Debutiful’s Adam Vitcavage recommends noteworthy debut books for readers to discover each month.
The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders (July 7)
From the publisher: The dead are relentless gossips, or at least these dead are. An impulsive and heartbroken woman inherits her father’s share of a Tennessee farm that is rich in family secrets and occupied with busybody ghosts in this sweeping family portrait.
What others are saying: “The Great Wherever is fertile ground for Shannon Sanders’ vast gifts as a writer. Dead or alive, righteous or wrong, every one of her Lambs is a singular, beautiful mess, together growing the rich family history she seeds, from page 1, with great care, heart, and unyielding humor. By novel’s end, I felt as dazzled as one of the ancestors at the edge of the pond, in awe of all its beauty and magic.” —Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
Sanders’s debut story collection, Company, was one of my absolute favorites. The moment the galley for her debut novel was available I made sure it was on its way to me. The Great Wherever is an ambitious multigenerational novel where the past (ghosts) is ever-present. Sanders is a sublime writer with unparalleled talent. I could read her writing all day, every day.
A Real Animal by Emeline Atwood (July 7)
From the publisher: In this unforgettable debut, a moment of metaphysical transformation launches a woman’s beautiful and terrifying journey through her twenties, through loneliness and complicated love that takes her from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the plains of Texas
What others are saying: “Emeline Atwood’s A Real Animal is a strange and astonishing and entirely original book, full of darkness shot through with light, wild and tender. Atwood writes brilliantly about our interior, personal wildernesses, the snarling, wounded animal at the heart of any person. Lucy is an unforgettable narrator: compelling, terrifying, lovable, surprising, human. She, and this book, are extraordinary.” —Elizabeth McCracken, author of The Hero of This Book
A powerhouse. Atwood’s book is simply one of the best books I’ve read since I started covering books. She perfectly writes the turbulent time when one finishes college and enters “adulthood” – whatever that means.
I’m a Lot by Alison Leiby (July 7)
From the publisher: In this witty, absurd, and surprisingly moving memoir-in-essays, comedian Alison Leiby unpacks the multitudes women are told to be—and the joy of refusing to pick just one.
What others are saying: “I’ve been an admirer of Alison Leiby’s for years. Her wit, vulnerability, intelligence, and confidence radiated every time I saw her perform, and it’s no different with this book. It’s an absolute treat to read her writing. She’s the real deal, and I could not get enough. I want more. Second book, please!”—Phoebe Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of You Can’t Touch My Hair
An iconic TV writer and podcaster, Leiby turns her attention inward and delivers an unforgettable and laugh-out-loud funny memoir. Her ability to bring hilarity from the mundane will bring joy to anyone who reads these essays.
The Simp by Roshan Sethi (July 7)
From the publisher: A razor-sharp novel about the rise and fall of an unemployed actor who lands the greatest role of his life when he’s hired as a personal assistant to an absurd Hollywood family.
What others are saying: “Funny, poignant, and positively delightful. Sethi’s first novel has all the pleasure of an artisanal chocolate—an enticing exterior, a sneaky sophistication, and once you get inside, a shocking and enlivening surprise.”—Graham Moore, author of The Last Days of Night
If you’re already missing HACKS, this will fill the void. With his absurdist take on the Hollywood Novel, Sethi offers not just a funny novel, but a gut-busting, laugh-with-your-whole-body novel.
False Prophet by Afsheen Farhadi (July 7)
From the publisher: The cult drama of The Girls meets Yellowface’s searing exploration of lies, immigration, and identity in this propulsive literary thriller debut.
What others are saying: “With a wickedly compelling premise and a clever structure, False Prophet escalates suspensefully toward a final climactic choice. Afsheen Farhadi’s debut is a smart and very entertaining exploration of fame, faith, family, and the lies that we are desperate to believe.” — Chris Bachelder, author of The Throwback Special
A unique take on what thrillers can be. This isn’t your typical structured page-turner. It balances two stories in the past and present and allows readers to discover and re-learn important plot points, and introduces them to new aspects of the characters’ lives.
Living, Together by Samantha Paige Rosen (July 14)
From the publisher: 21 writers and organizers on found family, hacking adulthood, and other lessons communal living can teach us about the future of housing in America Featuring Kristen Arnett, Rhaina Cohen, Kim Stanley Robinson, and more.
Full disclosure, I am a contributor to this anthology, but even if I weren’t, I’d still recommend it. The essays (and interviews) in this anthology are thoughtful, funny, and full of life. Reading this gives me hope that we can all still connect in this crazy, fucked up world we’re living in.
Paradise Pawn by Meg Richardson (July 14)
From the publisher: A dazzling debut novel about best friends, adolescent longing, and the Florida pawn shop that promises to make their dreams come true—if it doesn’t break them apart first.
What others are saying: “Paradise Pawn cleverly captures the absurdity of adulthood through the eyes of a child. As an employee in a pawnshop—where love and desperation, poverty and wealth are on display just as much as the wares—our young narrator bravely clings onto how the world should be, even as she is reminded daily of how it really is. Hopeful, heartbreaking, and oftentimes hilarious, Richardson artfully paints a vibrant, colorful world with only black ink on a white page.” —Kat Tang, author of Five-Star Stranger
A fun-as-hell coming-of-age romp. Theft, pawn shops, Florida. What more can you want from a novel that packs so much heart into every laugh? Fans of Kristen Arnett will devour this one from Meg Richardson.
Please Don’t Touch the Body by Emily Doyle (July 14)
From the publisher: The 11 stories in Please Don’t Touch the Body are at once dry and comic, grounded and surreal as they play deftly with genre and expectation to explore human alienation.
What others are saying: “Open-heartedly honest, fiercely intelligent, and wonderfully fresh . . . Please Don’t Touch the Body not only surprises and delights, it sings.” —Jessie Ren Marshall, author of WOMEN! IN! PERIL!
The stories in this collection are a delight. They bend and twist around what readers might expect, and offer unforgettable beats and characters. Each story feels like an entire cinematic universe.
Sisters of the Midnight Sun by Rebecca Wright Stevens (July 14)
From the publisher: The stunning and complex story of a gruesome double homicide in the vibrant Inupiat community at the northernmost edge of the Alaska—and the public defender who represented the drifter at its center
A true crime novel worth your time. This one is about more than a double homicide and the ensuing trial. Midnight Sun is an engrossing read that blends memoir and cultural criticism
The New People by Andrea Uptmor (July 21)
From the publisher: A searing and strikingly intimate debut set in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, about a newly married lesbian couple who move into a flipped foreclosure, unaware that the former homeowners are still living in the attic.
What others are saying: “Andrea Uptmor’s The New People is a delicate exploration of humanity in all its forms, touching on infertility, addiction, grief, and love with real awareness and pathos.” –Loretta Rothschild, bestselling author of Finding Grace
Uptmor explores what happens to a couple incapable of communicating as they try to keep their heads above water financially. It’s sincere and doesn’t shy away from the painful, intimate moments and leans into the absurdity that can unfold when people go from happy to miserable.
The Flayed Man by Chloe Lauter (July 21)
From the publisher: A complex mother-daughter relationship is taken to a new level in this fresh and propulsive novel of family curses, blood-thirsty ghouls, and budding romance set against the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas
What others are saying: “A hallucinatory vampire noir meets Love Lies Bleeding, The Flayed Man is a lyrical, inventive horror novel that is emotionally stirring and authentic. This one will stick with you.” —Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts
A mother and daughter are stalked by a horror monster in this unforgettable ride. The ambiance, the tension, and the relationship building in Lauter’s debut book are delectable.
The Obsessed by Lizzie Buehler (July 28)
From the publisher: A wildly endearing coming-of-age story and “offbeat tale of obsession” (Caitlin Barasch), following one young woman who reenacts the love plot of her favorite novel only to find herself flailing when she enters a relationship with a fellow literary obsessive.
What others are saying: “Between the sexually repressed graduate students struggling to emote and the immortalization of some truly excellent memes, The Obsessed was an enthralling, irreverent read. I will be carrying our narrator’s ache that her friends didn’t know what it meant to love a book, a writer, or a stranger as much as I did for a long time, maybe forever. What a relief and horror to learn there are more of us out there projecting our literary obsessions onto real people than you’d think.” —Ruth Madievsky, bestselling author of All-Night Pharmacy
You will obsess over The Obsessed. If you’ve found a favorite book from one of Debutiful’s lists, this one checks all of the boxes. It’s sad. It’s weird. It’s horny. You’ll yearn while reading Buehler’s brilliant writing.