Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han (April 7)
From the publisher: A lyrical and suspenseful debut novel about a mysteriously gifted Korean family confronting the brutality of the Japanese empire, Honey in the Wound is an epic tale of survival and the reclamation of power.
What others are saying: “A fierce and mythic family saga, Honey in the Wound moves with the urgency of anti-colonial resistance and the grace of folklore. Even as history bears down, its most magical moments rise from the sorrow, fury, and enduring love of ordinary lives. Refusing to let the ghosts of the Japanese empire fall silent, the novel honors the truth still burning in the wound.” —Silvia Park, author of Luminous
I can’t remember who, but a writer told me this is going to blow me away. I haven’t dug into it yet, but anytime I see a sprawling magical realism epic, I know I have to sink my teeth into it.
Tail Bone by Che Yeun (April 7)
From the publisher: A fierce and gorgeous debut novel about a teenager who runs away from her abusive home to live in a boarding house for single women as a global financial crash threatens the people of Seoul.
What others are saying: “With this story of how we betray and are betrayed, by others but especially by ourselves, Che Yeun has given us an unforgettable debut novel, indelible, knowing, powerful, consuming. This marks the start of a major career.” —Alexander Chee, author of HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL
An unforgettable novel. When a coming-of-age story can surprise me, I know a writer has done their job. Yeun takes the darkest moments and finds hope in them.
Like This, But Funnier by Hallie Cantor (April 7)
From the publisher: For fans of Dolly Alderton and HBO’s Hacks, a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny debut novel about faking it (and “making it”) as a writer in Hollywood.
What others are saying: “This book is every bit as delightful and hilariously self-revealing as the author herself. Which, come to think of it, is what makes them both so hard to put down. Hallie captures something so funny about the shame and envy common to the truly gifted that I’m ashamed to admit makes me envious. I hope that doesn’t sound like I’m bragging.”—Mitchell Hurwitz, creator of Arrested Development
An uproarious romp. We’re all faking it, and Cantor bites into that with a comedic lens. The book is one of the most fun times I’ve had reading in a long time.
Work to Do by Jules Wernersbach (April 7)
From the publisher: Unfolding over the course of a single week during Texas hurricane season, Work to Do pings between the co-op’s first year and present day, as the unionization bid reaches fever pitch. The wind howls, the power goes out, and water creeps through the front door as questions of who owns the grocery store and who has a right to its future are posed. And will the workers ever be paid enough to buy the organic groceries they shelve?
What others are saying: “Jules Wernersbach’s Work to Do captures the complicated and absurd frustrations of making something that matters. Centering on one hectic week at a co-op in Austin, the novel moves through the store’s small crew of employees as they attempt to repair the ruptures–both financial and emotional–that threaten to put the co-op out of business. This funny, heartfelt novel asks how anyone might live authentically in a world that tries to turn everything into a profit. Wernersbach’s debut is a community unto itself.”–Isle McElroy, author, People Collide
A whirlwind of a novel in the most unlikely of places: a grocery store. In it is a biting pressure cooker of a story about personal politics when jealousy boils over. It is an unassuming page-turner perfect for a weekend binge.
Harmless by Miranda Shulman (April 14)
From the publisher: A twisty novel of sisterhood, friendship, and obsession that asks: Can we ever really outrun what haunts us most?
What others are saying: “Miranda Shulman’s glorious, original debut Harmless is a beautifully observed zeitgeist novel set in Park Slope; it’s also a hilarious, painful look at young adulthood, sibling rivalry, friendship, competition, love, and loss—with a shocking twist. The young women in Shulman’s world are the vivid, messy, unforgettable characters everyone will be talking about. This is a fantastic debut you don’t want to miss.” —Karen E. Bender, author of The Words of Dr. L and the National Book Award finalist Refund
I can never tire of a group of friends navigating life. Shulman does it with such a keen eye, turning the mundane into the hilarious. The voices of each character are so distinct and original. This is a book with a big heart.
Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill (April 21)
From the publisher: Sorrowland meets Manhunt in this literary horror debut in which an isolated newlywed—covered in mushroom growths like all the other wives in her community—strikes a precarious balance between following her husband’s strict rules and pursuing an intense connection with a woman who makes her question everything.
What others are saying: “Delving into the untamed potency of the collective feminine, Wife Shaped Bodies is an exquisite scream into the void.” –Maggie Su, author of Blob
Simply one of the most original books I’ve ever read. There’s nothing like it. Cranehill takes the expected and flips it on its head, its shoulder, and its knee every step of the way. You won’t be able to put this book down.
Odessa by Gabrielle Sher (April 21)
From the publisher: In a powerfully imagined Russia at the height of the pogroms, a grief-stricken family turn to ancient magic to bring their daughter back from the grave.
What others are saying: “Odessa is a triumph. Gabrielle Sher has given us, at once, a classic monster tale, a heartbreakingly relevant historical drama, a pulse-poundingly contemporary descent into horror, a timeless parable about the porous boundaries between atrocity and self-defense, and above all, a powerful reclamation of agency. Count me in for whatever Sher writes next.”–Nat Cassidy, author of When the Wolf Comes Home
An early condenser for book cover of the year, the early pages in Sher’s novel grabbed me by the collar. Gothic literature never went away, but I think it might hit its peak in 2026. This looks like it will be one of the titles leading the way.
The Scoop by Erin van der Meer (April 21)
From the publisher: A piercing satire about a journalist working the night shift at a tabloid and the explosive consequences of her “harmless” clickbait.
What others are saying: “I gorged on The Scoop as though reading an explosive exposé about the state of the world–which, in many ways, I was. Erin Van Der Meer has crafted a devastating satire that reads the media, and those devoted to making a name for themselves within it, for filth. Smart, savage, and tinged with grief, The Scoop is required reading for anyone who has compromised themselves today for a better tomorrow.” –Ruth Madievsky, award-winning author of All-Night Pharmacy
Get ready to binge this novel by van der Meer. If you pay attention to how the media shapes and manipulates us, or even if you are blissfully unaware, this book is incendiary.
The Memory Museum by M Lin (April 21)
From the publisher: With daring political and creative commitment, The Memory Museum brims with joy even as Lin exposes the knife’s edge between powerlessness and agency, pain and intimacy, our memories and our futures.
What others are saying: “The Memory Museum is a book to get very excited about. With gumption and pizzazz M Lin can seemingly take any form, genre, or style and make it do whatever she wants, always something unexpected. But under all the technical brilliance are the timeless literary subjects: love, death, money, family, and mind-blowing sex with some random guy.”—Tony Tulathimutte, author of Rejection
M Lin can do things with the short story that no other writer can do. This collection is a masterclass in structure, character, plot, and pace. If you’re looking to learn how to write short stories, read Lin’s collection.
Magdalena is Brighter Than You Think by Grace Spulak (April 21)
From the publisher: Inventive and emotionally nuanced, Grace Spulak’s debut story collection explores the complexities of gender, queerness, trauma, and resilience through characters who live in the margins and imagine new ways to survive there.
What others are saying: “Searing, seething, and utterly gorgeous, these stories take us to the dark border where reality and art collide to make truth. In this collection, life and death have equal weight, offering both pain and pleasure in language that is both timeless and totally new. Grace Spulak is an unflinching new voice in fiction, and one to watch.” –Adrienne Celt, author of End of the World House
Complex stories with complex characters. Spulak writes without fear through a collection that explores queerness, gender, and trauma. Her sense of place grips you on every page.
Somewhere Soft to Land by kai alonté (April 21)
From the publisher: In this crackling portrayal of friendship in peril, a young woman’s world is upended when a tragedy in her best friend’s life tests the boundaries of their sisterhood—a sharp and compelling debut novel from a Ghanaian American writer.
What others are saying: “From rage to indifference to the illusory hope for reunification, alonté takes readers through the life cycle of toxic families with visceral realness, humanizing zillennials who are estranged not just from their families but also from their pasts as a whole.”—Library Journal
Every good friendship story balances the belly-bursting laughs and the chest-tightening heartbreak. alonté balances both, and weaves in all of the complexities of a long friendship, with grace. A beautiful ode to sisterhood.
Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg (April 28)
From the publisher: An electrifying collection of linked stories following a cast of characters navigating bodies, queerness, power, and sex—with radical results—from the bestselling author of Housemates.
What others are saying: “I love the way Emma Copley Eisenberg observes the world so precisely, attuned to unexpected—yet perfect—details. Fat Swim is lush with physical life and bodily sensation, vivid with textures and colors and temperature. Funny, mordant, and tender all at once—this is the rare book that exuberantly inhabits the human body, in all its grossness and glory.”—Rachel Khong, author of Real Americans and Goodbye, Vitamin
Debutiful is completing the Emma Copley Eisenberg Trilogy. We recommended her debut nonfiction book, and now we’re recommending her debut short story collection. Everything she has written has been superb. These stories about body and queerness are an education on how to write without being fatphobic.