Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
The Snares by Rav Grewal-Kök (April 1)
From the publisher: A Punjabi American lawyer at a mysterious federal intelligence agency fights to keep his career, marriage, and morality intact in this gripping post-9/11 drama from a thrilling new voice.
It’s easy to overuse the phrase emotional rollercoaster, but this book was an emotional rollercoaster. From happy to sad to panicked and stressed, the journey of Neel is one I won’t soon forget. A knockout of a novel.
Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards (April 1)
From the publisher: A poignant and heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that follows the friendships, hopes, fears, and struggles of a group of Native high school students from Winnipeg, Manitoba’s North End, illuminating what it’s like to grow up in the heart of an Indigenous city
Edwards has a masterful grasp on voice and language. Each character sings with realism throughout the story. I felt like a high school classmate from Winnipeg by the end of reading Small Ceremonies.
All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett (April 1)
From the publisher: A taut and lyrical coming-of-age debut about a young American woman navigating class, lies, and love amid London’s jet-set elite.
Pure fun and joy. Everett simply knows how to grab readers by the hand and take them on a romp.
I Ate the Whole World to Find You by Rachel Ang (April 7)
From the publisher: An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship…unless it gets inside
Grab this book if you’re looking for something fresh and eye-opening. Debutiful has never recommended a graphic novel before, and this memoir is going to be the one that opens the floodgates for us.
Natch by Darrell Kinsey (April 7)
From the publisher: At the age of twenty-nine, tired of trying to get along with members of his crew and tired of the money going into somebody else’s pocket, Natch begins working for himself, climbing and cutting down trees in the foothills of north Georgia
I let out the largest exhale after finishing this book. It is a tensely gorgeous book that I wish I could read for the first time again over and over.
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 breathtaking. Anderegg’s style and prose are a breath of fresh air. She writes about trauma in a raw way that I have never experienced before. I wish more people wrote with the courage that Anderegg writes with.
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.
Bitter Texas Honey by Ashley Whitaker (April 15)
From the publisher: The Royal Tenenbaums meets Fleabag in this hilarious and dizzyingly smart debut about an over-the-top evangelical Texan family—and the daughter at its center racing to finish her very important novel before her ex-boyfriend finishes his.
The publicity comp titles are hard to live up to, but this book surpassed expectations. It is a lively story filled with memorable characters who are larger than life but never caricatures of themselves.
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
Aziza took what a memoir can do and turned it on its head. She plays with style and genre, but also introduces the characters in her past and present with such originality. One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.
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 give readers a claustrophobic experience that is rarely felt on the page.
Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang (April 29)
From the publisher: In this debut thriller perfect for fans of Bunny and Yellowface, a young woman steps into her deceased twin’s influencer life, only to discover dark secrets hidden behind her social media façade.
Hand this to anyone in your life and they’ll love it. It’ll please any type of reader. Zhang has her finger on the pulse of what makes people stay up until dawn reading.
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