Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
That’s Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas (November 4)
Based on his own experience raising a son with Jacobsen Syndrome, he sheds light on raising a child with a disability. Thomas offers the perfect balance of humor and heart he gave us throughout nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother. This is the feel-good novel of the year.
Ravishing by Eshani Surya (November 11)
An emotionally resonant and deeply profound book, Surya captures the cost of what it’s like to chase “perfection.” It is a luminous story about learning that we were never broken to begin with. Incredibly written and moving. This will stick with me for a long, long time.
Lucky Girl by Allie Tagle-Dokus (November 11)
Lucky Girl is pure joy. A critique of how reality television warps reality and gives viewers a manufactured story to sell us something. Considering the reality we’re living in now, trust me when I say you’ll want to escape to the reality Tagle-Dokus crafted for us.
Let the Moon Wobble by Ally Ang (November 11)
The emotions in Ang’s poems jumped from the line and into my soul. They explore queerness without filter or apology. The poems are radiant.
The Merge by Grace Walker (November 11)
Set in the near future, where a woman agrees to fuse her consciousness with her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother’s, this is an innovative and absorbing genre book with an exhilarating pace and world-building. This is going to be a longstanding book club for sci-fi fans.
The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes (November 11)
Quiara Alegría Hudes is one of the best living writers we have. Her debut novel, about a mother who has fled her complicated life, is a knockout. Her writing leaps off the page. Any new writers who want to learn what makes a novel work should read this book.
Petty Lies by Sulmi Bak (November 11)
Told in epistolary form, this slim, thought-provoking novel is about a woman hellbent on revenge. Expect to finish it in one sitting. It’s dark, tense, and propulsive.
What Mennonite Girls Are Good For by Jennifer Sears (November 25)
Through eleven connected stories, Sears asks how faith influences and informs our lives. Each story is a subtle and nuanced look into a life that spans the globe but is always searching for one thing.
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