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It’s not over, though. It’s never too late to get or become more involved with your local government, library, and grassroots organizations. We’ve also started a series called Reading and Resistance if you’re looking for some especially bookish instances of resisting oppression.
Now in the world of new books, there’s the illustrated middle grade version of Ed Yong’s biology narrative nonfiction, An Immense World, illustrated by Rebecca Mills. Word nerds also have a lil’ something in The Grammar of Fantasy: An Introduction to the Art of Inventing Stories by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Matt Forsythe, and translated by Jack Zipes. And, in The Rainbow Ain’t Never Been Enuf: On the Myth of LGBTQ+ Solidarity, we get a repositioning of queer history by Kaila Adia Story.
New Books
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For fiction lovers, there’s one of the most anticipated books of the year, contemporary, motherhood/childhood-focused Sleep by Honor Jones; Brendan Slocumb’s latest musical thriller, The Dark Maestro; and Ling Ling Huang’s art world-set horror, Immaculate Conception.
The new books below include everything from Kennedy Ryan’s latest steamy romance to a tarot-reading amateur teen sleuth, to poet Ocean Vuong’s novel full of found family.
Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan
I’ve been seeing the books within The Skyland series being talked about everywhere. I’ve even read the book that came before this one in one of my book clubs. Though this is the third in the series, you don’t really need to have read the previous two, since these follow a new woman each time. This one in particular is about Hendrix Barry, her friend group’s entrepreneurial member who has a dream life—which has meant sacrificing romance. But then she meets the knee buckle-inducing tech mogul Maverick Bell at a party, and it has her rethinking things. He’s not exactly who she should be with to stay on her life’s path, but we also know that “shouldn’ts” make things even more alluring.
Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala
This is the YA debut of the author of the super popular Tita Rosie’s Kitchen mystery series. In it, we follow a high school tarot card reader who, as the daughter of a private investigator mother and a mystery author father, finally gets to solve her own mystery. One of her clients disappeared after their tarot reading gave them the death card.
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Bestselling and award-winning poet-turned-novelist Ocean Vuong’s latest looks at found family, survival, and second chances. One summer evening, 19-year-old Hai stands atop a bridge, ready to jump, when Grazina, a dementia-stricken elderly widow, talks him into going down another path. So begins the pair’s journey together, which involves Hai becoming Grazina’s caretaker and him reckoning with himself and his place in his community. Zooming out, we see what it means to live in the margins in America, and how loneliness, love, and labor are foundational to this society.
Run For the Hills by Kevin Wilson
Madeline Hill’s dad is not only a deadbeat who left her and her mom to fend for themselves 20 years ago on their farm in Tennessee—he’s like the Deadbeat Final Boss, because it turns out that he’s been starting families and leaving them for years. At least, that’s what Reuben Hill—who was left behind by their dad 30 years ago—claims when he pulls up out of nowhere in a PT Cruiser. He tells Mad that he’s hired someone to find their father and their many half-siblings. It gets even more crunchy when Reuben suggests Mad hops in for a road trip to meet them all. As they meet more and more of their siblings, it becomes clear that they all got different versions of the man, which leaves the question of who they will encounter at the end of their journey. Get ready for a sibling story full of road trip hijinks and all the feelings.
The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne
Yetunde wakes up on a slaver ship with only the spirit of her dead sister as support. Ironically, the hell she’s sure to meet in the Americas gets interrupted by the Devil himself, who appears to her in order to prove himself as worthy of heaven once again. They make a bargain that spans across 175 years worth of Yetunde’s descendants: conjure woman Lucille, the white-passing Asa, medium Cassandra, a 20th-century version of Cain and Abel, and more. They all get offered some form of salvation by the Devil, but is it enough to save himself is the question.
So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color by Caro De Robertis
This is a unique and very personal oral history of queer and trans elders of color who have spent their lives making space for themselves and their communities. The trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and two spirit elders here tell of how they survived the AIDS crisis, built movements, and spearheaded social change.
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!