Every year, I try to choose my favorite book releases, and it’s almost always impossible. For now, I’ve narrowed things down to what I think are the best debuts of 2024. Read on to discover some of my favorite books of the year.
February
The Book of Love by Kelly Link, February 13
Nearly a year after the authorities declared them dead, Laura, Daniel and Mo reappear in their high school classroom. There, they find their music teacher, who offers them a chance to reclaim their lives through a series of magical tasks. They must, however, keep their resurrection — and where they’ve been — a secret. As they navigate their strange new lives, supernatural figures appear, bringing danger and chaos to their small town. The teens must unravel the mystery of their deaths to avert the looming disaster threatening their community.
While Kelly Link is a prolific short story writer, The Book of Love is her first full-length novel. As blurbs from Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo imply, this book is a weird and wild ride.
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The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad, February 13
Solenne Bonet lives in a dystopian Texas where an algorithm governs every aspect of life, from career to relationships. As she writes the biography of her ancestor Henriette, an enslaved concubine, Solenne falls into a dangerous entanglement with Bastien Martin, a powerful official. Inspired by Henriette’s resilience, Solenne faces a pivotal choice: break free from the algorithm’s grip or remain trapped in a cycle of control.
Set in an alternative version of the United States, The Blueprint is a harrowing dystopian debut. Rae Giana Rashad explores power imbalances, bodily autonomy and the generational legacy of resilience throughout three different timelines.
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard, February 27
Sixteen-year-old Odile dreams of earning a seat on the Conseil, where she’ll control passage across her town’s unique borders. To the east lies the same town twenty years ahead, and to the west, twenty years behind. When she secretly discovers that her friend Edme’s parents have crossed from the future on a mourning tour to see him alive one last time, Odile learns that Edme’s death is imminent. Bound by secrecy to protect the timeline, Odile faces an impossible choice between securing her future or risking everything for the one person who truly understands her.
Every bookseller I know was raving about The Other Valley at the beginning of 2024. With a twist on the traditional time travel narrative, Scott Alexander Howard created a novel that’s entirely unique.
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March
Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas, March 19
In the vast expanse of the Spiral, power is split between the formidable Trust corporations and the influential Union labor force, with the Guild striving to maintain a delicate balance. But when Jal, a Guild deserter with a mysterious past, boards a Guild vessel, its crew finds itself embroiled in an unexpected mission. Their journey to return Jal home takes a dangerous turn when they respond to a distress signal from a desolate planet. There, they find a lone programmer who has uncovered a sinister truth. The crew of the Ambit must act swiftly to thwart the Trust’s nefarious plans and stop total planetary destruction.
Cascade Failure is a good old-fashioned space adventure with shootouts, alien worlds and snarky AI. L.M. Sagas’ debut is an exciting and charming adventure perfect for fans of Becky Chambers or The Murderbot Diaries. It’s a deeply anti-capitalist space Western. It’s full of action and bloody violence, but somehow, it’s still cozy. Best of all, there’s already a sequel.
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April
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, April 2
When Lauren returns to her London flat one night, she’s stunned to find a man she’s never met who claims to be her husband. Even stranger, her friends, photos and surroundings all confirm they’ve been together for years. When he vanishes after going to the attic, only to be replaced by another “husband” and a new version of her life, Lauren realizes her attic is an endless portal to alternate realities. As her life reshapes with each swap, Lauren must decide when to stop seeking perfection and start living in the present.
Speaking on grief, love and choice, Holly Gramazio’s debut is witty, charming and endlessly entertaining. The Husbands is a fun, page-turning story built around an engagingly unique premise.
Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell, April 2
When human monster hunters disturb her hibernation, Shesheshen, an amorphous shapeshifter, flees her home — right off a cliff. Luckily, she’s rescued by Homily, a kind-hearted human who mistakes her for one of her own. Although she initially planned to use Homily as a host for her eggs, Shesheshen falls deeply in love and struggles to keep her monstrous identity hidden. When Homily reveals she’s hunting the shapeshifter who cursed her family, Shesheshen must unravel the truth behind the accusation while protecting them both from a deadly hunt and navigating a relationship far more complicated than she’d ever imagined.
Shesheshen’s journey is one of trust, vulnerability and understanding. It’s a coming-of-age story presented in a completely unexpected way. Someone You Can Build a Nest In is an inventive, gross and truly funny work of fantasy that’s surprisingly touching. John Wiswell’s debut quickly joined my ranks of the best books of 2024.
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May
Road to Ruin by Hana Lee, May 14
Jin-Lu risks her life every day as a magebike courier, carrying cargo across the deadly wastelands. When carrying love letters to a princess results in both women fleeing the city, they set out on a dangerous journey toward safety. As a storm of epic proportions looms, Jin faces her toughest challenge yet, torn between loyalty, love and the impending tempest threatening to consume everything.
The best way to describe Road to Ruin is as a high-fantasy version of Mad Max. With a desolate desert landscape, lumbering monsters and terrifying raiders, Hana Lee’s debut will leave readers clamoring for a sequel.
June
Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, June 4
Charles Lamosway has spent years watching the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation, where his neighbor Elizabeth lives, completely unaware that she’s his daughter. His secret has kept Charles at a distance. When Elizabeth disappears, however, he must act, even if it means confronting his past. As Charles grapples with his family’s fractured history and his mother Louise’s growing dementia, he must decide whether revealing the truth about Elizabeth is worth upending her life and whether it’s truly his truth to tell.
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Morgan Talty is no stranger to fantastic fiction. His short story collection won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Honor, among other awards. Fire Exit is a masterful story of family, legacy and bloodlines, with a few awards of its own already received.
Hombrecito by Santiago Jose Sanchez, June 25
After moving from Colombia to Miami with his mother and brother, a young boy embraces his queer identity while grappling with his mother’s emotional distance and their shared sacrifices. His complicated, painful bond with her shapes his life, even as he searches for fulfillment through fleeting connections in New York. When they return to Colombia years later, he confronts his father’s absence, his roots, and his mother’s hidden struggles, uncovering the fierce love that has always bound them.
As our own Melis Amber says in their review, “Hombrecito is poetic, well-written and quite beautiful.” Through his nebulous protagonist of the same name, Santiago Jose Sanchez tells a heartbreaking, thought-provoking story.
RELATED: Book Review: Hombrecito
July
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, July 23
Catalina, an undocumented student at Harvard, navigates her senior year with a mix of curiosity and dread. She knows the world beyond graduation has no place for her. While at school, she observes her elite circles with both fascination and skepticism while grappling with her unraveling life back in Queens. Drawn to a fellow student who connects her to the Latin American roots she barely knows, Catalina yearns for answers about love, identity and salvation as the clock ticks toward an uncertain future.
Debut author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is one of Harvard’s first undocumented graduates. Catalina draws from her lived experience, addressing the insecurities, fears and emotional toil experienced by undocumented individuals and families.
Did any of your favorite debut books of 2024 make the cut? All of the best books of 2024 are available from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org. Let us know below, and keep an eye out for even more of GGA’s favorite things of the year.
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