Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack.
Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
There is, as is usual at this point, a lot going on. It’s both an exciting time in the book world, with all of the most-anticipated book lists that are popping up everywhere (here’s ours), but also a somber one as the attack on books and libraries continues with the recent bomb threat that rattled universities across the country. Senior Editor Kelly Jensen writes about it here.
Speaking of—if you haven’t subscribed already to our Literary Activism newsletter, now’s a great time to. When I say Kelly does her thing with that newsletter, trust, she’s been named things like the Library Journal Mover & Shaker for 2024 and more for her censorship coverage through the years.
Now for new books. As mentioned before, there is a lot to be excited about. Thriller lovers are getting a lil something from the Twist Queen Alice Feeney with My Husband’s Wife, while the fantasy and romantasy fans are getting The Poet Empress
by Shen Tao and the queer YA Soul of a Gentleman Witch by David Ferraro, respectively.
It’s looking like nonfiction also has some real hitters in When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery, and the memoirs Scale Boy: An African Childhood by Patrice Nganang, and The Flower Bearers by Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
New Books
Subscribe to the New Books! newsletter to get weekly updates about new releases.
As for the books below, I already know Jennette McCurdy’s latest, Half His Age, is going to go certified platinum, but there’s also A Black Queer History of the United States, a real-life chosen family story set in South Korea, and more to get hype about.
Obsessed with Audiobooks? Win 12 Credits to Libro.fm and upgrade your 2026 commute!
Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy
When former child star McCurdy released her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, it was a breakout success. And not just because people wanted the tea on celebrity life. McCurdy detailed her experiences as a victim of child abuse, both within Hollywood and at the hands of her mother. What’s more, she did so with honesty and even a little well-placed humor. That’s why I trust that her similarly provocatively titled upcoming release, this time contemporary fiction, will give its delicate subject matter all it needs to give. It follows 17-year-old Waldo, a girl with an inexplicable desire for her creative writing teacher. Or maybe it is explainable. Maybe it’s his knowledge of literature and movies, or maybe it’s the fact that he makes her feel understood. Either way, this kind of desire can only lead to mess. —Erica Ezeifedi
A Black Queer History of the United States (ReVisioning History) by C. Riley Snorton, Darius Bost
C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost highlight key Black LGBTQ+ figures from history, emphasizing that queer Black people have always been part of the liberation movement throughout American history. This new entry in the Revisioning History series sheds light on how the Black queer community is often overlooked in history books. —Kendra Winchester
One Aladdin Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson
From the bestselling author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit comes this amalgamation of memoir, cultural critique, and classic story. Here, Winterson uses the classic story of Shahrazad in One Thousand and One Nights to explore the ways fiction and stories work in our lives, how they define us, and how we define ourselves through them.
The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead
This is giving a little of Daisy Jones and the Six and a little of something kind of unexpected. In it, record exec Theo is introduced to the band the Future Saints at a dive bar after the tragic loss of their manager. Hannah, the leader of the group, decides to switch up the band’s usual sounds with a more pop-y song, which goes viral. If you think that’s what they’d want, you’d be only halfway right. Hannah’s not as ready for fame as she thought she was, and she’s not willing to fully let Theo in or her deceased manager go. The world watches as the Future Saints contend with their newfound fame—as Hannah holds onto ghosts, and must figure out how Theo and even her sister fit into her new life.
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley
British colonialism, murder mystery, teen magazines, and rural Wyoming all converge in this inventive debut. During the summer of 1986, an aunt, an uncle, and a young cousin leave India to move in with sisters Georgie Ayyar and Agatha Krishna in Wyoming . Here’s the thing, though: at some point, the sisters decide it’s time for their uncle to die. What’s more, Georgie says the British are to blame.
Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana, Hwang Sunwoo, translated by Gene Png
Instead of giving in to the societal expectations of getting married and starting a family, Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo decided to buy a house together and live together. No, they’re not lovers; they’re chosen family. Their new book explores the freedom and independence they discovered after making this decision, highlighting how creating their own family was the best decision they ever made for themselves. —Kendra Winchester
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!
English (US) · 