In 2024, I read more books in one year than he ever did before. In 2025, I’m scaling back and focusing on creating better coverage for emerging writers. We’ll have excerpts, cover reveals, more web Q&As, in-person and virtual events, and more top-secret ideas I can’t reveal now. The first step to 2025 is always revealing the debut books that have caught my eye. As of Thanksgiving 2024, I’ve been sent almost 100 physical and digital galleys for debut books coming out in 2025. I tried to read 20-50 pages of them all.
Here are the ones I finished and can’t wait to return to.
I highly recommend preordering them because preordering books will help support these writers more than anything else right now. Preorders will drive stores to stock their books, convince event managers to book them for events, and so many more intangible benefits. If you preorder through our Bookshop.org links below, Debutiful will also get a small sliver of the sale, which will help pay for website and podcast hosting fees.
January
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen (January 7)
From the publisher: An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.
Historical and romantic, Chen’s debut is a panoramic story about recapturing, and outrunning, the past. Emotions pour over on every page while characters you will grow to cherish navigate intimacy across place and time.
From the publisher: Perfect for fans of Jia Tolentino and Chuck Klosterman, Y2K is a delightfully nostalgic and bitingly told exploration about how the early 2000s forever changed us and the world we live in.
We need more great essay collections that take a critical lens to recent culture and history and Shande’s collection is a perfect addition to that pantheon. While nostalgia is just now dipping into the Y2K era, Shande unflinchingly looks at the time period with biting takes and a keen eye.
Confessions by Catherine Airey (January 14)
From the publisher: For fans of The Goldfinch and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, an ambitious and absorbing debut that follows three generations of women from New York to rural Ireland and back again.
Generational novels that feel lived in are always a welcome treat. The beginnings of this novel felt like a warm, cozy, blanket.
Helen of Troy, 1993 by Maria Zoccola (January 14)
From the publisher: Part myth retelling, part character study, this sharp, visceral debut poetry collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer’s Iliad as a disgruntled housewife in 1990s Tennessee.
I didn’t know what to expect when this one arrived on my doorstep. I ended up reading it in one sitting and was moved by the creativity and the modern take on an all-time classic. The moment I finished it, I knew it was going to be a favorite book for a long, long time.
Good Girl by Aria Aber (January 14)
From the publisher: An electric debut novel about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of self-discovery–“a stunning coming-of-age story” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history
Wow. Holy, wow! This had a lot of hype already by the time I got my hands on it and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a messy coming-of-age with complex and gripping characters.
The Gloomy Girl Variety Show by Freda Epum (January 14)
From the publisher: Merging memoir, poetry, and criticism, this radical literary revue traces a first-generation Nigerian American’s search for home and belonging on her own terms.
I don’t cover a lot of memoirs, but when I do, I want it to push and challenge me. This promises to push what a memoir does in a new direction.
Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su (January 28)
From the publisher: A humorous and deeply moving debut novel in the vein of Bunny and Convenience Store Woman about a young woman who tries to shape a sentient blob into her perfect boyfriend.
A laugh-out-loud and off-the-wall story. It’s all about finding yourself and finding love, but it does so in a completely unexpected way. Reading this was like riding a rollercoaster.
February
The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole (February 4)
From the publisher: Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, The Edge of Water tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm.
I loved going on this journey that was so gorgeously written. Every word is like silk.
The Sleeping Land by Ella Alexander (February 4)
From the publisher: Less than three years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, three archaeology grad students and their enigmatic adviser arrive at a remote cave in the heart of the Siberian wilderness to carry out the first extensive Western dig on Russian soil since the execution of the czar.
A page-turner with a unique setting and plot that will please readers every step of the way. Plus, that cover kills.
Loca by Alejandro Heredia (February 11)
From the publisher: If Junot Diaz’s critically acclaimed collection Drown and Janet Mock’s Emmy-winning series Pose produced offspring, Alejandro Heredia’s Loca would be their firstborn.
This was completely enthralling and moving. It pulls back the curtain on young, queer people’s lives and organically allows readers into and beautiful and complicated friendship. A frontrunner for Best of 2025 lists.
Mazeltov by Eli Zuzovsky (February 11)
From the publisher: In a glorious debut, a boy confronts queer lust, shame, the threat of war, and the plague of family on the day he becomes a man
This copy from the publicity pitch hooked me: “On the cusp of manhood–and the verge of a nervous breakdown.” It delivers clever interactions and a series of memorable characters.
Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield (February 11)
From the publisher: A young woman’s seasonal job working a sugar beet harvest takes a surreal turn in this surprising and vivid debut.
Spellbinding from the get-go. It’s eye-opening, dark, and twisty with a bite.
A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama, translated by Jesse Kirkwood (February 11)
From the publisher: The English-language debut of a prize-winning Japanese author, this touching, subtly funny novel evokes the daily struggles and hopes of two women from different generations.
A beautifully written/translated story that will move you to tears.
Cosmic Tantrum by Sarah Lyn Rogers (February 18)
From the publisher: A debut full-length poetry collection from Sarah Lyn Rogers rewriting girlhood and summoning mischief
Listening to Sarah Lyn Rogers read from her collection during our Virtual Poetry Night was completely captivating. She explores what girlhood means and how society treats young women with a brilliant eye.
Wolf Act by AJ Romriell (February 18)
From the publisher: Growing up queer and neurodivergent in the Mormon Church
I grew up with a lot of straight-laced Mormon friends, some of which came out as queer later in life, but by that point, I lost touch with them outside of social media. This captivated me in ways I wasn’t prepared for.
What You Make of Me by Sophie Madeline Dess (February 25)
From the publisher: In this mesmerizing debut from a bright new talent, two enigmatic and unforgettable siblings confront what – and who – they’re willing to sacrifice for their art
I am always interested in stories that explore sibling relationships. The dynamics in this book are unfiltered in the best way possible. Dess tackles art, creative drive, and drama with a fresh voice.
March
Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus (March 4)
From the publisher: A vibrant debut story collection–poignant, unflinching, and immersive–masterfully moving between sharp wit and profound tenderness, Guatemalan Rhapsody offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of an ever-changing country, the people who claim it as home, and those who no longer do
This collection is already one of my favorites since starting Debutiful. They’re fresh but timeless. Lemus writes about place – both America and Guatemala – with precision and care. He writes with utter compassion. Reading this collection was an absolute delight.
Optional Practical Training by Shubha Sunder (March 4)
From the publisher: An elegantly inventive debut novel that offers a sharp new take on the immigrant story in post-9/11 America
I’ve been a fan of Sunder’s stories and am very excited to dive into her full-length novel debut.
We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown (March 4)
From the publisher: An exuberant and ribald debut novel about three adolescent girls, as sweetly vulnerable as they are cunning and tough, coming of age in a gritty postindustrial town in nineties Yorkshire, England
If you couldn’t tell by now, I love coming-of-age stories set in small towns and I love the 1990s. This book does everything exceedingly well. It’s full of emotion.
See Friendship by Jeremy Gordon (March 4)
From the publisher: Culture critic Jeremy Gordon makes his literary debut with this whip-smart novel about a young man who learns the devastating truth behind his friend’s death, propelling him on an odyssey of discovery into the nature of grief in the digital age, the limits of memory, and the meaning of friendship.
I’ve rarely seen male friendship portrayed as strong as in this book. The beauty of the struggle to find and maintain friendship in modern times is fully displayed. Gordon gets humanity and writes subtle moments with gorgeous prose.
Just Want You Here by Meredith Turits (March 11)
From the publisher: An intimate and deeply moving coming-of-age novel about second chances and the inextricable bonds between lovers and friends.
I love steamy books that don’t overtly scream that they are steamy. Turits writes exquisitely about lust and friendship.
Luminous by Sylvia Park (March 11)
From the publisher: A highly anticipated, sweeping debut set in a unified Korea that tells the story of three estranged siblings–two human, one robot–as they collide against the backdrop of a murder investigation to settle old scores and make sense of their shattered childhood, perfect for fans of Klara and the Sun and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.
It’s a cold stunner of a novel. Park masterfully balances complex characters in a very creative world. The family dynamics in this future-tinged novel are brilliantly written.
We Contain Landscapes by Patrycja Humienik (March 18)
From the publisher: To whom do we belong, and at what cost? Patrycja Humienik’s debut poetry collection, We Contain Landscapes, is haunted by questions of desire, borders, and the illusion of national belonging
A collection of uniquely written poems that made me think a lot about my relationship with my parents and family.
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton (March 18)
From the publisher: A bombshell bestseller in Japan, a provocative, defiant debut novel about a young woman in a care home seeking autonomy and the full possibilities of her life–“a darkly funny portrait of disability” (Japan Times)
This being a “bombshell bestseller” in Japan would already make this highly anticipated, but it also being about a character with a physical disability solidified my desire to read it.
April
Big Chief by Jon Hickey (April 8)
From the publisher: There, There meets The Night Watchman in this gripping literary debut about power and corruption, family, and facing the ghosts of the past.
This is a new American classic. Hickey’s book is tightly written while being an expansive look into Indigenous politics. If you only read one book this year, make it this book.
Make Sure You Die Screaming by Zee Carlstrom (April 8)
From the publisher: An electrifying debut about a nonbinary corporate burnout embarking on a road trip from Chicago to Arkansas to find their conspiracy-theorist father, who has gone missing–for fans of Detransition Baby and Chain-Gang All-Stars
Every sentence, every page, every chapter got a hell yeah out of me. This is an anthem for all of us sick of what our society has become.
Plum by Andy Anderegg (April 8)
From the publisher: For fans of Sarah Rose Etter and Scott McClanahan, Plum is a darkly beautiful, unflinching novel about modern girlhood in the internet age, the daily toll of trauma, and the limits of love.
Plum is bananas. Anderegg’s style and prose are a breath of fresh air.
When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris (April 15)
From the publisher: In this heart-wrenching debut novel, a young Black gay man reckoning with the death of his father must confront his painful past–and his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.
I nearly fell over when I heard Norris read from Harvest at AWP 2024 in Kansas City. It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say her craft is genius. Norris radiates on the sentence, emotional, and plot level. An early contender for Novel of the Year.
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (April 22)
From the publisher: One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they’re unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.
Give me a twisty family saga and I’ll be a happy man. This one is raw and earnest as Damoff astutely understands her character’s motivations and needs.
The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders by Sarah Aziza (April 22)
From the publisher: A brush with death. An ancestral haunting. A century of family secrets. Sarah Aziza’s searing, genre-bending memoir traces three generations of diasporic Palestinians from Gaza to the Midwest to New York City–and back
This Kiese Laymon-approved memoir has been on my TBR list for what feels like months. This will be the first book I read after the holidays and I can’t wait to see how Aziza explores eating disorders and reveals secrets she discovered of her family’s past.
The Sea Gives Up the Dead by Molly Olguín (April 29)
From the publisher: A collection of stories sprinkled into the soil of fairy tales, left to take root and grow wild there.
These dozen stories remind me of some of my favorite recent stories. They’re genre-bending and left my jaw on the floor by how inventive they were.
Fireweed by Lauren Haddad (April 29)
From the publisher: Gripping, unflinching, and rebellious, Fireweed begs the question: just how good are our good intentions?
Note from Adam: My original recommendation for Fireweed included harmful language where I referred to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls as a “trope,” and I apologize for using that language.
Haddad investigates what happens when a community turns all of their attention to a missing White woman but ignores when an Indigenous woman goes missing. Her taut writing and pace magnificently gives readers a claustrophobic experience that is rarely felt on the page.
May
The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei (May 6)
From the publisher: In this dazzling debut, Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.
I first heard about this book from Vanessa Chan (whose own debut was a 2024 Best Debut Books selection) and I have eagerly been awaiting it ever since. It’s tricky listening to writers gush about their friends, but Chan’s track record of hyping books has yet to fail me.
Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis (May 6)
From the publisher: An astonishing coming-of-middle-age debut about an Ahkwesáhsne man’s reluctant return home, Old School Indian is a striking exploration of the resonance of love and family, culture and history.
Like Hickey’s book above, Aaron John Curtis has announced himself into the pantheon of modern Indigenous writers alongside Morgan Talty, Brandon Hobson, and, among others, Tommy Orange. Old School Indian is a revelation. I could not put this down.
From the publisher: Told through a prism of female voices, this cinematic debut follows five women with vastly different origins–from the Philippines to Ethiopia to New York City–whose lives bring them to the Arabian Gulf, where they collide with devastating and profound consequences.
I’ve only read the first three sections – from the perspectives of Dounia, Justine, and Flora – and I can already tell Ogrodnik has a masterful grasp on characterization. These are voices I want to return to immediately.
Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange by Katie Goh (May 6)
From the publisher: Per person, oranges are the most consumed fruit in the world. Across the world, no matter how remote or cold or incongruous a climate is, oranges will be there. What stories could I unravel from the orange’s long ribboning peel? What new meanings could I find in its variousness, as it moves from east to west and from familiar to foreign?
This is the type of nonfiction I love. A blend of memoir and criticism that explores a topic in a way I never encountered. Goh’s writing is inventive and intelligent.
From the publisher: From a dazzling new talent, the story of a newly divorced young mother forced to reckon with the secrets of her own childhood when she brings her daughters back to the big house where she was raised.
A determined debut about a woman’s past and present as she uncovers who she is, who she was, and who she wants to be. Jones offers a thought-provoking meditation on motherhood.
Happiness Forever by Adelaide Faith (May 13)
From the publisher: A complete refreshment and uplift of energy: a hilarious, beguiling first novel for the head and the heart.
Weird and melancholic with a sprinkle of hope. Why are we happy? Why are we unhappy? These are the questions asked throughout this delightful debut.
Aggregated Discontent: Confessions of the Last Normal Woman by Harron Walker (May 20)
From the publisher: A searing journey through the highs and lows of twenty-first century womanhood from an award-winning journalist beloved for her unflinchingly honest and often comedic appraisals of pop culture, identity, and disillusionment
Walker’s sharp tongue blends of memoir and criticism throughout these essays. Among a wide variety of topics, she beautifully tackles art as capitalism and explores why we work.
June
There Are Reasons for This by Nini Berndt (June 3)
From the publisher: There Are Reasons for This is a modern love song about the fallibility of love–in all its iterations–about the denial and tethering of desire, about the family we are given and the one we find for ourselves, and to what comes next, whatever that may be.
This is an undeniably engrossing read with a beautiful cover. Berndt’s writing blew me away time and time again throughout this novel. She writes like like a boxer floating off the page with ease and packing the heaviest of punch with the simplest flick of her wrist.
Songs of No Provenance by Lydi Conklin (June 3)
From the publisher: A suspenseful, wildly engaging debut novel by the award-winning author of Rainbow Rainbow, following a musician spiraling in self-doubt and self-searching after a night–and a relationship–gone wrong
Conklin’s short story debut, Rainbow Rainbow, was one of my favorites of 2022 and their debut novel has been on my radar ever since. Getting a copy of this novel about queer identity, kinks, and art was like winning the lottery.
The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (June 3)
From the publisher: For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Nathan Hill comes a haymaker of an American novel about a missing teenage boy, cases of fluid and mistaken identity, and the transformative power of boxing.
The early pages of this book show just how innovative and thoughtful Schaefer is. I really love when writers use sports as a backdrop for their stories. I only got my hands on this a few weeks ago and I am itching to return to it.
Foreclosure Gothic by Harris Lahti (June 10)
From the publisher: A multi-generational and deeply autobiographical gothic tale of Hollywood dreams and upstate New York reality that feels like Andre Dubus III meets Chantal V. Johnson.
Astra House rarely misses and this looks right up my alley. If you could judge a book by its cover, this one is ready to be an all-timer.
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin (June 10)
From the publisher: A gripping, elegant debut novel about a young Black man caught between worlds of race and class, glamour and tragedy, a friend’s mysterious death, and his own arrest, from an electrifying new voice.
The mix of the blurbs from Kaveh Akbar, Margo Jefferson, and Rumaan Alam as well as Franklin’s published work sold me. The anticipation is boiling over.
Unworld by Jayson Greene (June 17)
From the publisher: From the author of Once More We Saw Stars, an electrifying debut novel about AI that calls to mind Never Let Me Go and The Candy House’s tantalizing vision of the future.
If his fiction is anything like his memoir, this is sure to be a book of the summer. It also might be one of the first great AI novels.
Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana Von Blanckensee (June 17)
From the publisher: Emma Cline’s THE GUEST meets Haley Jakobson’s OLD ENOUGH in this vibrant and intoxicating queer Jewish coming-of-age debut, set in 1990s San Francisco, about a young woman who finds herself torn between her fraught relationships with her childhood best friend and first love, and with an older lesbian she works for.
We’re in for a fun-as-hell ride with this one. It’s raw and authentic, nailing what it’s like to be weird in high school.
Beyond
Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen (July 1)
From the publisher: In this outrageous and deeply serious satire, two star indoor volleyball players juggle unspoken jealousies in their off-court romance ahead of their rival teams’ first rematch in a year
Terrific and sidesplitting. The moment I saw this popping up on social media feeds, I knew I needed it. Once it arrived, I cleared my schedule and gobbled it up. It’s the type of novel that is effortlessly laugh-out-loud funny.
Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore (July 15)
From the publisher: In eleven stories that span Florida marshes, North Carolina mountains, and Southern metropolitan cities, Make Your Way Home follows Black men and women who grapple with the homes that have eluded them.
Tin House has quickly become a favorite here at Debutiful HQ and this is a collection I can’t wait to fully dive into. Its cover is one of my favorites of the year already.
Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee (July 22)
From the publisher: A Chinese American woman spins tragedy into comedy when her life falls apart in a taut, wry debut novel that grapples with grief, motherhood, and myths–perfect for fans of Joan Is Okay and Crying in H Mart.
A riot from page one. This will make you laugh so hard your stomach will hurt.
Extinction Capital of the World by Mariah Rigg (August 22)
From the publisher: Magnetic, haunting, and tender, Extinction Capital of the World is a stunning portrait of Hawai’i–and a powerful meditation on family, queer love, and community amid imperialism and environmental collapse.
A day when I read one of Rigg’s stories is always a good day. I cannot wait to get my hands on the full collection, the cover we revealed in late 2024.
35 thoughts on “The Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2025 – Part 1”