Although spring may be teasing us with its sunshine more than following through with any promises (we saw that weird snow flurry the other day, spring), there’s always one constant we can rely on: the months of April through June have some killer new book releases. These upcoming books are filled with aliens and haunted houses, fandoms and found families, pseudo-biographies and epic fantasies — and Powell’s booksellers can’t stop talking about how excited they are. Read on to learn why… and to start putting in those preorders.
Jump ahead to: APRIL | MAY | JUNE
APRIL
This is Not Miami
by Fernanda Melchor (translated by Sophie Hughes)
Melchor's work is always uniquely woven with strong insights on violence and the systems that perpetuate it. In This is Not Miami, Melchor applies her sharp, analytical eye to true stories of her hometown of Veracruz, Mexico. As a lover of both of Melchor's previously translated works and narrative nonfiction as a genre, I am ecstatic to get my hands on this release. — Marley S.
A Living Remedy
by Nicole Chung
Oh, I was so lucky and grateful to read the advance reader copy (ARC) of this book last year. Chung has written another beautiful book about the hardships of life, this time focusing on the American healthcare system, the loss of her parents a few years apart due to various health issues, and what it means when a child parents a parent in the last stages of their life. I managed to hold it together until a scene where Chung's mother calls her on the phone for a special occasion. This book is perfectly layered, and I think that it's going to resonate with everyone. It is a work of art. — Katherine M.
Join Nicole Chung, in conversation with Lydia Kiesling, at Powell’s City of Books on April 20.
Butter
by Gayl Jones
If you're not reading Gayl Jones, what are you doing? One of our greatest living writers who was originally edited by Toni Morrison, her work stands for itself: stunning, incisive, and a true gift to read. — Michelle C.
We're so thankful to Helene Atwan for sharing her history with Gayl on the Powell's blog: My Decades with Gayl Jones: Reflections from an Editor.
Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex
edited by Matilda Bickers, peech breshears, and Janis Luna
Stories by/about workers are among my favorite types of stories, so this collection had my heart long before I got my hands on a copy. This diverse anthology of art, essays, poems, conversations, and interviews serves both as a rich archive of sex worker experiences and perspectives, and a potent antidote to the ongoing efforts to malign, marginalize, sensationalize, and criminalize their work. Working It is generous, intimate, vital reading. — Tove H.
House of Cotton
by Monica Brashears
When the young, adrift, looking-for-meaning Magnolia is invited to model for a local business, she has no idea what she’s signing up for: work modeling as the ghost of deceased loved ones over Zoom! And that’s just the beginning of this beautifully written, spooky-as-all-get-out debut from Monica Brashears, and author who is already garnering comparisons to Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Raven Leilani. Add George Saunders calling her “a new, dazzling, and essential American voice”? That’s just the cherry on top of this book that I have already preordered and paid for. — Kelsey F.
Natural Beauty
by Ling Ling Huang
When does the pursuit of beauty cross the threshold into body horror? Why is female body horror often dismissed as innocuous? Is it because women spend their entire lives being told to contort and conform their bodies into a desired shape, no matter the personal cost? This novel is a biting examination of wellness culture, consumerism, otherness, and beauty standards. Huang takes on these topics in a wonderfully plotted, whirlwind of a nightmare that you can’t escape and won’t want to. — Charlotte S.
Join Ling Ling Huang at Powell's City of Books on April 5.
Chain-Gang All-Stars
by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
In 2018, in response to his stunning short story debut Friday Black, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was named a National Book Foundation "5 under 35" honoree. The honor recognizes "young, debut fiction writers whose work promised to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape." Well, now he's back with a debut novel about a near-future where two women fight for their freedom and humanity inside a prison system turned gladiatorial competition. Lambasting systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, it's sure to leave an impression. — Sarah R.
Join Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, in conversation with Leni Zumas, at Powell's City of Books on May 21.
Homecoming
by Kate Morton
After four long years, Kate Morton is back with a new novel! She is a master at telling intricate, multi-generational novels that always manage to both surprise and move me. As someone who has been impatiently waiting for a new Kate Morton novel, I can’t wait to get lost in this book. — Rochelle F.
Romantic Comedy
by Curtis Sittenfeld
I feel very vulnerable writing this recommendation, because it felt like Romantic Comedy was written specifically to appeal to me. If you are at all intrigued by the inner workings of a famous live, late-night, sketch comedy show, if you want to read a very realistic deep-dive, getting-to-know-each-other sequence (the middle of this book both lifted and squeezed my heart, does that make any sense?), if you're looking for a fun, compulsively readable book that walks the perfect line of approachable and sneaky depth: don't miss this one! — Michelle C.
First Comes Summer
by Maria Hesselager (tr. Martin Aitken)
If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s any book that takes on fairy tales at a slant. If there’s another thing I’m a sucker for, it’s the book covers that come out of Riverhead. And if there’s a third thing I’m a sucker for, it’s any author that gets compared to Samanta Schweblin and Helen Oyeyemi. So this book was an immediate “yes please” when I saw it pop up. I can’t wait to dig into this mythic book that promises to be unnerving, brutal fun. — Kelsey F.
Untethered Sky
by Fonda Lee
Woman-led fantasy with middle-eastern mythology? Manticores?? Rocs??? Destructive paths of revenge???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? Excuse me while I scream about this book until I get a film adaption. — Stacy Wayne D.
Join Fonda Lee and Kate Elliott at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing on April 11.
Old Flame
by Molly Prentiss
From the blurbs and reviews I’ve read, Old Flame promises to be one of those charming and deeply felt novels about “coming-of-age” as an adult — Emily has a life that she knows is a good one, but she can’t help thinking ‘what if,’ until all of those ‘what if’s go out the window when she finds out she’s pregnant. Publishers Weekly calls this one “introspective” and “energetic.” Perfect. — Kelsey F.
The Thick and the Lean
by Chana Porter
In January 2020, Chana Porter wrote on the Powell's Blog (as part of an eerily-timed guide to throwing a dinner party when the world is on fire): "As you make this soup, realize that we are ancestors to our future. We are living in critical times. We are here for a reason. We have all the tools available." How fitting then that this second novel from her is so wrapped up in seeing the past, building the future, and food. In The Thick and the Lean, an aspiring chef and a cyberthief grasp for a life of freedom armed with the guidance of a mysterious cookbook written by a kitchen maid centuries ago. Sure to be a moving, liberating feast. — Sarah R.
Greek Lessons
by Han Kang (tr. Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won)
It was such a delight to return to the precise, astounding world of Han Kang. So much of Greek Lessons is about communication, observation, settling into uncomfortable realities, and the strength and tenderness of a bond that’s been created across the boundaries of language and silence. The always-right Katie Kitamura called this one “sinuous and sublime.” Dang right it is. — Kelsey F.
The Possibility of Life
by Jaime Green
For someone coming fresh off of an X-Files binge, The Possibility of Life could not be more perfect. Jaime Green’s book looks at the history of humanity’s hope for “beings out there,” starting with Galileo and pulling us into the modern-day search for alien lifeforms. Jeff Vandermeer, an author I would probably trust with my life, called it, “A fascinating and thoughtful reminder of the fact that we may not be alone. Highly recommended.” Just like Mulder: I want to believe. — Kelsey F.
The Haunting of Alejandra
by V. Castro
Gorgeous and visceral. Alejandra is a wife and mother but somewhere along the way, she lost her sense of self. The pain and bottomless despair bring forth visions of a weeping woman dressed in white who tells Alejandra to end her own life. She is being haunted by La Llorona. Thoughts of death and sorrow permeate this book. It’s gruesome and also beautiful… like womanhood often is. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find myself relating to Alejandra in more ways than one. Generational trauma is a curse we have to free ourselves from before our own children inherit it. — Rose H.
Happy Place
by Emily Henry
Emily Henry has quickly become a household name for those who love romance books. She writes wonderful romances with vibrant characters that leap off the page. Her books also have a depth to them that make them stand out within the genre. She is an auto-buy author for me, and I cannot wait for this book! — Rochelle F.
In the Lives of Puppets
by TJ Klune
Another big cozy hug in the form of a book — classic Klune. This one deals with robots and found family and the lengths we go to for those we love the most. Wonderful, engrossing, and sure to make you smile. Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers. — Carrie K.
Join TJ Klune, in conversation with Fonda Lee, at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing on May 17.
Comedy Bang! Bang!: The Podcast: The Book
by Scott Aukerman
This book sounds… good to me. For over a decade, the open-door policy of the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast has drawn all manner of interesting people into the studio, to the delight and sometimes exasperation of host Scott Aukerman. Now Comedy Bang! Bang!: The Podcast: The Book invites these characters out of the studio (exciting news for Jarles!) and onto the page. A must-read for fans of Dalton Wilcox’s poetry and Bob Ducca’s lists. — Tove H.
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
by Claire Dederer
In the introduction to Monsters, Claire Dederer recollects an adage from poet William Emerson, "life involves maintaining oneself between contradictions that can't be solved by analysis." Dederer wants to know what to do with bad behavior — monstrous behavior — and good — even excellent — art. Can the audience think themselves out of that contradiction? Can they feel their way out? Do they just have to sit there… maintaining? What do we do with the personal feelings of betrayal? What about the amplified echoes of collective outrage? I can imagine no finer voice to walk through this contradiction alongside. In Monsters, Dederer is insightful, passionate, funny, made me cry (multiple times), and somehow managed to re-enliven the conversation about separating artist and art into something fresh and vital. — Sarah R.
MAY
Cosmoknights (#2)
by Hannah Templer
I was absolutely obsessed with the first volume and this second one took my breath away. The space gays are still rescuing princesses and fighting the patriarchy but the characters grow so much in this volume. Their relationships deepen and we are reminded that found family is powerful. On top of all that, the art is dazzling. I never want the adventures to end. — Rose H.
For more Hannah Templer, check out her original essay, What to Pack for Your Intergalactic Lesbian Road Trip.
You Are Here
by Karin Lin-Greenberg
You Are Here centers on is a group of people that, for various reasons, are stuck. They spend their days tied to a dying mall, which may be one of the most metaphorically rich settings of 2023. Karin Lin-Greenberg pulls off this amazing magic trick of a book by revealing a quiet, rich, and unique beauty in each character, despite (or because) of how unremarkable they might seem at first blush. Get in loser, we're going on an emotionally rich journey through the human spirit, and we're getting an Orange Julius on the way. — Michelle C.
Yellowface
by R. F. Kuang
Months before its release, this book is generating equal parts buzz and polarization among reviewers, which you’ll find, after reading it, is actually the most fitting reception imaginable. Yellowface is incisive, infuriating, clever, cringeworthy, deeply meta, full of ugly publishing industry truths and Book Twitter drama, devoid of likable characters and redemption. I loved-slash-hated it. — Tove H.
Quietly Hostile
by Samantha Irby
How could you not be brimming with excitement at the prospect of a new collection from the undisputed queen of the honest, uproarious, relatable, personal essay. Quietly Hostile promises “the gory details that make up the true portrait of a life behind the screenshotted depression memes.” Read it to feel a sense of literary-camaraderie with the behind the scenes events of your own screenshotted depression memes. — Sarah R.
The Three of Us
by Ore Agbaje-Williams
A book that’s been called “wickedly funny” and “explosive,” about a wife, a husband, and a best friend and all of the ways their tight, braided relationships implode over the course of a single, life-changing day. Rumaan Alam said this debut was “a cunning (and often very funny) book, a wily and promising debut.” Count me in. — Kelsey F.
Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care
by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba
One of my favorite displays I ever made here at Powell's was a collection of books to inspire young activists. This new title from longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes would certainly have a place of honor on that display today. Naomi Klein calls it a "prophetic work," one "that will be pressed with great urgency into the palms of friends and comrades, kin and colleagues, and anyone else ready to rise up against machineries of mass death." — Sarah R.
Yours, Creature
by Jessica Cuello
A haunting and beautiful poetic pseudo-biography of Mary Shelly written as a series of letters and notes to her mother. The contents range from mundane pictures of everyday life to confessions of grief and guilt. Each poem in this collection is both connected and wholly its own. — Aster H.
The Late Americans
by Brandon Taylor
Brandon Taylor is so good, I'm gently annoyed whenever we're not talking about him. His latest — a novel! a return to the midwest! — promises to be a devastating look at young creatives, bridging the gap between feeling invincible and impossibly light and taking on the weight of age and experience (or acknowledging the weight that's been accumulating all along). One of the best things about Taylor is his ability to write immersive, developed characters that you deeply, deeply feel (or as Lily King put it, much more accurately: "You inhabit his characters, you share their nerve endings."). I'm so excited. — Michelle C.
Notes on Her Color
by Jennifer Neal
Notes on Her Color tells the story of a young Black and Indigenous woman who can change the color of her skin at will. Blending elements of magical realism with the real weight of racism and intergenerational trauma, this novel celebrates the strength it takes to become one's full, true self and the many people who love us into being and give us permission to be who we are. Tom Drury, author of Pacific, calls it "a vivid and powerful meditation on mothers and daughters, houses haunted by the living, and the redemptive power of love and music." I'll be ready for May 23rd! — Claire A.
Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot Dogs
by Jamie Loftus
"The Jamie Loftus Hot Dog Book," as my coworker and I have taken to calling it so we don't get fired, is exactly the kind of deep dive microhistory I live for. Loftus invites her reader along on a cross-country culinary road trip, during which she consumes an absolutely horrific amount of encased meat while exploring the history, politics, production (heed the content warnings here), regional varieties, and culture of hot dogs. Learn about competitive eating, Wienermobile drivers, and the mystifying phenomenon that is gender pickles. Discover even more reasons to rage about capitalism. Find out which Portland, Oregon hot dog made Jamie's Top 5! This smart, funny, gross, and exceedingly thorough book is a wiener winner. — Tove H.
Witch King
by Martha Wells
I devoured this book over a long weekend and every second I wasn't reading it I was thinking about how much I wished I was. I adore every little thing I learned about the cultures, peoples, and histories in this world and would happily visit again and again (please! more!). Also, maybe I only want to read epic fantasies with hyper-competent protagonists tasked with solving their own murders served with a side of massive geopolitical complications now? Thanks Martha Wells. — Sarah R.
Beware the Woman
by Megan Abbott
Megan Abbott is an author whose new books I gulp down whole and immediately text my fellow Abbott-heads about, to pick apart everything we loved about the characters and plot. This time around, it’s like Abbott wrote Beware the Woman with me specifically in mind (thank you, Megan!!). A gothic-manor-style mystery, set on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan — a newlywed couple with a baby on the way take a vacation at a cozy cottage, but what seems idyllic at first quickly turns dangerous, making Jacy feel crazy, paranoid, and under attack. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Abbott’s other books — there’s no way this ends well. (And thank god for that!) — Kelsey F.
JUNE
Everything the Darkness Eats
by Eric LaRocca
If there's one name in horror you should be paying attention to, it's Eric LaRocca. Everything The Darkness Eats is his attack on the disappearing-residents-of-a-sleepy-smalltown trope and I'm so excited to see what cosmically twisted direction he drags it in, kicking and screaming. — Stacy Wayne D.
Boys Weekend
by Mattie Lubchansky
If this graphic novel debut by award-winning cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky is as surreal, incisive, eviscerating, affirming, and joyfully queer as the rest of their work, it's going to be incredible. Carmen Marie Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties, calls it "a witty, tender romp through the cosmic horror of being alive." Newly-out trans artist Sammie is invited to an old friend's bachelor party weekend at a mysterious resort floating in international waters. Things start to go very wrong as the group meets with the horrors of a bloodthirsty cult as well as the cultlike brutality of capitalism, "hustle" culture, and toxic masculinity. Daniel M. Lavery, author of Something That May Shock and Discredit You, says it's "sensitive and fraught without sacrificing fun or black magic." What more could you ask for? — Claire A.
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea
by Rita Chang-Eppig
A historical novel about real life LEGENDARY CHINESE PIRATE QUEEN, Shek Yeung! Negotiating power to maintain control of her fleet (move over, pirates with just one ship). Are you kidding me! — Sarah R.
August Blue
by Deborah Levy
Deborah Levy is one of those authors that gives me insane envy. She just seems so… cool. So… good. So effortlessly great and interesting and smart. (Or maybe I’m confusing her with her characters! Likely. But my feelings remain the same.) Her latest, August Blue, explores the idea of self through a maybe-doppelgänger, confusing bodies and sexuality, reflections and shadows along the way — all sure to be written in Levy’s beautiful, intoxicating language. I know that if anything good happens in 2023, it’ll be this book. — Kelsey F.
The Art of Libromancy: Selling Books & Reading Books in the 21st Century
by Josh Cook
A book about books by a fellow indie bookseller? Sold. What’s more, the bookseller is Josh Cook, whose 2021 chapbook, The Least We Can Do, has been not-so-quietly making the rounds among indie booksellers since its release, prompting much-needed reflection and conversation about the ideas afforded space on our shelves. I’m eager to see Cook expand on that topic and more in The Art of Libromancy, and to chat about it with the booksellers (and readers!) in my life. Book club, anyone? — Tove H.
Pageboy
by Elliot Page
The first time I saw Elliot Page, I was a teenager watching Juno. I wasn't sure if I had my first celebrity crush, or perhaps someone I wanted to be more like. Years later, we both came out as trans masc at around the same time. I've been so thrilled to hear about his memoir and I'm eager to read about his experience. I highly recommend to those who liked We Both Laughed in Pleasure by Lou Sullivan and I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. — Rin S.
The Memory of Animals
by Claire Fuller
We love Claire Fuller around these parts! Her forthcoming The Memory of Animals has done the impossible — made me eagerly anticipate a novel that involves a pandemic in the year 2023. It's also got: experimental technology that allows users to revisit their memories, marine biology, and promises to be an immersive, thought-provoking, and haunting-in-a-good-way literary masterwork. — Michelle C.
Did we mention Claire Fuller? Read our 2015 interview with her about Our Endless Numbered Days, and the 2021 Q&A she did for Unsettled Ground.
Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions
by Mattie Kahn
So much of my ongoing personal education is working to correct my early understanding of history as an objective list of things that happened, and understanding why certain stories are told, and who benefits from telling history in a specific way. (Sorry to be very obvious! It's true!) Mattie Kahn's Young and Restless has me incredibly excited because she's looking at American history and progress through the lens of teen girls — an often overlooked or dismissed demographic that's had a huge impact on our world, in the civil rights movement, early labor strikes, women's suffrage, and more. — Michelle C.
Maddalena and the Dark
by Julia Fine
A fairy-tale of a friendship, set at a musical school in Venice in the 18th century? Say less! But also say more, because I cannot wait to read this new novel from the author of The Upstairs House, which I remember reading in a fever dream of “how could she, how did she?” Lynn Steger Strong said of Maddalena and the Dark: “I loved this novel for its decadence, its impossibly lush sentences, and its heart.” A book after my very own, already-blackened heart. — Kelsey F.
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home
by Lorrie Moore
The legendary Lorrie Moore returns! With a book whose title alone makes my heart ache. And when the publisher copy says it’s elegiac ghost story? That explores love and death and passion and grief? Oh, I’m sat. Moore has always been a writer whose words root into my veins, setting up camp for months after I think I’m done with them. I can’t wait to carry I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home around in my bones. Dramatic of me, probably, but still accurate. — Kelsey F.
The Brightest Star
by Gail Tsukiyama
An unbelievable combination: Gail Tsukiyama (the phenomenal author of The Color of Air) writing a historical novel about Anna May Wong (the only Asian American actress to become a star in the glitzy days of early Hollywood). How did we get so lucky?? I will be very annoying until this book is in my hands. — Michelle C.
In the meantime, go read Gail's 2020 interview on the Powell's blog to get somehow more excited for this book!
Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird
by Agustina Bazterrica (tr. Sarah Moses)
A perfect cover? Check. A perfect title? Yup, check! A follow-up short story collection from the author of the wonderfully grotesque Tender is the Flesh? Check. Check. Check. I’m all the way in on this collection, which promises to be maggots-under-the-skin levels of unnerving. Perfect. — Kelsey F.
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Want some book recommendations you can pick up ASAP? Check out our
first book preview of 2023 or the spring books
recommended by our book buyers. We also have an incredible
roster of events; we hope to see you there!