From moving historical fiction to nail-biting mysteries, here are 10 exciting books releasing in August that should definitely be on your radar!
We are more than halfway down this year already, but the spring tide of exciting releases continues to flock to the bookstores each month. The month of August is no exception! From tales of magical realism and romance to intriguing crime thrillers, here are the 10 new book releases that you should definitely check out on your next bookstore visit.
- 1. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
- 2. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- 3. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
- 4. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
- 5. The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
- 6. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
- 7. Pet by Catherine Chidgey
- 8. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
- 9. The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
- 10. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide by Tahir Hamut Izgil; translated by Joshua L. Freeman
1. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Genre: Literary fiction, Magical realism
Pages: 384
Publisher: Ecco (August 1, 2023)
Family Lore tells the story of a Dominican-American family through the voices of its women. Flor has a special gift; she can predict when someone will die. She arranges for a wake and invites her entire family, leaving them perplexed about whose death Flora has predicted – her own or someone else’s. Her sisters, Matilda, Camila, and Pastora, have their secrets too. So do cousins Ona and Yudi. The story takes place three days before the wake, weaving together the lives and experiences of different generations of women.
Elizabeth Acevedo is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels The Poet X, With The Fire On High, and Clap When You Land. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Carnegie Medal and the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Acevedo also performs spoken word poetry and is a National Poetry Slam Champion. She has narrated three novels and one anthology of OwnVoice Latinx stories.
Family Lore is Acevedo’s first foray into adult fiction.
2. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Genre: Historical fiction, Romance
Pages: 320
Publisher: Harper (August 1, 2023)
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s daughters return to the family orchard in Michigan. While spending time with their mother, they request her to share the story of her relationship, professional and romantic, with famous actor Peter Duke. As Lara narrates her story, her daughters are forced to reassess their own lives and relationships. Tom Lake is a family saga that examines what it means to be happy during a time the world is falling apart.
Ann Pratchett is a renowned American author. Her works, both fiction and non-fiction, have been widely acclaimed. In 2002, she received the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel Bel Canto. Pratchett’s 2020 novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She has also written for a number of renowned publications, such as The New Yorker, Washington Post, Elle, GQ, Vogue, and The New York Times Magazine.
Tom Lake is Pratchett’s ninth novel.
3. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
Genre: Horror, Historical fiction
Pages: 400
Publisher: Berkley (August 29, 2023)
Set in 1840s Mexico, Vampires of El Norte revolves around Nena, whose home has been threatened by the Anglo settlers encroaching from the north. However, something more dangerous lurks around the ranches at night. It drains people of their blood and leaves them dead; what’s more, it attacked Nena nine years ago!
During the US attack on Mexico in 1846, she reunites with her childhood sweetheart Nestor, who has left her for dead. The couple’s reconciliation coincides with the return of a nightmarish creature, and Nena and Nestor must join hands to save themselves and their community.
Isabel Cañas is a Mexican-American author dabbling in horror and speculative fiction. She has a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations; her academic research and heritage influence and inform her writing. Her 2022 novel, The Hacienda, was a nominee for Best Debut and Best Horror Novel for the Goodreads Choice Awards. Cañas regularly contributes to various science fiction and horror magazines. Vampires of El Norte is her second novel.
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4. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
Genre: Thriller, Crime
Pages: 384
Publisher: Atria Books (August 8, 2023)
While celebrating her 45th birthday, famous podcaster Alix Summers runs into Josie Fair, who turns out to be her birthday twin. They see each other a few more times afterward, and Josie proposes that her life would make a great topic for Summers’s podcast. This unsettles Alix, but not wanting to miss out on the chance to develop her podcast, she agrees.
Before she knows it, Josie has made her way into Alix’s home and life. After Josie mysteriously disappears, Alix inadvertently becomes the subject of her own podcast. This gripping psychological thriller by Jewell will keep you at the edge of your seat while you try to answer the question – Who is Josie Fair, and what has she done?
Lisa Jewell is a British author with several bestselling thrillers to her name, including Then She Was Gone, Watching You, The Family Upstairs, and The Night She Disappeared. She has also penned several dramas and contemporary fiction, winning the Melissa Nathan Award in 2008 for her novel 31 Dream Street. Jewell’s books have sold over 10 million copies and have been translated into 29 languages. None of This is True is her 19th release.
5. The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
Genre: Romance, Contemporary fiction
Pages: 400
Publisher: Atria Books (August 29, 2023)
Abby Stern is living her dream life. She has great friends, is content with her job, and has finally made peace with her plus-sized body. Plus, she is about to marry her childhood sweetheart! Despite this, Abby cannot quite shake the feeling that something’s not right. That is until, during a group trip, she runs into Sebastian, an old flame whose memories have failed to escape her mind for the past two years.
Also joining Abby on her trip is her mother, whom she blames for years of body shaming. Over the next two weeks, as secrets come to light and hidden truths are uncovered, Abby is forced to rethink what she stands for, her relationship with her mother, and the nature of love in The Breakaway.
Jennifer Weiner’s books have spent more than five years on the New York Times list of bestsellers. Over the last two decades, she has written a number of novels, short story anthologies, and a collection of non-fiction essays that went on to be a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award. Her writings have also appeared in various newspapers and magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, Seventeen, and Allure.
Through her social media accounts, Jennifer promotes feminism and body positivity. She has been featured on the list of ‘140 Best Twitter Feeds’ by the Times magazine and ‘25 Working Moms to Follow on Twitter’ by Forbes.
6. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 320
Publisher: Flatiron Books (August 3, 2023)
A baby is stolen from a stroller. Twenty years later, a woman is murdered at a care home. These two crimes are related, but nobody knows how; except Edith.
Edith is 80 years old and believes her daughter, who no longer speaks to her, has tricked her into living in a nursing home. Patience works at the care home, is kind, and bonds with Edith. Patience is also lying to Edith about nearly everything, but now, the women must come together to solve a mystery. If they do, they will finally find out what binds the two crimes together!
Alice Feeney is a bestselling author of six mystery/thriller novels. Her books have been optioned for screen adaptations and have sold over a million copies. Two of her thrillers – Rock Paper Scissors and His & Hers – are currently being made into Netflix series. Prior to writing, Alice worked as a journalist for around 15 years. Good Bad Girl is her sixth novel.
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7. Pet by Catherine Chidgey
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 344
Publisher: Europa Editions (August 1, 2023)
12-year-old Justine, like most girls in her class, is quickly drawn to her new, charismatic teacher. In fact, she longs to be her pet. Things take a sudden turn as a thief starts targeting the school, and it is high time Justine decides where her loyalties truly lie. Set against the backdrop of 1980s New Zealand, this psychological thriller provides compelling commentary on racism, misogyny, and Catholicism. Pet is perfect for when you want a quick read that also makes you think!
Catherine Chidgey is an author and university lecturer from New Zealand. Her long list of awards includes the New Zealand Book Awards, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and the Janet Frame Fiction Prize. Her debut novel, In a Fishbourne Church, has received high critical acclaim. Besides adult fiction, she has also published over a dozen translated picture books for children. As of 2022, Chidgey is a creative writing lecturer at the University of Waikato.
8. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 400
Publisher: Riverhead Books (August 8, 2023)
In 1972, construction workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, discovered a skeleton at the bottom of a well. This sent a ripple through Chicken Hill, a neighborhood populated by Jewish and African Americans, uncovering its best-kept secret. McBride’s novel examines the struggle of communities living on the margins of white, Christian America and explores how love brings people together even during the hardest times.
James McBride is an American author, composer, and saxophonist. He is a distinguished writer-in-residence at New York University. His 2013 novel, The Good Lord Bird, won the National Book Award for fiction. He has also penned the screenplay for two films – Miracle at St. Anna (2008) and Red Hook Summer (2012).
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is McBride’s eighth novel.
9. The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
Genre: Young adult, Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 480
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (August 29, 2023)
This Brothers Hawthorne is a follow-up to the bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy. It revolves around Grayson and Jameson Hawthorne. Operating from different sides of the globe and with the help of their family, they go up against each other, trying to decide who they want to become and what they must sacrifice to emerge victorious.
Jennifer Lynna Barnes is an American author of young adult book series – The Inheritance Games, Debutantes, The Fixers, and The Naturals. She wrote her first book at the age of 19 and had already sold five books by the time she graduated from university. Apart from novels, she has also written pilot scripts for different television networks. Additionally, Barnes is one of the world’s leading experts in the psychology of fandom. She currently serves as an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma.
10. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide by Tahir Hamut Izgil; translated by Joshua L. Freeman
Genre: Memoir, World history
Pages: 272
Publisher: Penguin Press (August 1, 2023)
Waiting to Be Arrested at Night is a harrowing first-person account of one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises. In 2017, the Chinese government’s atrocities against the Uyghurs (a Muslim minority group in western China) assumed a terrifying scale. One by one, Izgil’s friends and coworkers started to disappear, and he and his family spent counting down their days until the police knocked at their door. Soon, they realized fleeing the country was the only way out.
Tahir Hamut Izgil is an Uyghur activist, poet, and filmmaker. While currently residing in exile in the US, he was one of the leading avant-garde Uyghur poets in the 1990s. Izgil is a film producer at Radio Free Asia, actively documenting China’s persecution of the Uyghurs.
Joshua L Freeman is a historian of 20th-century Inner Asia and China. He primarily focuses on the Uyghur nation and its cultural history. Besides serving as a research fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Freeman works as a translator, dabbling mainly in poetry. His works have appeared in multiple literary magazines, including The Guardian and The Atlantic.
