with a down-on-her-luck journalist who recognizes herself in a short story by an acclaimed—and recently deceased—author.

Adult Drama and Other Essays

Three years after an essay about her (unhealthy) friendship with influencer Caroline Calloway went viral, Natalie Beach is delving into other can’t-look-away dramas—in her relationships, in her work, and in the world at large—with the same captivating voice that landed her on so many readers’ radar. This is a debut essay collection not to miss.

Halie LeSavage is the fashion commerce editor at Harper's BAZAAR . Her style reporting covers everything from reviewing the best designer products to profiling emerging brands and designers. Previously, she was the founding retail writer at Morning Brew and a fashion associate at Glamour .

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18 New Books Coming in October

Buzzy new novels from Jesmyn Ward, Tananarive Due and Daniel Clowes; biographies of Madonna and Sam Bankman-Fried; John Grisham’s sequel to “The Firm”; and much more.

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By The New York Times Books Staff

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy , by Nathan Thrall

Thrall first recounted the story of Abed Salama’s search for his 5-year-old son after a bus crash on the outskirts of Jerusalem in a 2021 piece for The New York Review of Books. Now he’s expanded it, weaving the wrenching human saga with a history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Metropolitan Books, Oct. 3

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution , by Cat Bohannon

Bohannon presents nothing less than a new history of the species by examining human evolution through the lens of womankind. It’s a provocative corrective that will answer dozens of questions you’ve always had — and even more you never thought to ask.

Knopf, Oct. 3

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon , by Michael Lewis

When the cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in 2022, the journalist Michael Lewis had been spending time with its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, in order to write a book. Now his intimate look at the now-disgraced entrepreneur is scheduled to be published around the time that his trial on fraud charges is set to begin .

Norton, Oct. 3

A Haunting on the Hill , by Elizabeth Hand

This return to the horror-soaked setting of “The Haunting of Hill House” — which was greenlit by Shirley Jackson’s estate — features a group of friends who make the mistake of renting the moldering old mansion.

Mulholland Books, Oct. 3

How to Say Babylon: A Memoir , by Safiya Sinclair

Sinclair, an award-winning Jamaican poet (“Cannibal”) recounts her coming-of-age in a strict Rastafarian community in Montego Bay and the rebellion that grew within her, until she escaped — through education and through language.

37 Ink, Oct. 3

Making It So: A Memoir , by Patrick Stewart

After years as a journeyman stage actor, Stewart found himself an unlikely celebrity in his 40s after being cast as Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” His memoir vividly recounts the tribulations he overcame — a provincial upbringing, an embittered father — and the teachers and mentors who pointed him skyward.

Gallery, Oct. 3

The Maniac , by Benjamín Labatut

In his new novel, Labatut chronicles the life and legacy of John von Neumann, the polymath who worked on the Manhattan Project and made pivotal contributions to physics, economics, computing and other fields. It’s a study of scientific genius and the darkness of a hyper-rational mind, told through imagined remembrances by colleagues, associates and loved ones.

Penguin Press, Oct. 3

Monica , by Daniel Clowes

Clowes’s latest graphic novel tells the story of a woman’s life from birth to old age and her long quest to track down, or at least understand, her mother. Progressing from the 1960s to the present day, the genre-bending episodes in this book draw upon counterculture, women’s empowerment, apocalypse and the supernatural, among other themes.

Fantagraphics, Oct. 3

The Children’s Bach and This House of Grief , by Helen Garner

A master of intimate, psychologically precise narratives featuring ordinary people caught in extreme circumstances, Garner, now 80, has amassed a devoted following in her native Australia. With the republication of “The Children’s Bach,” a novel about a loosely connected group of 1970s Melbourne residents sorting out their lives, and “This House of Grief,” a nonfiction account of a wrenching murder trial, she is sure to attract new fans here.

Pantheon, Oct. 10

Madonna: A Rebel Life , by Mary Gabriel

What is there to say about Madonna Louise Ciccone that she hasn’t said herself, in song and video, on talk shows and TikTok, through provocative pronouncements and a book called “Sex” ? Over 800 pages, Gabriel, an indefatigable biographer who has also tackled Karl Marx and his wife Jenny von Westphalen, provides an answer.

Little, Brown, Oct. 10

The Exchange , by John Grisham

More than three decades after “The Firm” rocketed onto best-seller lists and made him a household name, Grisham revisits the novel’s indelible main characters, Mitch and Abby McDeere.

Doubleday, Oct. 17

The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination , by Stuart A. Reid

Reid, an executive editor at Foreign Affairs, traces the life and death of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Republic of Congo, who was in office only a few months before he was deposed and assassinated in 1961. As he plumbs recently declassified files, Reid sheds light on the C.I.A.’s role in the killing.

Knopf, Oct. 17

Tremor , by Teju Cole

A Nigerian-born photography professor at a New England college narrates this novel about art and power, finding much to ponder — on colonialism, subjectivity, identity — in the everyday details of teaching, travel and working. Around him is a world not of idyllic pleasures but of latent violence and instability.

Random House, Oct. 17

Let Us Descend , by Jesmyn Ward

Ward, the two-time National Book Award-winning novelist, conjures the horrors of antebellum slavery through the story of Annis, who is forced on a harrowing march from a plantation in North Carolina to the slave markets of New Orleans — a journey overseen by spirits and steeped in allusions to Dante’s “Inferno.”

Scribner, Oct. 24

Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond , by Henry Winkler

“I never lost sight of what the character gave me,” Winkler, the star of “Happy Days,” writes in a showbiz memoir flavored with gratitude — for a life-changing audition, a long marriage, a sideline writing kids’ books and a second stab at TV acclaim in HBO’s “Barry.”

Celadon, Oct. 31

The Race to Be Myself: A Memoir , by Caster Semenya

In her revelatory memoir, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion exposes the pain and humiliation she’s endured at the hands of the international body governing athletics and the international public, who have challenged her identity as a woman — and as the fastest woman in the world.

Norton, Oct. 31

The Reformatory , by Tananarive Due

History meets horror in Due’s latest novel, about a Black boy in 1950s Florida, Robbie, who gets sent to a brutal reformatory school after defending his sister from a racist attack. But it’s not just the warden Robbie needs to watch out for — this school is also haunted by the ghosts of students who died there.

Saga Press, Oct. 31

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

The complicated, generous life  of Paul Auster, who died on April 30 , yielded a body of work of staggering scope and variety .

“Real Americans,” a new novel by Rachel Khong , follows three generations of Chinese Americans as they all fight for self-determination in their own way .

“The Chocolate War,” published 50 years ago, became one of the most challenged books in the United States. Its author, Robert Cormier, spent years fighting attempts to ban it .

Joan Didion’s distinctive prose and sharp eye were tuned to an outsider’s frequency, telling us about ourselves in essays that are almost reflexively skeptical. Here are her essential works .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

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150 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall

SEPT. 19, 2023

by Susie Boyt

Readers who are averse to crying in public be warned: You’ll want to sit with this astounding story at home. Full review >

OCT. 10, 2023

by Cassandra Clare

A wonderfully enjoyable series opener. Full review >

OCT. 3, 2023

GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

by Daniel Clowes

A timeless nugget of polished pulp. Full review >

OCT. 17, 2023

by Teju Cole

A provocative and profound meditation on art and life in a world of terror. Full review >

NOV. 14, 2023

by Michael Cunningham

This subtle, sensitively written family story proves poignant and quietly powerful. Full review >

by Lydia Davis

A collection that you'll want to keep on your bedside table by one of America’s most original short story writers. Full review >

OCT. 31, 2023

by Tananarive Due

A novel that reminds its readers that racism forges its own lasting, unbearable nightmares. Full review >

by Anne Enright

Tender and truthful as ever, Enright offers a beguiling journey to selfhood. Full review >

SEPT. 12, 2023

by Diana Evans

A baggy, striking, perceptive slice of intergenerational life. Full review >

by Helen Garner

Brilliantly constructed and puzzling in a good way, the way that even our own lives can be puzzling to us. Full review >

by Lauren Groff

The writing is inspired, the imaginative power near mystic, but some will wish for more plot. Full review >

OCT. 24, 2023

by Eskor David Johnson

An inventive, beautifully written debut that will leave readers wanting more. Full review >

AUG. 29, 2023

by Angie Kim

The claim that a book will change your life often seems like exaggeration. Here the potential is real. Full review >

by Benjamín Labatut

Sharply written fiction ably capturing primitive emotions and boundary-breaking research. Full review >

by Jhumpa Lahiri ; translated by Jhumpa Lahiri with Todd Portnowitz

Filled with intelligence and sorrow, these sharply drawn glimpses of Roman lives create an impressively unified effect. Full review >

by Daniel Mason

Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical. Full review >

SEPT. 26, 2023

by Ayana Mathis

An affecting and carefully drawn story of a family on the brink. Full review >

NOV. 7, 2023

by Alice McDermott

This transporting, piercing, profound novel is McDermott’s masterpiece. Full review >

by Molly McGhee

Upton Sinclair meets modern workplace satire—with a lot of heart. Full review >

by Tim O'Brien

A broadly engaging and entertaining work. Full review >

SEPT. 4, 2023

by Olga Ravn ; translated by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell

A stunning book that speaks aloud thoughts the reader believed had been theirs alone in long nursery hours of the night. Full review >

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

by V.E. Schwab

A delicious treat for fans of the Shades of Magic series and a lush, suspenseful fantasy in its own right. Full review >

SEPT. 5, 2023

by Zadie Smith

Intelligent and thoughtful but not quite at this groundbreaking writer’s usual level of excellence. Full review >

by James Frankie Thomas

Equal parts funny and insightful, this is a propulsive exploration of gender identity, sexuality, and self-discovery. Full review >

by Vauhini Vara

A poignant collection of stories that glimpse the salvation of human connection in the midst of modern alienation. Full review >

by Jesmyn Ward

Ward may not tell you anything new about slavery, but her language is saturated with terror and enchantment. Full review >

by Bryan Washington

Washington brilliantly commits to his style and preoccupations in a novel about the often winding journey to family. Full review >

by LaToya Watkins

Granular yet transcendent storytelling. Full review >

by Ghassan Zeineddine

A fantastic collection heralding the voice of a major new writer. Full review >

by C Pam Zhang

Mournful and luscious, a gothic novel for the twilight of the Anthropocene Era. Full review >

by Alice Carrière

A spellbinding memoir. Full review >

by Roz Chast ; illustrated by Roz Chast

A sharp compendium of dreamy visions that could only have come from the iconic cartoonist’s sleeping mind. Full review >

by Chuck D ; illustrated by Chuck D

A focused, fresh, urgent text filled with pictures worth 1,000 words and rhymes worth thousands more. Full review >

by Annie Ernaux ; translated by Alison L. Strayer

A crucial addition to Ernaux’s oeuvre. Full review >

by Ben Goldfarb

An astonishingly deep pool of wonders. Full review >

by Taras Grescoe

Grescoe writes with color, energy, and humor, and the result is a fascinating book that leaves you hungry for more. Full review >

by Myriam Gurba

A truly exceptional essay collection about safety, fear, and power. Full review >

CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES

by Michael Harriot ; illustrated by Jibola Fagbamiye

Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history. Full review >

by Will Hermes

An engrossing, fully dimensional portrait of an influential yet elusive performer. Full review >

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

by Werner Herzog ; translated by Michael Hofmann

Fans and neophytes alike will relish the opportunity to delve deeply into Herzog’s fascinating mind. Full review >

by Naomi Klein

A disarming and addictive call to solidarity. Full review >

by Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Exciting and exhaustive, this fun hip-hop history explains what your favorite rappers are wearing and why. Full review >

by Amy Kurzweil

Intimate reflections and powerful visual elements combine in an exemplary work of graphic nonfiction. Full review >

by Sung-Yoon Lee

A vivid portrait of a ruthless, egocentric woman driven by an unrelenting sense of entitlement and destiny. Full review >

by Jill Lepore

A noteworthy collection from an indispensable writer and thinker. Full review >

by Bettina L. Love

An impassioned plea for educational justice. Full review >

by Tiya Miles

A fresh, graceful contribution to women’s history. Full review >

by Sy Montgomery ; illustrated by Matt Patterson

An engaging, informative, and colorful journey into the world of turtles. Full review >

by Liza Mundy

Another winner from Mundy, who tells a story that deserves to be told about women who deserve to be remembered. Full review >

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

A fragmentary reflection on the refugee experience, at once lyrical and biting, by one of our leading writers. Full review >

by Kerri ní Dochartaigh

A raw, honest, and poetic memoir. Full review >

by Joe Posnanski

A book for any baseball fan to cherish. Full review >

by Heather Cox Richardson

Reminding us that “how it comes out rests…in our own hands,” Richardson empowers us for the chapters yet to come. Full review >

by Mike Rothschild

With solid research and engaging humor, this book takes apart the conspiracy theories surrounding the Rothschild family. Full review >

by Simon Schama

A vivid account of the horror of epidemics and the breakthroughs that can bring them under control. Full review >

by Victor Sebestyen

A beautifully wrought, admiring portrait of a beloved, beleaguered city and its people. Full review >

by Safiya Sinclair

More than catharsis; this is memoir as liberation. Full review >

by Mustafa Suleyman with Michael Bhaskar

An informative yet disturbing study and a clear warning from someone whose voice cannot be ignored. Full review >

by J. Craig Venter & David Ewing Duncan

Important and adventurous science on the high seas. Full review >

by Jeff Yang

Whether you dip into it or read it from cover to cover, this book brings a hidden history to life. Full review >

CHILDREN'S

by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir with Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Katherine Ahmed

Stirring and impactful. Full review >

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ; illustrated by Joelle Avelino

Solidly reassuring. Full review >

by Anna Desnitskaya ; illustrated by Anna Desnitskaya ; translated by Lena Traer

Will spark joy and inspire. Full review >

by X. Fang ; illustrated by X. Fang

A real (delicious) trip. Full review >

by Rhiannon Giddens ; illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu

Sublime. Full review >

by Xelena González ; illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

A gorgeous, deeply touching exploration of grief and remembrance. Full review >

by Jyoti Rajan Gopal ; illustrated by Svabhu Kohli

Evocative and electrifying. Full review >

by Amanda Gorman ; illustrated by Christian Robinson

An engaging offering whose hopeful message will resonate with readers of all ages. Full review >

by Jonathan Graziano ; illustrated by Dan Tavis

A cozy, comforting read. Full review >

OCT. 1, 2023

by Margaret Chiu Greanias ; illustrated by Melissa Iwai

Astute and adorable commentary on media representation. Full review >

by Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

Elevates standard hibernation fare to a new level. Full review >

by Joanna Ho ; illustrated by Cátia Chien

Inspiring insights into how art can reify vital current issues. Full review >

by Bridget Hodder & Fawzia Gilani-Williams ; illustrated by Cinzia Battistel

Tender and heart-rending. Full review >

AUG. 1, 2023

by Emily Joof ; illustrated by Matilda Ruta

Gentle, inspiring, and important. Full review >

by Astrid Kamalyan ; illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

An enchanting celebration of heritage and childhood joy. Full review >

AUG. 22, 2023

by Suzy Lee ; illustrated by Suzy Lee ; translated by Helen Mixter

A gorgeous fable celebrating generosity and wit. Full review >

by Carole Lindstrom ; illustrated by Bridget George

A touching ode to Indigenous activists organizing for generations of clean water. Full review >

by Mariana Llanos ; illustrated by Cocoretto

An imaginative peek at colorful monsters. Full review >

by Azam Mahdavi ; illustrated by Maryam Tahmasebi ; translated by Parisa Saranj

A devastatingly honest book about loss, mourning, and recovery. Full review >

by Matthew McConaughey illustrated by Renée Kurilla

Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. Full review >

by Cara Mentzel & Idina Menzel ; illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett

Little sibs unite and distinguish yourselves! A nice lesson for kids who sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Full review >

by Sanjay Patel & Emily Haynes ; illustrated by Sanjay Patel

A charming interpretation of a Hindu myth. Full review >

by Jason Reynolds ; illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey

A bar set stratospherically high and cleared with room to spare. Full review >

by Kim Rogers ; illustrated by Jonathan Nelson

Slice-of-life Native stories told with joy and reverence. Full review >

by Cassie Silva ; illustrated by Frances Ives

A personal, child-friendly approach to sensory changes. Full review >

by Sydney Smith ; illustrated by Sydney Smith

An immensely satisfying glimpse of a family’s ability to navigate challenges through honest conversation and mutual support. Full review >

by Duncan Tonatiuh ; illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

A superb portrait of Afro-Brazilian endurance. Full review >

by Frank Viva ; illustrated by Frank Viva

Funny—and comically instructive. Full review >

by Brendan Wenzel ; illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

Dazzling. Full review >

by Jack Wong ; illustrated by Jack Wong

A sweet story of immigrant connections. Full review >

by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko ; illustrated by Wallace West

Eminently readable and appealing; will tug at dog-loving readers’ heartstrings. Full review >

by Elizabeth-Irene Baitie

A highly affecting novel about young people working together to preserve the richness of their environment. Full review >

by Aaron Blabey ; illustrated by Aaron Blabey

The perils of online celebrity take the form of frantic feline antics in this capable, caper-filled series starter. Full review >

by Jorge Cham ; illustrated by Jorge Cham

An irresistibly entertaining introduction to astrophysics. Full review >

by Roshani Chokshi

A thrilling tale brimming with magic and love. Full review >

by Eoin Colfer ; illustrated by P.J. Lynch

An elegant and inspired fairy tale that feels both familiar and freshly penned. Full review >

by Nora Dåsnes ; translated by Matt Bagguley ; illustrated by Nora Dåsnes

An absorbing, sincerely told story of adolescent self-discovery and connection. Full review >

by Alexandra Diaz

An evocative and transportive read. Full review >

by Jeanne DuPrau

A compelling, nostalgic-feeling story exploring contemporary issues in a futuristic setting. Full review >

by David Anthony Durham ; illustrated by Eric Wilkerson

Nile-style adventures; just the ticket for Percy Jackson fans. Full review >

by Alex Gino

A compassionate, feel-good story affording readers opportunities for identification, information, and inspiration. Full review >

by Carl Hiaasen

A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes. Full review >

by Donna Barba Higuera ; illustrated by David Álvarez

This heartfelt adventure signals hope for humanity, even in the aftermath of darkness. Full review >

by Janet Sumner Johnson

Intelligent, intricately plotted, and ultimately moving. Full review >

by Anna E. Jordan

Adult readers may wish they were young again, so this could instantly become their favorite book. Full review >

by Michelle Kadarusman

An exploration to be savored. Full review >

by Sachiko Kashiwaba ; translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa ; illustrated by Yukiko Saito

A powerful story of healing. Full review >

by Julie Kim ; illustrated by Julie Kim

Rich in folklore, comedy, and color, a riotous and pleasurable treat. Full review >

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Readers will want to move in here and meet these folks. Full review >

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A thoughtful, humorous, community-centered exploration of identity and Buddhism. Full review >

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An utterly delectable feast of history and storytelling. Full review >

by Mari Lowe

Engrossing and deeply relatable. Full review >

by Shanna Miles

A richly detailed story that amplifies the importance of connections and community. Full review >

by Jamie Oliver ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño

Dishes up a tasty round of youthful derring-do with several meaty topics on the side. Full review >

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An absolute delight. Full review >

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A body-positive story of growing up that’s sure to make a splash. Full review >

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Splendid. Full review >

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Witty, encouraging, and perceptive. Full review >

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A brilliant story not to be missed; deeply engaging from the first page. Full review >

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An exquisitely wrought story of self and community. Full review >

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT

by Autumn Allen

An electric debut: a must-read for all. Full review >

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A moving glimpse into a past that is an all-too-possible vision of our future. Full review >

by Kylie Lee Baker

Grisly, dark, and utterly entrancing. Full review >

by David Bowles ; illustrated by Amanda Mijangos

Riveting. Full review >

by Linda Cheng

Immensely and terrifyingly satisfying from beginning to end. Full review >

NOV. 28, 2023

by Lex Croucher

Frankly a delight. Full review >

by Caitlin Donohue

Solid research and a global perspective create a useful approach focusing on harm reduction. Full review >

by Jen Ferguson

Intimate and impactful. Full review >

by Joy Hakim

Thoroughly engrossing and highly recommended. Full review >

by Jason June

With Texas-sized heart and cinematic action, this magical fantasy is a crowd pleaser. Full review >

by Gry Kappel Jensen ; translated by Sharon E. Rhodes

The Scandinavian atmosphere and engaging narrative voices uplift and deepen this magical boarding school story. Full review >

edited by A.S. King

An eclectic, poignant, and introspective treasure trove. Full review >

by Autumn Krause

Highly imaginative and powerfully affecting. Full review >

by Kate Leth ; illustrated by Kate Leth ; color by Diana Sousa

A thoughtful, relationship-driven story. Full review >

by Kayvion Lewis

A fast-paced roller coaster of a read. Full review >

by Crystal Maldonado

A sentimental story about friendship, family, and love as sweet as a pumpkin spice latte. Full review >

by Tash McAdam

Poignant and intoxicating. Full review >

by Meg Medina ; adapted by Mel Valentine Vargas ; illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas ; color by Mary Lee Fenner

A decade on, as relevant as ever and likely to capture the hearts of even more readers. Full review >

by Angela Montoya

A swashbuckling, swoonworthy standout. Full review >

by Alice Oseman ; illustrated by Alice Oseman

Short and sweet. Full review >

by Danielle Paige

This sprawling, action-packed origin story, layered in mystique, will pull readers into its fascinating world. Full review >

by Yasmin Rahman

Honestly portrays the dark parts of life—and shows that there is hope. Full review >

by Karen Rivers

Implausible? Maybe, but also smart and infused with enough heart to make suspending disbelief a pleasure. Full review >

by Elizabeth Rusch

A moving and absorbing account of an urgent case. Full review >

by Naben Ruthnum

A satisfying supernatural tale centering a reluctant hero who discovers the universe’s time-bending secrets. Full review >

by Hannah V. Sawyerr

An unforgettable story of healing told through phenomenal poetry. Full review >

by Leanne Schwartz

Perfectly balanced action, reflection, and intrigue; sure to offer wide appeal. Full review >

by Neal Shusterman ; illustrated by Andrés Vera Martínez

Moving examples of the power of culture and folklore to offer help, hope, and inspiration to act. Full review >

by Phoebe Wahl ; illustrated by Phoebe Wahl

An earnest, relatable, and affecting celebration of teenage yearning. Full review >

by Yohuru Williams & Michael G. Long

Coherent, compellingly passionate, rich in sometimes-startling and consistently well-founded insights. Full review >

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24 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall

Get lost in the pages of gripping memoirs, transporting fiction, and more. there’s even a book by babs..

As summer turns to fall, the beach read finds itself replaced with another type of literary enjoyment. Now is the time to snuggle up with a book, perhaps under a blanket with a cup of apple cider, while the weather cools and the leaves change colors. Not every new book we’re excited about this autumn is cozy, though. There’s room on the bookshelf for gripping coming-of-age reflections, Japanese poetry, A-list autobiographies, historical fiction, and even a bit of frog dissection, so to speak. Let’s crack open the spine on Vulture’s 24 most anticipated books of fall 2023.

How do you sleep at night? French writer and longtime insomniac Marie Darrieussecq would like to know. Insomnia and writing “both thrive on the fantasy of the chosen,” she writes. A product of 20 years of sleep struggles, this strange but delightful book intertwines a diary of the author’s own restlessness with her collected evidence of the nighttime woes of other writers, including Proust, Duras, Kafka, and Césaire, and their pharmacological means to achieve rest. From a series of photos of the author’s hotel beds over the years to a spiraling account of the things that keep us up — ghosts, babies, trauma, a lack of ­shelter — this book examines a roving mind with the nocturnal logic of association and quiet.  —Jasmine Vojdani

The Chinese-born writer who actively chose “to be orphaned” from her native language in favor of English, which she considers her “private language,” follows last year’s extraordinary The Book of Goose with a collection whose title is plucked from a nursery rhyme. Written over the course of a decade, these stories take up the author’s familiar themes of mourning, motherhood, and aging. In the titular story, a mother whose teen daughter appears to have killed herself travels alone during the pandemic and remarks that “there are very few things in life that are impervious to time’s erosion.” In “When We Were Happy We Had Other Names,” a bereaved mother compares a child’s death to “the probability of an ant’s being struck by lightning” and then having to “survive and toil on” before she attempts to use a spreadsheet to quantify a lifetime of loss. Few writers tackle the way grief reverberates through our lives with Li’s frankness, tact, and humor.  —J.V.

The celebrated author’s first novel since 2016’s Swing Time is a historical tale about class, writing, and gossip that begins with a famously controversial trial. In 1870s England, Eliza Touchet, the housekeeper and cousin to a middling novelist (who happens to be friends with Charles Dickens), becomes obsessed with the Tichborne case — a real-life court drama, relentlessly covered by London newspapers at the time, in which a poor man claimed to be the heir to a massive fortune who had supposedly died in a shipwreck. More than the suspected fraud himself, the abolitionist Eliza is captivated by the trial’s main witness: a man named Andrew Bogle who was enslaved for years on a plantation in Jamaica.  —Emma Alpern

After Matrix , a sexy spin on medieval romance inspired by the 12th-century writings of Marie de France, Lauren Groff revisits her thesis: that much suffering comes from a misreading of Genesis, whereby man dominated the Earth in lieu of caring for it. Except this time she does it through a story described as a “female Robinson Crusoe ,” following a servant girl who flees an early-American settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. As she navigates the harshness of nature and violent encounters with Indigenous people, we get flashes into what she’s left behind: her home, her language, and Bess, a child born into her care whom she considered her only family. A revelation about what exactly the girl had to do to escape the plague-infested colony comes at the end, but the flowing prose holds tension and sows mystery on every page.  —J.V.

An extraordinary act of fan service for all of us who enjoy making literary jokes on the internet. The activist-author not only acknowledges the fact that she has often been confused with Naomi Wolf — the feminist author turned anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist — she has written a complicated, self-aware, and thought-provoking book about it, using her experience of being mistaken for the Other Naomi to explore how two paths can diverge so sharply.  —Maris Kreizman

A reporter on the wellness and fashion beat with an ear for gossipy storytelling, and in the billion-dollar beauty brand Glossier, Marisa Meltzer has found a subject that suits her talents: Emily Weiss, Glossier’s secretive founder who once featured in a three-episode arc as a character on MTV reality show The Hills. This is the rare business book that’s actually fun to read.  —M.K.

This book by the German writer is a kaleidoscopic romp through the decades that preceded World War II. The biography follows the lives and romances of the artists and thinkers who made a name for themselves during this era: from Simone de Beauvoir to Anaïs Nin to Bertolt Brecht. Through a series of vignettes, the work explores how these artists came to prominence and their affairs of both the body and mind — but hovering over it all is the impending catastrophe of war, which brings gravity to the book that balances nicely against its leaping, gossipy opening. As the culture of Europe shifts away from experimentation and play toward large-scale social collapse, the author wrestles with how easily — and disconcertingly — hate can take over a population.  —Isle McElroy

The author has carved out a wildly productive 2023. In March, McKenzie Wark released Raving , her book about the underground queer and trans rave scene in New York. Now, her memoir about her childhood in Australia and transitioning later in life appears, written as a series of direct addresses to the women in her life, from mothers to lovers to herself, as she comes to terms with her gender identity. In an address to herself, Wark writes, “You — what do I even remember of you? Our past selves are probably extensively edited editions. Let me see what I can piece together.” The memoir is an attempt to make sense of the edited self and the person who we once were. A portrait of selfhood under construction.  —I.M .

Zhang’s debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold , was an epic reimagining of the western. Now she sets her sights on a dystopian future: In the aftermath of a global environmental disaster, a chef abandons her career in London to join an affluent mountaintop food-research community insulated from the problems plaguing the rest of the world. As she grows closer to her employer and his daughter, she rediscovers her passion for food, for others, and for herself — and learns that the community’s motives go far beyond preparing elaborate meals. An exploration of the kinds of complicated moral ­choices we are all likely to make as the planet becomes increasingly inhospitable. —I.M.

The release of a new collection by Lydia Davis will always be a big deal — she’s long been able to tell a whole, complicated story with just a sentence or two — but this one is especially exciting because you won’t be able to find it on Amazon. The author teamed up with the folks at Bookshop.org to publish it, the first book that the indie retail game-changer will put out as a publisher. Not only does Davis have the power to murder readers with just a few words; she’s giving life to indie bookstores.  —M.K.

In her 2013 novel Hild, the author told the story of the teenage Hild of Whitby, an enigmatic figure from the rise of Christianity: In the seventh century, England was made up of small warring kingdoms. Hild, enlisted to be her king’s seer, cobbles together what seem like magic insights using her talent for social observation. That novel’s much-anticipated follow-up finds Hild a little older and living in a small stronghold of her own — while tensions across England are rising, threatening all sense of order. Like the first book, Menewood anchors its far-off subject matter with close attention to the natural world. It’s also visceral in a whole new way, dramatizing some of northern Britain’s most violent years.   —E.A.

The musician Lou Reed is a slippery subject for a biography. He was notoriously prickly toward journalists, and his body of work actively resists interpretation. For this big new biography of the Velvet Underground front man, Will Hermes — longtime rock journalist and author of Love Goes to Buildings on Fire — threads the needle with a wealth of reporting, access to the entirety of the New York Public Library’s Reed archive, and a nuanced understanding of the man, who was less ahead of his time than apart from it. That description applies to both his music and his sexuality, which he didn’t care to define: “Reed lived as he pleased,” Hermes writes, “and answered to no one.”  —E.A.

The author astounded me with When We Cease to Understand the World, a novel in which he explores the dark side of scientific breakthroughs by blurring fact and fiction in a way that might feel familiar to just about anyone consuming any form of media today. (It’s much easier to appreciate that blurred line when it’s done for the sake of art!) He promises to do the same with some of the early creators of AI in this novel, which will no doubt be equally as alarming yet also strangely beautiful.  —M.K.

In this memoir, the poet reflects on her childhood in Jamaica living under the strict rules of her Rastafarian father, a volatile reggae musician who instituted draconian measures to protect his family from what he saw as the corruption of western influences. As a child, Safiya was able to find slivers of freedom and safety in the books her mother bought for her and her siblings, but her newfound independence resulted in clashes with her father, who became increasingly violent and paranoid as his daughter attempted to break free. Her book charts the unique ways she carved out a life while remaining true to the people and places she loves.  —I.M.

Just over ten years ago, the author moved with her family from the U.S. to Rome to study Italian. The Pulitzer Prize winner has gone so far as to start writing in the language; her last two books were translated into English. Her newest is a short-story collection about Rome and its people — longtime residents, tourists, and immigrants. The characters here are mostly unnamed and near anonymous, many of them adrift after life-shaking relocations and trying to make their way in the massive city. In one memorable chapter, a flight of public stairs becomes the stage for a series of passing figures who race up them, sit on them, or “descend together like a bubbling hive.”  —E.A.

On an antiquing trip through New England with his wife, a photography professor named Tunde notices two objects: an elegant antelope headdress made by the West African Bambara people and a photocopied note describing a Native American attack that took place in the 1700s. From there, Tunde’s thoughts spin out — to his teenage years in Nigeria (where parts of the book take place), the brutality of history, and the American “fever dream of mindless Indian violence.” Cole has written plenty of essays in recent years, many of them about photography; this is his first novel since 2011’s Open City, and it shares that book’s heady elliptical style.  —E.A.

In this debut novel, Abernathy, a self-proclaimed loser, lands a job entering the minds of white-collar workers to remove anxieties from their subconscious. The gig seems like his big break, a way for him to escape mountains of debt and remake his life, possibly even find love. But it’s morally compromising, and he finds it increasingly difficult to separate work from life, dreams from reality. McGhee grapples skillfully with the complicated ethical questions at the core of late-stage capitalism. How much of yourself must you sacrifice in order to make a life? Who do we risk becoming in the pursuit of safety and comfort?  —I.M.

Ward is a writer of skill and vision who has already won the National Book Award for Fiction for two novels in a row ( Salvage the Bones in 2011 and Sing, Unburied, Sing in 2017). If only she had consistently been paid as such, but that’s another story. Her fourth novel is the story of an enslaved teenage girl who must walk the many miles from North Carolina to Louisiana when she is sold to a new owner. It promises to be a brutal read, but if there’s any author we can trust to take us on this harrowing journey and find beauty in the bleakest of human conditions, it’s Ward.  —M.K.

Many excellent comedians (Maria Bamford, Aparna Nancherla, Gary Gulman, Leslie Jones) are putting out books this fall, and Vulture’s own Jesse David Fox is the critic who can put all of these power players into context, making an impassioned argument for why comedy matters and examining breakthroughs from the past 30 years to make the case for comedy as an art form that deserves to be analyzed and appreciated. Fox is funny in his own right, combining comprehensive knowledge with superfan enthusiasm.  —M.K.

Ishii is one of Japan’s most celebrated poets. In this new collection, he continues his practice of modernizing the classical poetic form of the tanka, a five-line, 5-7-5-7-7 syllable poem that he instead writes in one line. His work is stark and sensuous: “Already my body is tired out with desire / Probably so is my soul,” he writes in “Bathhouse.” In “Treetop Flowers,” he captures the coy directness of desire: “All the flowers called flowers scatter / The naked mariner spreads the / Sails of his boat to the island of love.” Hiroaki Sato’s brilliant translation maintains Ishii’s innovations, including the poet’s nontraditional use of punctuation. This collection is an excellent introduction to the beauty of Ishii’s verse.  —I.M.

When Park’s new novel was pitched to me as “ Squid Game meets Gravity’s Rainbow ,” suffice to say I was intrigued. Personal Days, Park’s 2008 office novel, is one of the best in that suddenly exploding mini-genre, and this next novel feels bigger and more ambitious and weird as hell. Same Bed Different Dreams is a multifaceted alt-history that traces the ripple effect of what might happen if the Korean Provisional Government had never been dissolved before the partition of North and South. Park has spent years as an editor in book and magazine publishing helping writers to make their own work better, so it’s thrilling to see what he can do now that he’s put on his author hat once again.  —M.K.

Streisand is at the tippy top of a list of icons from whom fans have been clamoring for a memoir, and now the wait is almost over. Weighing in at a whopping 992 pages, My Name Is Barbra promises to be the perfect tome to gift for Hanukkah. Her publisher says Babs will discuss her trailblazing career in detail in the book, but here’s hoping she avoids a simple résumé rundown and spends many pages in juicier, more personal territory.  —M.K.

Gabriel Bump, who won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for his debut, Everywhere You Don’t Belong, returns with a novel about a young Black couple who attempt to create a Black utopia in rural Massachusetts. After losing their only child, the pair comes to see the world as hostile; they are eager to live safely, to build a place where they can feel loved and seen for who they are. What begins as a fantasy soon becomes reality when a wealthy benefactor helps bankroll the community’s construction and outsiders begin to show up. But as the numbers accumulate, so do the concerns. No ­utopia can avoid conflict for long.  —I.M.

Anna, a 39-year-old writer living in New York, has been canceled. A New York Times reviewer deemed her satirical novel about the opioid epidemic classist, and her publisher drops her, Twitter attacks her, and she’s suddenly overwhelmingly disliked. Full of despair but not at all remorseful, she finds herself ushered into a new world populated by belligerent centrists and edgelord podcast hosts. Most significantly, she discovers a group of Ayn Rand superfans and decides to devote herself to the infamous advocate for unfettered egoism. Anna’s newfound passion for objectivism takes her all the way to Hollywood — at least for a while, until she loses her grip on things again. Freiman’s novel (her second after 2018’s Inappropriation ) is uncomfortably funny and sure to cause a stir.  —E.A.

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43 books we can't wait to read in 2024

For a book lover , the new year is the definition of a blank page. Now’s the time to set your reading goals , if that’s your thing. Or, it’s a moment to gaze ahead at all the wonders this year brings — literary wonders , specifically.

The books of 2024 offer escapes of all kinds. For a thrill, look no further than “The Fury,” Alex Michaelides’ anticipated latest, set in a private Greek island. Romance readers will enjoy the return of Emily Henry or “A Love Song for Ricki Wilde” by “Seven Days in June” author Tia Williams. For another look at relationships, Ursula Villareal-Moura offers a moving portrait of the vulnerabilities of young womanhood in “Like Happiness.”

Kelly Link, known for her magical short stories, will be publishing her first novel, much to her fans’ delight. On that note, literary megastars Julia Alvarez, Tana French, Leigh Bardugo, Lev Grossman and Kristin Hannah all have new books out — and surely, romantasy fans already have the release date of Sarah J. Maas’ next book set in their calendars.  

And that’s not even mentioning all the Read With Jenna books that TODAY’s resident book maven Jenna Bush Hager will be selecting for her monthly book club. 

Below, TODAY staffers and bookstagrammer Lupita Aquino nominate the books we can’t wait to read in the new year.

"The Waters"

“The Waters” is an instantly transfixing voyage into a small town and the women keeping its people alive, literally. Hermine “Herself” Zook has been a herbalist and healer for the residents of her corner of the Great Massasauga Swamp for generations. The book follows generations of her own family. (—Elena Nicolaou)

"Dead in Long Beach, California" by Venita Blackburn (Jan. 23)

"Dead in Long Beach, California"

From the author of the short story collection "How to Wrestle a Girl" comes a heartbreaking novel that explores the depths of grief. Coral, an author of a popular dystopian novel, has discovered that her brother has taken his own life. Overcome with denial, Coral slowly begins to lose grip on reality. (—Lupita Aquino)

"House of Flame and Shadow" by Sarah J Maas (Jan. 30)

"House of Flame and Shadow"

Sarah J. Maas is back with the third book in her Crescent City series, “House of Flame and Shadow,” and — spoiler alert! — this book is expected to be SJM’s big crossover moment between her three fantasy series . The last Crescent City book ended in a cliffhanger as protagonist Bryce Quinlin winds up in another world and meets a group of people who are strangers to her, but oh-so-familiar to readers. (Bryanna Cappadona)

"Good Material" by Dolly Alderton (Jan. 30)

"Good Material"

Dolly Alderton is a British author known for her women characters navigating the travails of love and dating. This time, Alderton focuses on a man — Andy, a comedian — in the wake of a breakup that turns his life upside down. Funny and full of depth, Alderton does it again. (E.N.)

More books releasing in January:

• “The Storm We Made” by Vanessa Chan (Jan. 2): A mother will do anything to keep her family from destructing in 1945 Malaya, even if it means reprising her former life of espionage for the Japanese occupation. (Anna Kaplan)
• "The Fury" by Alex Michaelides (Jan. 16): Alex Michaelides follows up “The Maidens” and “The Silent Patient” with another thriller — in “The Fury,” former movie star Lana Farrar takes her yearly trip to her private Greek island, but the idyllic beach trip with her friends gets turned upside down when someone is murdered. (A.K.)
• "American Girls" by Jessica Roy (Jan. 16): Two sisters. Two wildly different life paths. Journalist Jessica Roy expands on previous reporting on Lori and Sam Sally. One sister followed her husband when he joined ISIS, and the other tried to get her out of Syria.
• " The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James (Jan. 23): The Sonoro family has a cosmic debt each one of them has to pay off, due to their horrific actions. A bandit and his descendants face what is coming to them differently. (E.N.)
• "How We Named the Stars" by Andrés N. Ordorica (Jan. 30): Daniel de La Luna is a first-generation Mexican college student carrying the dreams of his family as he matriculates into a well-known university in the East Coast. Struggling to adjust to this new environment he finds solace in his roommate Sam, who helps Daniel discover what love for him could look like. (L.A.)

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah (Feb. 06)

"The Women"

Author of "The Nightingale" and "The Great Alone," Kristin Hannah focuses on women in the throes of history with her sweeping historical novels. This time, Hannah ventures to a moment in history she told TODAY.com has haunted he since childhood: The Vietnam War. The book focuses on the women who enlisted as nurses.

More books releasing in February:

• "A Love Song for Ricki Wilde" by Tia Williams (Feb. 6): Time travel and romance? Check. Tia Williams’ latest is about a florist who moves to Harlem and falls for a soulful man who might not be what he seems. (E.N.)
• Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra (Feb. 6): She's sure an intruder tried to kill her and her kids. Everyone else thinks she's crazy. Where do you stand? You'll be kept guessing throughout the book. (E.N.)
• "The Book of Love" by Kelly Link (Feb. 13): Kelly Link, a Pulitzer Prize nominee known for her off kilter and magical short stories, makes her novel debut at long last. (E.N.)

"The Great Divide" by Cristina Henríquez (March 5)

"The Great Divide"

The Panama Canal changed the world — and changed these characters' lives. Cristina Henríquez' epic is about how the engineering marvel had an impact on the grand and the immediate. Omar, 17, joins other Panamanians to help build the canal in what is practically his backyard. Ada, 16, from Barbados is one of the many who have arrived to Panama in search of work. Told through the lens of multiple characters, this novel gives a panoramic view of what it could have been like to live during that time and navigate identity, belonging, love, and loss. (L.A.)

"Anita de Monte Laughs Last" by Xochitl Gonzalez (March 5)

"Anita de Monte Laughs Last"

From New York Times bestselling author of "Olga Dies Dreaming" comes a new captivating novel that explores othering, erasure, power, and legacy through the lens of two women of color navigating the art scene years apart. Anita de Monte was a rising in the art world in 1985 but was tragically found dead. Raquel, an art student in the 1990s stumbles across de Monte’s work and story and begins to ask questions as well as see eerie connections between her own life and de Monte’s. (L.A.)

More books releasing in March:

• "Women of Good Fortune" by Sophie Wan (March 5): When Shanghai’s most eligible bachelor asks for her hand in marriage, Lulu realizes his family’s fortune could solve her financial issues — and her relatives' and friends', too. While Lulu isn’t ready for marriage, she and her two best friends devise a plan to steal the cash gifts on the big day. As the plot becomes increasingly difficult, they start to take in that they might be in too deep. (A.K.)
• "The Hunter" by Tana French (March 5):  For her next book, this master of the detective novel returns to the small town in the west of Ireland where “The Searcher” took place. Cal solved one mystery, and is about to be dragged into another, this one concerning his beloved, semi-adopted daughter. (E.N.)
• "Say Hello to My Little Friend" by Jennine Capó Crucet (March 5): Think “Scarface” meets Moby Dick” when describing this novel, following a failed Pitbull impersonator with his sights set on becoming Miami’s next Tony Montana. This novel folds in the power of nature and the impact love or lack thereof has on the human spirit. (L.A.)
• "The Divorcées" by Rowan Baird (March 19): The women at the Golden Yarrow hotel in Nevada are waiting, and waiting, and waiting until they can file for divorce. This 1950s-set novel shows the lengths women went to, and had to go, for independence. (E.N.)
• "Like Happiness" by Ursula Villarreal-Moura (March 26): After spending a decade in New York City navigating a complicated relationship with a famous author, Tatum Vega has moved on — that is, is until a reporter reaches out to her hoping to interview her about the author she once knew, setting off an examination of their relationship. (L.A.)

"The Husbands" by Holly Gramazio (Apr. 2)

"The Husbands"

Lauren opens the door to find her husband waiting for her. But the last time she checked, she didn't have a husband. Holly Gramazio's magical debut is about a woman who discovers her attic is producing an infinite supply of dream men, forcing her to consider how and when to pick one. (E.N.)

"Real Americans" by Rachel Khong (Apr. 18)

"Real Americans"

Three generations in one family narrate this novel, starting with a grandmother's decision to marry so that she can lave China for the U.S.. Her move has more effects than she can imagine. (E.N.)

More books releasing in April:

• "The Cemetery of Untold Stories" by Julia Alvarez (April 2): What should happen to stories untold? In this imaginative new novel from critically acclaimed literary icon Julia Alvarez, untold stories are buried in a graveyard and laid to rest … until the characters decide to revolt. (L.A.)
• "The Wives" by Simone Gorrindo (April 9) : What would you do for love? Simone Gorrindo uproots her life when her boyfriend decides to join the army. They get married and Gorrindo has to acclimate to the life and hierarchy of an army wife while living in Columbus, Georgia. (E.N.)
• "I'll Give You a Reason" by Annell Lopez (April 9): This Newark, New Jersey-set collection centers themes of race, identity, connection, and belonging through powerful characters, whose vibrancy pop from the page. (L.A.)
• "The Familiar" by Leigh Bardugo (April 9):  Leigh Bardugo’s next transfixing read is a standalone historical fantasy set in Spain, where a servant with the ability to weave miracles creates some for her employers, and welcomes in a host of problems. (E.N.)
• "Funny Story" by Emily Henry (Apr. 23): Daphne has moved to her fiancé Peter’s lakeside hometown in Michigan to begin their life together — until he realizes he’s still in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Daphne ends up moving in with Petra’s new ex Miles. This roommates-to-fake friends plot is perfect for established fans of Emily Henry and rom-com lovers alike. (A.K.)

"Exhibit" by R.O. Kwon (May 21)

"Exhibit"

From the author of "The Incendiaries" comes a new novel following two women unexpectedly drawn to each other. Packed with an exploration into desire, secrets, ambition, and identity, this novel promises to be as page-turn-worthy as Kwon’s first. (L.A)

More books releasing in May:

• " This Summer Will be Different" by Carley Fortune (May 7) : Carley Fortune has made a name for herself writing moving romances set at lakes. In her next one, a vacationer falls for her best friend's younger brother.
• “How It Works Out” by Myriam LaCroix (May 7)  Ever wonder about the many alternate realities a relationship could have taken? This queer love story explores what's fueling our desire for connection. (L.A.) 
• “Oye” by Melissa Mogollon (May 14): Taking the form of one long phone call, the book follows Luciana’s conversation with her older sister as she adjusts to living with their grandmother. (L.A.)

"Swift River" by Essie Chambers (Jun. 4)

"Swift River"

Ever since her father disappeared, Diamond Newberry has felt alone in her small town, especially as the only Black person. Her mother is more concerned with collecting his life insurance money. Diamond wants to know where he went. (E.N.)

"Bear" by Julia Philips (Jun. 25)

"Bear"

Sam and Elena know it’s time to leave the island off the coast of Washington State where they were born and raised. But when a bear starts turning up around the two sisters, their longtime exit plan is thrown into danger. (A.K.)

More books releasing in June:

• "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe (June 11):  A teenager is forced to get creative to deal with life after an unplanned pregnancy. Her story is told without self-pity, but with ingenuity and humor, thanks to Thorpe’s writing. (E.N.)
• "The God of the Woods" by Liz Moore (June 11): Moore, author of "Long Bright River," is back with another literary thriller, this time set at a summer camp. (E.N.)
• "The Sons of El Ray" by Alex Espinoza (June 11): Spanning from 1960’s Mexico City to modern-day L.A., a father and son come to terms with their identity and legacy in this multi-generational novel. (L.A.)
• “All the Colors of the Dark” by Chris Whitaker (June 25): Blending elements of a heist novel, police procedural, high school romance and more, this book is impossible to categorize, and impossible to put down. (E.N.)

"The Wedding People" by Alison Espach (Jul. 30)

"The Wedding People"

When her life falls apart, Phoebe Stone heads to her dream destination to enjoy her final few days, deciding she can't go on. Instead she becomes wrapped up in the wedding that has taken over the Rhode Island hotel, making her the only guest not officially part of the wedding party. Acerbic and life-affirming, the book will appeal to anyone looking to root for a heroine. (E.N.)

More books releasing in July:

• "The Bright Sword" by Lev Grossman (Jul. 16): From the author of “The Magicians" series, this King Arthur retelling promises a new spin on a familiar tale — and you can r ead the start her e. (E.N.)

"The Palace of Eros" by Caro de Robertis (Aug. 13)

"The Palace of Eros"

Fans of Greek retellings will love this feminist take on the myth of Psyche and Eros, written by an author known for her lyrical prose and three-dimensional women, full of longing and love. (A.K.)

"Blue Sisters" by Coco Mellors (Sept. 3)

"blue sisters".

Colo Mellors' debut "Frankenstein and Cleopatra" was about a complicated marriage; her next book is about four complicated sisters. When their beloved sister Nicky dies, the three remaining sisters are left floundering. (E.N.)

More books releasing in September:

• “First in the Family” by Jessica Hoppe (Sept. 10): This memoir reckons with the stigma of addiction and the true struggle of recovery, making it a powerful and much-needed meditation on substance abuse and mental health from a sharp new voice. (L.A.)
• "Madwoman" by Chelsea Bieker (September): Chelsea Bieker's next novel is a riveting, devastating page-turner about a daughter attempting to survive the cycle of domestic violence that traps her mother. (E.N.)
• 42 standout books from 2023, from romances to wrenching historical novels
• Barack Obama's favorite books of 2023

Elena Nicolaou is a senior entertainment editor at Today.com, where she covers the latest in TV, pop culture, movies and all things streaming. Previously, she covered culture at Refinery29 and Oprah Daily. Her superpower is matching people up with the perfect book, which she does on her podcast, Blind Date With a Book.

Anna Kaplan is a news and trending reporter for TODAY.com.

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Here Are the 14 New Books You Should Read in May

These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.

F rom Brittney Griner ’s eagerly anticipated memoir to a long-awaited sequel to Colm Tóibín’s beloved novel Brooklyn , the best books coming in May offer a range of choices for every reader. Those looking for a good laugh should check out the latest high-society comedy from Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan or filmmaker Miranda July’s first novel in 10 years, which offers a profoundly humorous take on menopause and mortality. R.O. Kwon ’s sensual followup to her 2018 best-seller The Incendiaries is sure to keep readers on their toes, while scholar Deborah Paredez’s tribute to America’s finest divas offers an important lesson in pop-culture etymology.    

Here, the 14 new books to read this month.

Coming Home , Brittney Griner (May 7)

On Feb. 17, 2022, WNBA player Brittney Griner was detained in Russia , where she played professionally in the offseason, for possessing cannabis oil, a substance that is illegal in the country. (At the time, Griner’s Russian lawyers stated that she had been prescribed medical cannabis for pain management by her doctors in the U.S.) The celebrated athlete was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug smuggling and served in a Russian penal colony until the U.S. government was able to broker a prisoner swap in December 2022, trading her for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout . Griner’s memoir, Coming Home, which she co-authored with Michelle Burford, details all of this and more, offering a raw look at the harrowing experience that has turned her into an outspoken advocate for Americans who have been wrongfully detained abroad .

Buy Now : Coming Home on Bookshop | Amazon

Shanghailanders , Juli Min (May 7)

Juli Min’s ambitious debut novel, Shanghailanders, is a thrilling, futuristic family drama that captures the joys, disappointments, and inside jokes of one Shanghai family in reverse chronological order. Starting in 2040 and working its way back to 2014, the book unspools the shared and separate lives of the wealthy Yangs: Chinese real estate investor Leo, his elegant Japanese French wife Eko, their precocious eldest daughters Yumi and Yoko, and the baby of the family, aspiring actress Kiko. By giving readers the gift of hindsight, Min shows how one enigmatic family falls apart and comes back together over several decades.

Buy Now : Shanghailanders on Bookshop | Amazon

Long Island , Colm Tóibín (May 7)

Best-selling Irish author Colm Tóibín returns with Long Island, a well-observed sequel to his much loved 2009 novel Brooklyn , set 20 years after Eilis, the inscrutable heroine of the aforementioned book, emigrated from Ireland. Picking up in the spring of 1976, Eilis, now in her 40s, is still married to Italian American plumber Tony Fiorello and living in the titular suburbs outside of New York City with their two teenage children and her in-laws. All is well, if a little boring, until she is confronted by an irate Irishman who claims Tony has gotten his wife pregnant and he plans to leave the baby on Eilis’ doorstep once it’s born. Tóibín’s 11th novel offers an absorbing look at a middle-aged woman at a crossroads in not only her marriage, but also in a life she worries has gone unfulfilled.

Buy Now : Long Island on Bookshop | Amazon

The Skunks , Fiona Warnick (May 7)

In Fiona Warnick’s quirky debut, The Skunks, Isabel returns to her hometown after college graduation to take on a few odd jobs and figure out what she wants to do with her life. To take her mind off of her post-adolescent fears and anxieties, she starts thinking about the book’s titular creatures. Specifically, the three baby skunks that unexpectedly show up in the yard of the place she is house sitting. Their presence forces her to ponder life’s existential questions—and question her own romantic desires. The Skunks is a hilarious look at post-grad life and the loneliness, uncertainty, and occasional joy that comes with it.

Buy Now : The Skunks on Bookshop | Amazon

All Fours , Miranda July (May 14)

Filmmaker, artist, and best-selling author Miranda July’s first novel in a decade is an intimate, fearless, and sexy coming-of-middle-age story about a woman hellbent on reinventing herself. All Fours begins with the unnamed narrator, a 45-year-old semi-famous artist, learning that someone has been peering into her window with a telephoto lens. She decides to leave her husband and child behind to drive from Los Angeles to New York for a writing retreat. Unfortunately, she only makes it as far as Monrovia, Calif., less than an hour from home. It’s there she finds herself tackling fluctuating hormones, an increased libido, and a rather impractical motel room renovation in this wonderfully weird adventure.

Buy Now : All Fours on Bookshop | Amazon

Blue Ruin , Hari Kunzru (May 14)

Hari Kunzru ’s seventh novel, Blue Ruin, is a provocative portrait of a once-promising artist as a disillusioned man of a certain age. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jay, a 40-something undocumented performance artist, is living out of his car and delivering groceries to wealthy residents in upstate New York. On one of his runs, he finds himself face-to-face with Alice, a woman he dated nearly two decades earlier. Alice invites him to ride out the crisis in the luxurious home where she is quarantining with her painter husband, the art school rival for whom she ghosted Jay. The unexpected run-in leads to a possible big career break for Jay, who worries the deal may just cost him his soul.

Buy Now : Blue Ruin on Bookshop | Amazon

This Strange Eventful History , Claire Messud (May 14)

This Strange Eventful History is a sprawling yet intimate saga that draws inspiration from author Claire Messud’s own family history. (She has called this novel, her seventh, the “most significant work” of her life.) Spanning several decades, from 1940 to 2010, Messud follows the Cassar family, a fictional French Algerian clan first displaced by World War II, and again, nearly 20 years later, by Algeria’s war of independence . With great empathy, Messud shows the effects war, colonialism, and later sovereignty had on three generations of the Cassars, most notably, the family’s youngest member, aspiring writer Chloe, a stand-in for Messud, who believes the truth will finally set her relatives free.

Buy Now : This Strange Eventful History on Bookshop | Amazon

Very Bad Company , Emma Rosenblum (May 14)

With her latest novel, Very Bad Company , best-selling author and journalist Emma Rosenblum takes a page from Rian Johnson ’s Knives Out playbook. Despite her lack of experience, former TV producer Caitlin Levy is hired as the new head of events at Aurora, a trendy ad-tech startup led by an eccentric CEO. To welcome her to the team, Caitlin is invited to take part in Aurora’s annual corporate retreat in Miami. This year, the company is preparing for an impending billion-dollar merger. But when one of Aurora’s high-level executives turns up dead, everyone on sight is forced to ignore the crisis so as to not sink the deal. What ensues is a darkly funny mystery about toxic corporate culture.

Buy Now : Very Bad Company on Bookshop | Amazon

In Tongues , Thomas Grattan (May 21)

In Thomas Grattan’s rollicking sophomore release, In Tongues, the charming if naive Gordon moves from Minnesota to New York City where he gets a job walking the dogs of Manhattan’s elite, including gallery owners Phillip and Nicola. Soon he is hobnobbing and bed-hopping with the high-powered couple, turning their lives upside down with little regard for the consequences of his actions. In this delightfully modern comedy of manners, Gordon wonders if he has the ability to change his ways as he begins to understand the damage his impulses have caused.

Buy Now : In Tongues on Bookshop | Amazon

Lies and Weddings , Kevin Kwan (May 21)

From Kevin Kwan , the author of Crazy Rich Asians, a high comedy sure to delight fans of Jane Austen . Rufus Leung Gresham, the protagonist of Lies and Weddings , is the future Earl of Greshambury (a clever nod to the fictional setting of Anthony Trollope’s 1858 novel Doctor Thorne ) and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel. He’s also been buried underneath a mountain of debt thanks to his family’s reckless spending. To dig himself out, Rufus’ always scheming mother suggests he find a wealthy woman to marry at his sister’s upcoming high-society wedding. What could possibly go wrong?

Buy Now : Lies and Weddings on Bookshop | Amazon

Exhibit , R. O. Kwon (May 21)

R. O. Kwon’s Exhibit is a hypnotic queer love story full of lust and longing. The sultry novel follows two women, talented photographer Jin and injured prima ballerina Lidija, and the ancient familial curse that stands to keep them apart. Exhibit is a haunting romance about desire, obsession, and ambition that is sure to get your heart rate up.

Buy Now : Exhibit on Bookshop | Amazon

American Diva , Deborah Paredez (May 21)

Fifteen years ago, poet and cultural critic Deborah Paredez tackled the posthumous legacy of Selena Quintanilla with Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the Performance of Memory . Now, with American Diva, she has put together an insightful ode to the famous women— Aretha Franklin , Tina Turner , and Serena Williams , to name a few—who have come to embody the often misconstrued term. Combining cultural criticism and memoir, Paredez shows how the word “diva,” once used to describe a powerhouse opera singer, evolved to become a condemnation of confident and powerful women, many of whom are women of color. American Diva is Paredez’s attempt to reclaim the word.

Buy Now : American Diva on Bookshop | Amazon

Accordion Eulogies , Noé Álvarez (May 28)

Growing up, Noé Álvarez’s working class Mexican immigrant parents rarely spoke of his larger-than-life grandfather. All Álvarez ever knew of the relative who was more myth than man was that he played the accordion and possibly put a curse on his descendents with his questionable behavior. In his poignant new memoir, Accordion Eulogies, Álvarez traces the history of the humble titular instrument in hopes of better understanding his own family’s mysterious lineage. With empathy and humor, the author dares to find the root cause of his generational trauma with the hope of finally breaking the cycle.

Buy Now : Accordion Eulogies on Bookshop | Amazon

In These Streets , Josiah Bates (May 28)

With In These Streets, journalist and former TIME reporter Josiah Bates takes a closer look at the recent surge in gun violence throughout the United States, particularly in marginalized communities. Bates travels the country speaking with those on the frontlines of what many have deemed a public health crisis that has only gotten worse since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He interviews victims, perpetrators, activists, law enforcement, and academics in hopes of gaining new insight into the epidemic.

Buy Now : In These Streets on Bookshop | Amazon

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Goodreads Members' 63 Most Anticipated Books of 2024

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15 Most Anticipated Coming-Of-Age Books Coming Out The Rest Of 2024

Young sheldon season 7’s new character finally explains why meemaw is so different in big bang theory, "a smart decision": why bridgerton season 3 cuts 1 key book character explained by new showrunner.

• This May, readers can expect romance, adventure, and suspense with new releases from popular authors like Veronica Roth and Ruth Ware.
• Exciting debuts like The Ministry of Time and The Honey Witch offer unique genre-bending stories that promise a gripping read.
• Non-fiction lovers can look forward to Kathleen Hanna's memoir, while fans of horror can enjoy Stephen King's new short story collection in May 2024.

There are so many exciting book releases slated for 2024, and some of the year's biggest novels are hitting shelves in May . From highly anticipated thriller books to long-awaited fantasy releases , a wide range of novels are making their debut. There's something for every type of reader, whether they enjoy trope-filled romances or outlandish sci-fi stories. And some of May's releases are already getting positive reviews from early readers, boding well for their success.

Big-name authors like Veronica Roth and Ruth Ware have new books coming out in May 2024, and fans of their previous work won't want to miss out on their latest stories. There are also a few exciting debuts, including a genre-bending time travel story and a magical sapphic romance. There are so many options for readers, so they'll want to make note of the most-anticipated releases of May 2024.

The coming-of-age subgenre is more popular than ever with keen book readers, and in 2024, there are plenty of highly anticipated titles released.

12 This Summer Will Be Different By Carley Fortune

Release date: may 7, 2024.

Carley Fortune has written compelling summer romances like Meet Me at the Lake and Every Summer After , and her 2024 release is getting just as much excitement. This Summer Will Be Different already has a 4.28-star rating on Goodreads , and it's at the top of the platform's list of most popular May releases. This bodes well for its success when it arrives on May 7, and its cover certainly suggests it's a perfect beach read.

This Summer Will Be Different follows Lucy, who vacations on Prince Edward Island with her best friend every year. She also repeatedly hooks up with a local named Felix. Lucy can't seem to avoid temptation when it comes to Felix, but it's not for lack of trying. When she and Bridget take an impromptu trip to Prince Edward Island before the latter's wedding, Lucy does everything she can to avoid falling into Felix's bed — or worse, catching feelings. Romance readers can probably guess how well that goes, but it sounds like a compelling setup worth checking out this May .

11 The Ministry Of Time By Kaliane Bradley

One of the most-anticipated sci-fi books of 2024 , The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley debuts in May — and with its genre-bending premise, it sounds like a rollicking good time. Set in the not-so-distant future, The Ministry of Time follows a civil servant working as a "bridge" for the government's time travel research program. She resides with and monitors one of the expats being studied to determine if time travel is possible without negative consequences. The expat in question — Commander Graham Gore — soon develops a romance with the book's lead that sounds both comedic and compelling.

With its genre-bending premise, it sounds like a rollicking good time.

Meshing romance, science-fiction, and even a thrilling spy narrative, The Ministry of Time promises a read that never gets dull . With so much going on, it's inevitable that Bradley's debut will become one of the most-talked-about books of May 2024 — and possibly the entire year. It's a can't-miss release, and if the premise doesn't convince readers of that, the book's vibrant cover surely will.

10 When Among Crows By Veronica Roth

Release date: may 14, 2024.

Divergent author Veronica Roth has published several adult novels over the past few years, and When Among Crows is set to join them on May 14 . When Among Crows takes place in a dark and self-interested world, where monsters feed on emotions, knights sacrifice parts of their souls for strength, and witches make deals that lean heavily in their favor (via Goodreads ). Roth combines all three of these elements in the book's central narrative, which sees the knight Dymitr teaming up with a cursed girl named Ala to track down a legendary witch.

Ala hopes the witch will rid her of her deadly curse, but unbeknownst to her, Dymitr has other plans for their encounter with Baba Jaga. It'll be interesting to see how their time together impacts Dymitr's intentions — and whether Baba Jaga manages to outsmart them both. Roth always weaves narratives full of gripping story threads and compelling characters , and it sounds like When Among Crows will continue this trend. It's certainly a fantasy release to watch out for in May 2024.

9 The Honey Witch By Sydney J. Shields

Sydney J. Shields' debut novel, The Honey Witch , is a love story and fantasy tale wrapped up into one , and it's one of May 2024's most interesting ​​​book releases. Shields' novel follows Marigold Claude, the titular witch whose interests have always veered more towards communicating with spirits than seeking out romance. After many suitors fail to win Marigold's heart, her grandmother decides to train her to become the next Honey Witch of Innisfree — but there's a catch. The Honey Witch is permitted to fall in love, which is made complicated by the arrival of Lottie Burke.

Marigold's feelings about love change when she meets Lottie, who ironically doesn't believe in magic. Both of them are tested when dark magic emerges and puts Innisfree in harm's way. This adds greater stakes to what sounds like a fantastical sapphic romance. The Honey Witch is already getting attention ahead of its release, and it's poised to become one of May 2024's best fantasy novels . It's also perfect for readers who prefer standalone fantasy books over lengthy series.

8 A Crane Among Wolves By June Hur

Another book getting attention — and great Goodreads reviews — ahead of its May 2024 release is June Hur's A Crane Among Wolves. Hur's latest story is set in Joseon in 1506, and it's inspired by real Korean history. It follows 17-year-old Iseul, whose sheltered life is thrown into turmoil when the tyrannical King Yeonsan sets his sights on her sister. The king has a habit of destroying families and hurting women, and Iseul sets out to save her sister from his clutches. This gets her tangled up with Prince Daehyun, who hopes to stage a coup and dethrone his horrible step-brother.

A Crane Among Wolves sounds like a gripping tale with high stakes and plenty of political intrigue.

A Crane Among Wolves sounds like a gripping tale with high stakes and plenty of political intrigue. If it's anything like Hur's previous novels, it will deliver on those elements of the story and do it with gorgeously crafted prose. Reviews also promise romance, so this May release sounds like it will check off many boxes. It's no wonder so many readers are excited about its debut.

7 The Paradise Problem By Christina Lauren

The romance duo that goes by Christina Lauren is releasing The Paradise Problem on May 14 , and it's easily one of the most-anticipated romance books of the year. Its unique and comical premise sets it apart from other recent releases in the genre, though it does utilize a common (but beloved) trope: fake dating. The Paradise Problem follows Anna Green and Liam “West” Weston, both of whom married in college to secure subsidized family housing. They went their separate ways after graduation, but years later, West's wealthy grandfather is requiring him to be married to be included in his will.

The money is enough to bring the two characters back together, with Anna attempting to fit in with West's well-off family and make their romance convincing. However, it seems that the time West and Anna spend together elicits true feelings on both of their parts. The question is whether they can make a relationship based on lies last. And it'll be fascinating to see if they forfeit the money for one another before The Paradise Problem is finished. Christina Lauren's romances are always a fun time , and this one sounds no different. It's perfect for spring or summer reading.

6 Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk By Kathleen Hanna

Although many of 2024's biggest releases fall into the fiction category, there are also a number of highly anticipated non-fiction books debuting this year. Among them is Kathleen Hanna's memoir, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk. Hanna is known for the Riot Grrrl movement, as well as for leading the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. She'll detail all of these aspects of her life in her upcoming book , which promises to get deep about her experiences in both bands and starting her own feminist movement.

Hanna is already a much-needed voice for women in the punk community , and it's little wonder her 2024 memoir is getting so much hype ahead of its release. Anyone who's kept up with Hanna will want to pick Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk up when it comes out. And even those less familiar with her work could benefit from reading this book. After all, it seems Hanna has some important things to say, especially when it comes to women's experiences in male-dominated spaces.

5 The Dixon Rule By Elle Kennedy

Elle Kennedy's books are incredibly popular among romance readers, which makes The Dixon Rule one of May 2024's most exciting releases. The second installment in Kennedy's Campus Diaries series, The Dixon Rule will follow Diana as she pretends to date her apartment neighbor, Shane . Shane seems like a player — he's pursued most of Diana's cheerleading squad — but like Diana, the hockey player is still recovering from a former relationship. Their fake dating scheme starts as a way to make their exes jealous, but it promises to evolve into more than that.

The Dixon Rule sounds like the perfect lighthearted romance to pick up this spring or summer, and it will definitely appeal to anyone who enjoyed The Graham Effect. It utilizes a beloved romance trope and falls into the sports romance category, which has become increasingly popular. It's a book romance readers will not want to miss out on.

4 Lies And Weddings By Kevin Kwan

Release date: may 21, 2024.

Kevin Kwan, the author of Crazy Rich Asians, is releasing a new book this May — and Lies and Weddings could easily become one of the biggest releases of 2024 . Kwan's latest follows the future Duke of Greshambury, Rufus Leung Gresham, whose family's wealth has dwindled as they've become saddled with massive amounts of debt. Rufus' mother tasks him with finding a woman to marry while attending his sister's extravagant wedding. There's one rule: the woman he finds must have the money to pull them out of their present circumstances. Naturally, Rufus would rather pursue the doctor next door.

Kwan's latest promises an internal struggle between the desire for riches and the desire for love, and it's bound to have all the hallmarks of his other best-selling novels.

Kwan's latest promises an internal struggle between the desire for riches and the desire for love, and it's bound to have all the hallmarks of his other best-selling novels. The book's synopsis also teases twists and turns, so readers are in for an entertaining ride when picking up Lies and Weddings . It's a May 2024 book release that can't be missed, especially for fans of Crazy Rich Asians.

3 The Last Murder At The End Of The World By Stuart Turton

Stuart Turton, the author behind The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle , is back with another book in May 2024. The Last Murder at the End of the World features a wildly unique premise , and it's already catching readers' attention ahead of its release. Set in a future where the world has been destroyed by a deadly fog, the book follows the last remaining humans. They reside on an island that keeps out the fog with its security system. Unfortunately, when one of the scientists on the island is killed, that security system begins a countdown to lower itself.

An intriguing mystery with plenty of fantastical sci-fi elements, The Last Murder at the End of the World promises a thrilling narrative from cover to cover.

The rest of the people on the island must solve the murder before the timer runs out, as it's the only way to prevent all of their deaths. This is made complicated by the fact that all of their memories have been wiped as well. An intriguing mystery with plenty of fantastical sci-fi elements, The Last Murder at the End of the World promises a thrilling narrative from cover to cover. It sounds like it's well worth picking up this May.

2 One Perfect Couple By Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware is a must-read thriller author, and her latest book sounds like the perfect spring or summer read for 2024. One Perfect Couple hits shelves on May 21 , and it will see five couples stranded on a tropical island after agreeing to participate in a reality TV competition that goes awry. As a storm rolls in and the group's technology renders them incapable of contacting the outside world, things go from bad to worse. The synopsis teases " life or death stakes, " which certainly isn't what any of the characters signed up for (via Goodreads ).

With its gripping narrative that puts a fun spin on the reality TV concept, One Perfect Stranger is poised to be one of the biggest thriller releases of 2024. Depending on how it's received, it could also climb to the top of Ware's lineup. After all, One Perfect Stranger is very different from her other stories. It'll be interesting to see how the author handles this concept — and how the central couples fare during their not-so-luxurious trip.

1 You Like It Darker By Stephen King

Whether it's a short story collection or full-length novel, a new Stephen King book is never one to miss . The author's 2024 release, You Like It Darker, falls into the former camp, delivering 12 tales that " delve into the darker part of life " (via Goodreads ). These horror and thriller stories promise to keep readers on their toes, weaving narratives about mysterious inheritances, disturbing job ads, and more.

King has a penchant for showing the perturbing elements of everyday life, and You Like It Darker vows to continue that trend . It's one of the most-anticipated horror books of 2024 , and it's perfect for anyone hoping to break up longer reads with short stories. Given that it's King, it's also likely to get attention from more casual readers and book lovers alike.

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10 New Books Coming Out this Week

New offerings from the world of crime, mystery, and thrillers..

A look at the week’s best new releases in crime fiction, nonfiction, mystery, and thrillers.

Abir Mukherjee, Hunted   (Mulholland)

“A pretty much flawless thriller, Hunted works on every level imaginable. Terrific characters are subtly and mercilessly pushed along by a plot as propulsive as it is constantly surprising.” –Lee Child

John Connolly, The Instruments of Darkness (Atria/Emily Bestler)

“Connolly is a first-rate storyteller, and the Parker novels have always been excellent, but there’s something different about this one. The darkness that permeates the series feels darker here, as though Connolly is conjuring up an evil we’ve not seen before. This one will leave readers breathless and shaken—which is, after all, just what the author’s fans expect.” – Booklist

Mailan Doquang, Blood Rubies (Mysterious Press)

“An intricate plan in a far-off city to snatch some priceless gems. What could possibly go wrong?…A crisp caper whose detailed setting is its biggest attraction.” –Kirkus Reviews

Marjorie McCown, Star Struck (Crooked Lane)

“Sorry, Sherlock. Detective work has nothing on the perils of costume design.” –Kirkus Reviews

Andromeda Romano-Lax, The Deepest Lake (Soho)

“All who enjoy writer-focused thrillers will be enthralled by Romano-Lax’s morally and intellectually intricate tale, while her fans will marvel at her versatility as she shifts from complexly imagined literary fiction like Annie and the Wolves (2021), to this psychologically and culturally spiky work of suspense.” –Booklist

Sarina Bowen, The Five Year Lie (Harper Paperbacks)

“Bowen . . . takes a confident step into the thriller genre with this engaging debut, which combines a fast pace and an intriguing plot with pointed commentary on the way useful technology can easily create a dangerous privacy nightmare. . . . An engaging and fast-paced thriller about the abuse of technology.”

Debbie Babitt, The Man on the Train (Scarlet)

“A mysterious woman on the train, a disappearing husband, and secrets from the past come together in this pulse-quickening ride. Babitt masterfully creates a narrative that explores the fragility of trust and poses the question of how well we really know those closest to us. THE MAN ON THE TRAIN will keep readers guessing until the final, shocking reveal.” –Liv Constantine

Elise Juska, Reunion (Harper)

“A pitch-perfect depiction of New England campus culture, COVID-era child-rearing and how the complexities of adulthood accumulate.” –People

Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black (Simon and Schuster)

“Like Jessica Knoll, whose crime novels also revolve around missing girls, Jean focuses less on sensationalizing predators and more on the tragedy of a ‘frenzy of missing girls. They do not give answers. They do not speak of what has come to pass. They whisper: Find us. Please.’ Jean has written an impressive crime novel here…. An unexpected ending and a cadre of heroic female characters make Jean a crime writer to watch.” –Kirkus Reviews

Jacob Kushner, Look Away: A True Story of Murders, Bombings, and a Far-Right Campaign to Rid Germany of Immigrants (Grand Central)

“This fascinating book tells two stories: first, how a gang of East German thugs turned neo-Nazi ‘bomb tinkerers’ grew into a network of domestic terrorists, and second, how German authorities let them get away with murder. Jacob Kushner tells the story with cautious condemnation and intimate detail.” –Michael Scott Moore

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10 of the Best New Children’s Books Out May 2024

Margaret Kingsbury

Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s currently a freelance writer and editor, and in addition to Book Riot, her pieces have appeared in School Library Journal, BuzzFeed News, The Lily, Parents, StarTrek.com, and more. She particularly loves children’s books, fantasy, science fiction, horror, graphic novels, and any books with disabled characters. You can read more about her bookish and parenting shenanigans in Book Riot’s twice-weekly The Kids Are All Right newsletter. You can also follow her kidlit bookstagram account @BabyLibrarians , or on Twitter @AReaderlyMom .

View All posts by Margaret Kingsbury

May children’s book releases explore many diverse experiences. In May picture book releases, a Cherokee girl moves, a Moroccan library tells its story, an anxious child learns to love a pet, Muslim children become friends, and a young girl experiences persecution during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In May middle grade releases, a Chinese American girl discovers a magic paintbrush, a Pakistani American experiences harassment, a nonbinary kid has their first romance, a Hindu boy discovers what it means to be brave during the British Partition of India, and a girl learns to value beauty from within. All of May children’s book releases were fantastic, and I can’t wait for everyone to get a chance to read them, too.

To read reviews of even more of May children’s book releases, make sure to subscribe and follow my reviews on Book Riot’s kidlit newsletter .

May Children’s Book Releases: Picture Books

Being Home by Traci Sorell & Michaela Goade (May 7; Kokila)

Most picture books about moving depict a child who doesn’t want to move or feels nervous about it. While those books are needed, Sorell instead shows a child who looks forward to moving. A young Cherokee girl and her family are leaving the city to move closer to family on a Cherokee Nation reservation. The picture book opens with the girl saying goodbye to her old home. Her mother tells her they’re on a new path, “One that leads us to / our ancestors’ land / and to our people.” The girl is ready and excited to follow the path. Once they arrive at their new home, relatives come to help and celebrate and explore with the girl. Goade’s illustrations are warm, joyous, and vibrant. It’s a beautiful celebration of Indigenous culture and what it means to be home.

Behind My Doors: The Story of the World’s Oldest Library by Hena Khan & Nabila Adani (May 7; Lee & Low Books)

This wonderful nonfiction picture book is told from the unique perspective of the oldest library in the world—the Al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez, Morocco. The library is born in 859 when Fatima al-Fihri uses her inheritance to build a mosque and school, with a library to serve both. For centuries, the library enjoys prestige and relishes in the scholars who visit. But slowly people stop visiting, and the library falls into disrepair. In 2012, the government hires the architect Aziza Chaouni from Fez to restore the library. This is a really magical and accessible glimpse into a library’s history with soft and warm illustrations.

Growing Up under a Red Flag by Ying Chang Compestine & Xinmei Liu (May 7; Rocky Pond Books)

This is the first picture book memoir that I know of that takes place during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Compestine was three when Mao Zedong declared a Cultural Revolution and punished educated people like Compestine’s parents, who were doctors and taught Compestine English. When she turned five, they were no longer allowed to read or speak any foreign languages, and the leader of the Red Guard came to live with them to ensure compliance with all of Mao Zedong’s rules. Eventually, the Red Guard arrested Compestine’s father, and she doesn’t see him again until she’s a teenager. This is a compelling glimpse into an important historical moment accompanied by dramatic and moving illustrations. A short author’s note with photographs follows.

Sister Friend by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Shahrzad Maydani (May 7; Abrams Books for Young Readers)

This heartwarming picture book grapples with the too-common struggle of finding friends when you look different and come from a different culture than everyone else. Ameena is the only brown girl and Muslim in her class. The other kids don’t really play with her. At recess, she plays an old game her Momma taught her alone. When a new student arrives, Sundus, who is brown like Ameena and wears a hijab, Ameena hopes they can be friends. But Ameena’s too-hasty words make Sundus believe she’s making fun of her. However, when the two attend the masjid together, Sundus realizes that Ameena can also be the friend she seeks. This special friendship book has gorgeous, soft illustrations that feel like a hug.

Neat Nick’s Big Mess by Chad Otis (May 7; Rocky Pond Books)

Nick loves everything to be just so—tidy, organized, planned. Nothing out of the ordinary, unexpected, or messy. But sometimes Nick’s concentration on everything being neat and tidy makes him feel lonely. So, his mom buys Nick a big, hairy, happy dog as a surprise. This doggo is not neat. He’s squishy and slobbery and messy and excitable. Can Nick learn to love this slobbery mess? Can the dog help Nick break out of his shell? This is such a sweet and funny book for anxious kids.

May Children’s Book Releases: Middle Grade

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol (May 7; First Second)

This delightful Eastern European fairytale graphic novel set in a nebulous historical time explores the idea of beauty. Jane has always known she’s plain; her wealthy parents made sure of that, constantly critiquing her eating, face, and demeanor. When her parents die, Jane learns that girls can’t inherit property. Her horrible male cousin will receive everything and kick her out of the only home Jane’s ever known. Jane will receive an inheritance if she marries, so she finds the most handsome boy in the village—the fisherman’s youngest son—and asks if he’ll marry her. He hesitantly agrees, wanting to escape a life of catching fish, but then a beautiful mermaid lures him into the ocean. Jane isn’t about to let her handsome fiance go, so she goes on a quest into the ocean’s depths to save him. This is so very entertaining. Fairy tale readers of all ages will love it.

Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemnani (May 7; Balzer + Bray)

This moving middle grade verse novel occurs during the British Partition of India. Twelve-year-old Raj, who is Hindu, loves flying kites with his best friend, who is Muslim. Raj is the middle child and often feels like he isn’t good enough in his father’s eyes. Raj loves cooking, but his father sees that as women’s work. His father wants Raj to excel at math so he can work in the family’s tailor business, but numbers swim for Raj. He and his family are initially excited about India’s independence, but then they learn they will be forced to move into what is now considered ‘India.’ During the harrowing journey, Raj’s younger sister is lost. Once they arrive at their new home, more difficulties face the grieving family. Thankfully, everything begins to improve thanks to Raj’s bravery, which is something he struggles to understand from the beginning. This is a lovely novel that I flew through despite the length.

Any Way You Look by Maleeha Siddiqui (May 7; Scholastic Press)

This is a fantastic and relatable novel about consent and fashion. Sixth grader Ainy, who is Pakistani American, and her family are going through hard times financially. Her father has moved back to Pakistan to care for his mother with cancer. Their family has moved into a friend’s basement, unable to afford their apartment’s rent. Ainy really wants to work in her mother’s clothing store, and her mother finally agrees. Her older sister gets a job at a coffee shop to help the family. When boys harass Ainy, she feels like she needs to deal with it herself. Her family is so busy and worried; she doesn’t want to add to their burdens. Ainy begins wearing a hijab like her older sister, hoping the boys will leave her alone. She feels guilty about this, knowing wearing a hijab should be about faith rather than hiding. When the hijab fails to deter the boys, she finally tells her family. This also has friend drama and first crushes.

The Magic Paintbrush by Kat Zhang, Eric Darnell, & Phoebe Zhong (May 21; Crown Books for Young Readers)

This is such a fun first book in a new illustrated fantasy series full of Chinese folklore. Seventh grader Amy has always loved art but feels like her art has been stuck in a bit of a childish rut lately. When she visits her Lao Lao in Flushing, the two bond over art. One day, while Amy is using Lao Lao’s jade paintbrushes, the bird-headed tiger she creates comes alive! She realizes Lao Lao’s jade paintbrushes are magic. Meanwhile, a university student in China has been hunting for the magic paintbrushes. This is a fast-paced, exciting fantasy read.

Upstaged by Robin Easter (May 28; Little, Brown Ink)

I smiled so much while reading this sweet, queer middle grade graphic novel romance. Ash (they/them) and Ivy (she/her) always share a cabin at a musical theater summer camp. This is the last year they can attend the camp, and Ash wants it to be the best year yet. But Ivy and Ash are put in different cabins, and Ash, who has a crush on Ivy, worries that Ivy is falling for her fellow costar in the musical they’re performing—”Ella,” a retelling of Cinderella. Ash doesn’t know how to tell Ivy they have a crush on her, and their worries are ostracizing them from other caring campers.

If you’re looking for more new children’s book releases beyond this list of May children’s book releases, check out my list of April children’s book releases , March children’s book releases , and February children’s book releases .

You can find a full list of new releases in the magical New Release Index , carefully curated by your favorite Book Riot editors, organized by genre and release date.

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