10 Highly Anticipated Books to Read This Fall

September 4

Are you addicted to true crime podcasts? Not sure what to listen to after finishing Serial, Atlanta Monster, In the Dark, Up and Vanished, Accused, ...? Trade your headphones for this young adult novel, featuring a girl who teams up with a radio personality to solve her sister’s murder.

September 11

It may be tempting to attribute the inspiration for this book to the recent popularity of Afrofuturism, but you should know Moore first submitted her manuscript for this magical-realism tale of the founding of Liberia 10 years ago. Luckily for us, it’s finally being published.

September 11

Looking for a doorstopper novel to keep you company on cool fall nights (or distract you from family during fall holidays)? The author used to work in the British Museum, where she wrote short stories based on items in the collection. One story, about a dessicated “mermaid” figure, grew into this debut novel.

September 18

This historical yet futuristic novel is Edugyan’s second to be longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. When Wash, a young field slave, is chosen as the personal manservant for his master’s brother in Barbados, they form an unlikely relationship. When a bounty is placed on Wash’s head, the two men escape together up the American coast.

October 2

This memoir about race, motherhood and more by Korean-American Nicole Chung was blurbed by TEG fave Celeste Ng, so of course we can’t wait to read it. After being raised by an adoptive white family in Oregon, this memoir details Chung’s search for her biological parents while preparing to become a mother herself.

October 9

Okay, so Tana French isn’t exactly a little-known author; her Dublin Murder Squad books, starting with In the Woods, are a popular favorite among mystery fans. But, her new book this fall is a standalone, and instead of focusing on the detectives, she’s focusing on a victim who is beaten and left for dead.

October 23

This Japanese best-seller is coming to the U.S. this fall. You might think a short novel told from the perspective of a cat and described as “charming” would be light-hearted, and you’d be right … most of the time. Make sure you have tissues handy by the end.

October 30

Go follow @wellreadblackgirl and @guidetoglo on Instagram. Now you can catch up on their posts “dedicated to the phenomenal Black women on our bookshelves” until this anthology about representation in literature releases in October.

October 30

Can’t get enough of Crazy Rich Asians? This debut novel featuring a Chinese-American family in Silicon Valley has been described as The Nest meets CRA… though of course we’re hoping it leans more toward CRA. (Plus, the cover is metallic!)

November 20

We started this list with a killer, so let’s end with one. When Korede’s crush makes a move on her sister, Korede must find a way to stop them, but it’s not for the reasons you might think. Rather, Korede is motivated by the fact that her sister’s last three boyfriends have turned up dead. This one promises to be funny and frightful.