Recommended Reading: Most Anticipated 2021 Releases (Vol. I)
Regardless of what else 2021 brings, one thing we know for sure is that it will be full of amazing new books! There were so many titles our booksellers are excited about this year that we had to split the list into smaller, more manageable pieces. Take a look at some of the releases our booksellers just can’t stop talking about this winter.
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour (January 5)
The Wolf of Wall Street mixed with Uncanny Valley? Sign me up! –Mike FS
Lore by Alexandra Bracken (January 5)
Every seven years nine Greek gods are forced to live on earth as humans while descendants of ancient bloodlines hunt them down for a chance to gain fame and immortality. The Hunger Games meets Greek mythology and I am so here for this! –Lindsay
Blanket by Loryn Brantz (January 5)
Author of Feminist Baby is coming out with a new picture book, and I couldn’t be more stoked! The caption is: journey to extreme coziness. Need I say more? –Jacque
The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. (January 5)
In this heart-rending, groundbreaking debut, Robert Jones, Jr. offers an alternate history that imagines the, until now, untold story of life for queer enslaved people in the Antebellum South. The book centers around Isaiah and Samuel, two men whose transgressive union both sustains and endangers themselves and those around them. This book sings and soars with the chorus of all those who dared “to love in the dark places that nobody sees,” and to resist dehumanization through small, miraculous acts of joy, despite the unconscionable evils that threatened to extinguish them. A spellbinding, subversive tale of survival and sovereignty. –Serena
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion (January 5)
Pretty excited about this coming of age thriller set in the 80’s. Cool! –Mike FS
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (January 12)
Cis women and trans women struggle with the idea of motherhood, sex, and vulnerability in this debut. Peters’ voice is winning and sharp, and the book is a pleasure to read, all while taking apart the neat boundaries we’ve constructed for ourselves and each other. –Emma
Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen (January 26)
Tove Ditlevsen’s Danish trilogy about family, sex, motherhood, abortion, addiction, and being an artist is everything I love reading about, especially in this amorphous genre that blurs the line between fiction and nonfiction. Likened to Knausgaard and Ferrante, this account of a working-class female artist is right up my alley, and I’m predicting it will be for many others too! — Colleen
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder (February 2)
Melissa Broder is an empress, and this book, about sex and God and dieting, sounds mind-blowing. –Emma
Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier & Wendy Katzman (February 2)
I totally recommend it for fans of Big Little Lies! This suspenseful debut novel explores the cutthroat world of college admissions, and takes it to extremes! What originally caught my eye about this book is how timely it is! If you keep up with the news, you know what I mean. Three moms are forced to scheme and scandal (and maybe even attempt murder!) when there is only one Ivy-League spot left for only one of their daughters. –Jacque
Four Hundred Souls, edited by Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain (February 2)
In this book, ninety writers each tackle five years of the Black experience in America, covering the four hundred years from 1619 to to the present, deconstructing the idea of an African-American monolith. –Emma
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca (February 2)
I’m so looking forward to getting this elegantly written #ownvoice middle grade book on our shelves! It’s 1983 & Indian-American Reha loves MTV, cassette tapes, and wants to have big hair like her peers! She tries to blend in at school but it’s difficult to express herself because of her traditional parents. This is a must-read story for exploring topics of culture, family, identity, and grief. –Jacque
Wild Swims by Dorthe Nors (February 2)
I haven’t read Dorthe Nors yet, but I’ve heard wonderful things! So I’m hoping to start with this collection. Another Danish author (turns out I’ve got several on my tbr this season!), known for her artful prose, these stories are marketed as “cutting and offbeat without ever losing its warmth”. I’m ready for some wildness. –Colleen
Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz (February 2)
Anyone that knows me knows I’m a huge sucker for a character-driven, intergenerational book that centers around questions of girlhood/womanhood, inheritance/lineage, and desire/intimacy. This story collection hits all those marks, and connects these themes through the locality of the Sunshine State. Having already received wide praise, anticipation, and recognition, this debut collection is sure to stun, stir, and stick. All your faves and your faves’ faves have already endorsed it—Lauren Groff, T Kira Madden, Kristen Arnett, to name a few—so I’m just adding my name to the list! –Serena
The Project by Courtney Summers (February 2)
Courtney Summers is the author of my all-time favorite YA thriller, Sadie, so I’m intensely excited for this new thriller from her about cults, which is famously one of my favorite subjects. –Abby
Kink, edited by R.O. Kwon & Garth Greenwell (February 9)
This is a fantastic anthology for anyone who enjoys a good short story. The stories range from character study to erotica to snapshots of a life, with varying degrees of kink and intensity, and feature some truly excellent works from incredible authors like Brandon Taylor, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and others. –Abby
The Witch of Eye by Kathryn Nuernberger (February 16)
I am always a sucker for books on witches–both fiction and nonfiction–and this essay collection promises to deliver. With a mix of history, biography, folklore, and even a bit of memoir, Nuernberger dives into the long and often misunderstood art of witchcraft. A little disclaimer: the author does explore the torture witches have endured throughout history, so this may be a bit too detailed and graphic for some readers. –Lindsay
We Do This Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice
Mariame Kaba, edited by Tamara K. Nopper (February 23)
From one of the nations’ leading, and most trusted, abolitionist-feminist voices comes this timely new addition to the canon of liberatory writing. Like so many people, I was introduced to the ideology and practice of PIC abolition through Mariame Kaba (MK stan club rise!), and for that I am indebted; her teachings have radically transformed the way I think about the world, about myself, and my relationships, and have made me a much sharper thinker, and better person overall. On both a national and global level, we are long overdue for a serious reckoning with the ways we view justice, accountability, and carcerality and I can think of no better person to guide us in this reckoning. –Serena
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers (February 23)
If you enjoy contemporary romance, pick this up: you won’t regret it. This book is like a warm hug and is one of the best romances that will come out in 2021. –Abby
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi (March 2)
I love Choi’s novels, and this one, about two Korean-American sisters from Texas who are muddling through their 20s in New York City, might be her best book yet. –Emma
Brother Sister Mother Explorer by Jamie Figueroa (March 2)
In their childhood home riddled with memories and spirits—an angel, a ghost baby, and their recently-deceased but still-present mother, Rosalinda—Rufina strikes a bet with her grief-stricken brother, Rafa. Rafa longs to join the world of spirits but agrees to stay alive if they can hustle enough tourist money to leave Ciudad de Tres Hermanas. The catch: they only have the weekend. What follows is a mesmeric, incantatory, and heartachingly beautiful story about two siblings’ attempt to grapple with the profound complexities of loss. –Serena
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (March 2)
Loneliness and technology are something all of us have experienced our fair share of in the past year, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s newest novel takes us into that familiar territory through the eyes of Klara, an "Artificial Friend" longing for love. Ishiguro writes with such immense emotion in all of his books, I am more than ready for my heart to be broken by Klara and the Sun. –Anthony
An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn (March 2)
I have been following the Veronica Speedwell series for years and she is my literary BFF! An Unexpected Peril is the sixth book in this series, and while you can pick it up and start this journey in the middle of the series, I highly recommend you grab the first book and enjoy all Veronica’s adventures. You totally have time to read them all before March 2! (Yes, this is me telling you to ignore your jobs, children, and all other responsibilities to binge read this series.) –Lindsay
Spilt Milk by Courtney Zoffness (March 2)
Perhaps you have heard that being a mother of small children is hard, especially so right now, and finally, here is a book of essays that don’t cover up the messiness, the oddness, the love and the sadness and the worry all at once. Unsanitized and beautiful. –Emma
Love Like That by Emma Duffy-Comparone (March 9)
I love a woman who refuses to color inside the lines and Emma Duffy-Comparone’s stories are filled with irreverent women just like that. “Delightfully difficult” as Refinery 29 says. Love triangles, challenging relationships, uncomfortable jobs, all of these stories feature characters that are messy and imperfect and subtly searching for ways to come back to themselves. –Colleen
Edie Richter Is Not Alone by Rebecca Handler (March 9)
A Californian with a secret moves to Australia. I’m intrigued! –Mike FS
Cosmogony by Lucy Ives (March 9)
I just started reading these stories by Lucy Ives and I love how strange and absurd they are. In a world that is utterly lacking sense, I’m loving a bit of glee and surrealism in illuminating the stranger corners of our experiences. –Colleen
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson (March 9)
Rosalie Iron Wing is a Dakhóta girl who is sent to live with a white foster family after her father disappears in the woods that he raised her in. Years later, she returns as a grief-stricken widow, now with children of her own, and begins to reconcile with her past and her peoples’ history. Once there, she discovers a cache of seeds that the women she’s descended from have guarded for generations, and the seeds connect her to them. What follows is a moving, resonant song of remembrance, lineage, womanhood, kinship, loss, and land. –Serena
Women and Other Monsters by Jess Zimmerman (March 9)
A feminist journey through mythology, as understood by taking a close look at female monsters? Yes, please! –Emma
The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández (March 16)
I, along with half my colleagues, absolutely loved Space Invaders, so when I saw another novel from Nona Fernández on the schedule for 2021 it immediately went on all my lists and calendars. As in her last novel, The Twilight Zone promises to navigate the legacies of the Pinochet dictatorship with immense imaginative power and captivating prose. Rest assured, it’s all I’ll be talking about come March! –Nika
Namesake by Adrienne Young (March 16)
If you have stopped by the store and asked me for YA recommendations, I probably urged you to read the first book in this duology. Fable is my absolute favorite young adult book of 2020, and I expect the second to be my fave of 2021! –Jacque
My coworker Jacque urged (i.e., forced) me to read Fable and it was honestly the best thing I did all year. As someone who grew up in a seaside town, this book spoke to my soul… I cannot wait for Fable’s journey to continue in Namesake! –Lindsay
Eat the Mouth that Feeds You by Carribean Fragoza (March 23)
I’ve read nothing but good things about this short gothic fiction collection, which centers around Latinx women characters and deals with themes of motherhood, desire, violence, family curses and more. Surreal, sharp, and soulful, this one promises to leave marks in all those who read it. As someone who loves a healthy mix of tenderness, fabulism, and brutality in my short stories—and who adored Sabrina & Corina—I’m positive this will be a fave of mine for 2021! –Serena
Something’s Wrong! A Bare, A Hare, and Some Underwear by Jory John (March 23)
If you loved Attack of the Underwear Dragon or you’re in the mood for a good laugh, read this quirky, sweet picture book! –Jacque
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers (March 23)
I fell in love with Constance Sayer’s book A Witch in Time (which is my January staff pick! Go check it out!) and I expect to love this novel just as much. Flipping back and forth between 1925 Paris and modern day Virginia, this book is a true spectacle of MAGIC, MYSTICISM, and WONDER! (Did I sound like a circus ringleader there? That was the plan!) –Lindsay
Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun (March 23)
Jonny Sun is one of my favorite people in the universe! His blend of profundity, humor and honesty is one that I can never get enough of, and I’m so excited for it to come out. It apparently also contains a recipe for scrambled eggs that will cause you to burst into tears. Count me in. –Michael C
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas (March 23)
Aidan Thomas’s first book Cemetery Boys, about a gay trans brujo who falls in love with the ghost he accidentally summons, was absolutely gorgeous and longlisted for the National Book Award! I’m so eager to get my hands on Thomas’s sophomore YA fantasy and follow their career for a long, long time. –Abby
A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib (March 30)
I love reading Abdurraqib’s music writing, and this new book, about Black performance in America, is sure to be both lyrical and riveting. –Emma
A new book by Hanif. Need I say more? –Mike FS
Girlhood by Melissa Febos (March 30)
Melissa Febos is always a pleasure to read, and I’m already grateful for this book of essays on what shapes our notion of girlhood and how to free ourselves from the tyranny of those strict, stifling rules. –Emma
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (March 30)
I love a sweeping, ambitious debut, and this novel about a woman’s family, with examinations of contemporary immigration and trauma and motherhood, sounds just incredible. –Emma
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge (March 30)
Kaitlyn Greenidge is one of my favorite contemporary minds, and I love her essays and newsletter, but WOW, it is such a pleasure to read this historical novel, which starts in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, and which reminded me that Greenidge’s immense talent as a writer shines most brightly through her fiction. –Emma
Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto (March 30)
Shadow Life immediately hooked me. Something about the quiet of the illustrations and the sparing dialog, and the subtle roar of the plot behind all of it. Shadow Life follows a seventy-six-year-old widow who’s left her assisted living home to live on her own, against the wishes of her daughter; little does she know that the shadow of Death has followed her on the run. –Michael C
