Welp, I started many books but didn’t finish a ton. And I read many manuscripts so I can say with confidence there are so many good books coming out soon! I’m really hoping 2023 is the year I get back into the full swing of reading (and finishing) books so I can get back to my 50 book a year minimum.
Of the titles I did read this year there were most definitely standouts and those I’m still finishing as we flipped the calendar. Here’s a handful of goodness I hope you may take a look at because they’re definitely worthwhile!
Lone Women by Victor LaValle (2023): Masterclass, I tell you. Master. Class in pacing, story building, suspense, description. All of it. LaValle’s sentences are tight and his chapters even tighter. There’s so much tension carried throughout and there’s a payoff of retribution in many ways. The writing is stellar, as we’ve all come to expect from LaValle and I simply can’t get over how much was packed into these short chapters! Between this and All the Light We Cannot See I’m like “How do y’all do this?!” Anywho, this is a goody and I was super glad that I got a sneak peak. Make sure to pre-order!
Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes (2019): I read Grimes’ memoir in verse while on a retreat to finish my book at Highlights. I happened to be in the cabin named after this literary legend and so had the treat of many of her books being available on the shelves. Grimes’ is able to really balance some heavy moments with so much levity and ends on a beautiful note of when she finds her voice as a poet/writer. I think this was such an expertly handled memoir in general let alone one designed for young readers.
A Career in Books written & illustrated by Kate Gavino (2022): Make sure to check out my interview with Kate on the MiP podcast (episode 120). If you have been thinking about getting into the editorial side of publishing or currently are, especially as a recent grad, then this book is for you! (It’s for everyone, but you’ll for sure relate when you delve in if you know the biz.) Three gals from AAPI backgrounds and besties to the end set out for their dream jobs in publishing, or is this their dream job? There are challenges for each, yet the biggest connector is friendship—and eats!
Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva (2023): I admittedly got a chance to see an early version of this one and I will happily proclaim that Oliva’s debut memoir and exploration of immigration is fantastic. The lyricism, the structure, the focus. This is amazing! If you’ve had the pleasure of reading Oliva’s essays you’ll see how confident and assured her voice is, which for this upcoming narrative (and narratives within) is truly a testament to how we can look inward and outward and brilliantly weave the complications of it all. Make sure to preorder!
And I also very much recommend The Furrows, the second novel by one of my fave contemporary writers Namwali Serpell!