Our most anticipated books of 2024
This picture book by the late Where the Wild Things Are author was previously available only as a pamphlet created for the Rosenbach Museum in 1970. Now, for the first time, it’s seeing a wide release. Sendak invites readers to learn numbers at Mino’s magic show, where the little magician struggles to keep a succession of rascally—yet insanely adorable—rabbits under control.
Tia Williams broke out in a big way in 2021 with her emotional second-chance romance, Seven Days in June, and her follow-up novel sounds like a intriguing change of pace. A romantic and exuberant tale set around a flower shop in Harlem, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde follows the titular character as she attempts to strike out on her own, away from her wealthy and judgmental Atlanta family, only to encounter a mysterious and charming musician.
Beloved for her enthralling science fiction, which includes The Lunar Chronicles series and the Renegades trilogy, Marissa Meyer also proved herself a cross-genre champion with Instant Karma, her bestselling (as usual) first rom-com. In With a Little Luck, she’s taking fans back to the coastal town of Fortuna Beach to meet Jude, whose ordinary life—working at his parents’ vinyl store, drawing comics and playing Dungeons & Dragons—is transformed when he finds a special 20-sided die that gives him incredible luck. But what happens when this luck runs out?
The stunning, evocative cover of this historical novel is reason enough to add it to your TBR: a lone woman in red walks through winter wilderness, reflected in a frozen pond as a snow-white fox. Of course, readers of The Night Tiger would be eagerly awaiting Yangsze Choo’s next book even if the cover were a paper bag. This epic adventure set in Manchuria at the very end of the Qing Dynasty promises to bring together mystery and legend to vibrant effect.
In his refreshing memoir, drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul tells his life story with a tender clarity that renders a larger-than-life figure unforgettably human.
Xochitl Gonzalez is back with a campus novel entwining the stories of two women: an artist, Anita de Monte, who died mysteriously in 1985, and an art history student, Raquel, who is determined to uncover what happened to Anita and bring new attention to her art. Like she did in her bestselling, award-winning debut, Olga Dies Dreaming, Gonzalez turns a sharp, thoughtful eye to the costs of success, this time in the elitist, and often racist and sexist, worlds of art and academia.
Morgan Parker examines how racism and intergenerational trauma can affect mental health in her provocative, incisively humorous debut essay collection.
Téa Obreht’s latest novel, The Morningside, soars in its depiction of an alternative world frighteningly similar to our own.
Chris Bohjalian’s latest thriller, The Princess of Las Vegas is a thrilling symphony of run-down casinos, teenage hackers and royal impersonators with multiple mysteries at its core.
History will remember the four hours that a woman testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee as it considered the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. In her long-awaited memoir, Christine Blasey Ford recounts her decision to publicly accuse the justice of sexual assault, the overwhelming aftermath and how she’s continued to persevere since.
Faridah Abiké-Iyimidé won a 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for her debut novel, Ace of Spades, a heart-pounding thriller about two Black senior class prefects at a prestigious private academy. So it’s with bated breath that we anticipate Where Sleeping Girls Lie, another mystery set at an elite school that promises just as many twists and turns, on top of Abiké-Iyimidé’s thoughtful, multilayered social commentary.
Hanif Abdurraqib’s captivating There’s Always This Year is a powerful meditation on place and community.
Magical and multifaceted, Julia Alvarez’s meditation on creativity, culture and aging, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, is a triumph.
Full of hidden perils and twisting machinations, The Familiar is Leigh Bardugo’s most assured and mature work yet.
More than 30 years after an Iranian leader called for his assassination, master storyteller and literary icon Salman Rushdie was repeatedly stabbed at a public appearance in 2022, suffering life-threatening wounds. He describes the attack and his recovery in Knife. Rushie has called it “a necessary book for me to write: a way to take charge of what happened, and to answer violence with art.”
Lois Lowry’s Tree. Table. Book. will captivate readers as they reflect on the vagaries of history and the beauty of friendship, which are so poignantly conveyed in this timeless tale.
Kellye Garrett’s stark yet entertaining thriller Missing White Woman offers a Black woman’s perspective on the true crime industrial complex.
In The Demon of Unrest, Erik Laron crafts a tale of hold-your-breath suspense about the crucial three months leading up to the Civil War.
Ann Powers’ biography of Joni Mitchell is a travelogue of one of the greatest artistic journeys ever taken, and it’s a pleasure to go along for the ride.
Akwaeke Emezi’s sixth novel for adults, Little Rot, hurtles toward devastation, but even as you anticipate the horrors ahead, the escapist thriller-style pacing will keep you pushing on.
Eliza Griswold’s Circle of Hope is the intimate story of one small, progressive church, but it carries profoundly relevant lessons for all people of faith.
A bacchanalian romp from Monaco to Pisa to Paris, The Pairing is a testament to Casey McQuiston’s talent.
With both gut-clenching scenes and moments of heartwarming humor, A Sorceress Comes to Call is the Regency-fantasy-horror hybrid only T. Kingfisher could write.
Most anticipated by genre
Previous most anticipated coverage
Recent starred reviews
I Did Something Bad
With both swoony and serious moments, this sweet yet thoroughly modern romantic suspense novel satisfies.
The Transit of Venus
Acclaimed actress Juliet Stevenson’s performance is a beautifully balanced blend of wit, irony and compassion that mirrors the subtle richness of Shirley Hazzard’s remarkable 1980
Impossible Creatures
Bestselling author Katherine Rundell returns to middle grade with the powerful and charming Impossible Creatures, a modern fantasy with a classic feel.
Bog Myrtle
Who would have thought it possible to create an entertaining children’s story about sustainability and corporate accountability? Sid Sharp’s fun-filled fable, Bog Myrtle, is just
The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Everything
The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Everything is a ghoulishly great Halloween story as well as an inspirational guide for readers sidelined by their own
Into the Goblin Market
A tribute to the work of Victorian poet Christina Rosetti, Into the Goblin Market is a delicious treat for those yearning for a bit of
John the Skeleton
John the Skeleton is an endearing book that helps normalize death while highlighting the enduring power of love.
Mama’s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas
With Mama’s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas, Jesus Trejo and Eliza Kinkz have created another warmly funny story that highlights the value of improvisational thinking, the beauty
They Call Me Teach
Impressive and engaging, They Call Me Teach opens a door to conversations about United States history and the fight for equal access to education.
Up, Up, Ever Up!
Yuko Shimizu’s gorgeous, fantastical illustrations combine with Anita Yasuda’s compelling, uplifting words to vividly convey the indomitable spirit of trailblazing mountaineer Junko Tabei in Up,
Vera Bushwack
In Sig Burwash’s debut graphic novel, unassuming Drew transforms into the fiery Vera Bushwack, resplendent in assless chaps, with the rev of a chain saw.
