The Fall 2025 Reading Group Guide Preview

Dazzling Debuts

The Coin: A Novel
By Yasmin Zaher
(Catapult, 9781646222766, $16.95, July 15)
“The Coin is a stunner: an elegant, fast-paced novel full of imagery that's sometimes gorgeous and sometimes vulgar. The narrator is a young Palestinian woman who teaches at a Manhattan all-boys school, gets involved in a Birkin bag resale scheme, and fixates on cleanliness and presentation.”
—Maritza Montanez, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY

The Instrumentalist
By Harriet Constable
(Simon & Schuster, 9781668035832, $18.99, Aug. 19)
“Inspired by a true story, The Instrumentalist immediately pulled me into 18th-century Venice. Anna Maria’s journey to find love, meaning, and purpose in life kept me turning pages. It’s so satisfying watching her learn to use her gift for good.”
—Michelle Ratto, A Thousand Stories, Herndon, VA

Pearl: A Novel
By Siân Hughes
(Vintage, 9780593688588, $17, July 29)
“There is a shroud of grief permeating this story of a mother who has disappeared and the daughter who has lived her life looking for answers. There is also fairytale-like beauty in the memories of the mother-daughter bond. I loved this story.”
—Wendy Labinger, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA

The Stone Witch of Florence
By Anna Rasche
(Park Row, 9780778310464, $18.99, Aug. 5)
“A fantastic debut that combines historical fiction and a dark mystery. Ginevra di Gasparo wants to be recognized for her ability to heal and be accepted into the Guild of Doctors, but she may have to put her life on the line to fulfill her dream when she becomes entangled in a dangerous plot.”
—Maxwell Gregory, Madison Street Books, Chicago, IL

Sunburn
By Chloe Michelle Howarth
(Melville House, 9781685892111, $19.99, July 8)
“Just like sunburn, your first love stings, intoxicates, lingers, and heals. Howarth writes it all beautifully. Equal parts heavenly and gutting, Sunburn weaves together the most sensual love story with gorgeously tragic depictions of small town pressures and compulsory heterosexuality. For those stuck on Normal People, A Language of Limbs, or Lady Bird, let this stunning queer coming-of-age pick you apart and piece you back together.”
—Emma Holland, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC

The Undercurrent
By Sarah Sawyer
(Zibby Publishing, 9781958506431, $17.99, June 24)
“This is one of those books that you start reading and then you start annotating and underlining and talking about with everybody around you. It is a mystery — and a good one at that — but everything about it is so good. The mothers’ relationships to their children, the secrets they keep, how they judge each other and themselves…it angered me in the best possible way.”
—Andrea Iriarte, Molly's Bookstore, Melrose, MA

Family & Coming of Age

The Bog Wife: A Novel
By Kay Chronister
(Counterpoint, 9781640097322, $17.95, Oct. 7)
“An exquisitely-woven gothic family saga and mystery that manages to tell a captivating story from the perspective of the Haddesley siblings. It affects a deep magical realism that examines how we relate to our past, to the land, and with our family while navigating inevitable change in all three.”
—Sara Crow, Crow & Co. Books, Hutchinson, KS

Colored Television: A Novel
By Danzy Senna
(Riverhead Books, 9780593544389, $18, July 15)
“Colored Television is a novel that dares to admit we live on the fringe. Especially in Los Angeles, where we drive by studios promising opportunities beside unhoused people who have been priced out. Where things can be bad and even get worse on the heels of the greatest meeting. Colored Television is the medicine needed to solve the enigma of Los Angeles.”
—Jessica Amodeo, Book Soup, West Hollywood, CA

Sister Snake: A Novel
By Amanda Lee Koe
(Ecco, 9780063355071, $18.99, Sept. 23)
“Incredible and atmospheric. Having transcended their original forms as snakes, Emerald and Su have spent centuries calling one another ‘sister’ and taking care of each other as family does. A beautiful tale of the bond between two women and their separate but similar journeys to accept themselves as they are.”
—Katie O'Brien-Smith, Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, NJ

Soldier Sailor: A Novel
By Claire Kilroy
(Scribner, 9781668051818, $17.99, Aug. 5)
“Anything I tell you about this book is a pale echo of the precise beauty and raw emotional ride that Claire Kilroy provides. Just read it. If you are a mother, you will be transported back to that transformative moment, no matter how long ago it was, and you will know that someone knows, truly knows. If you are not a mother, read it anyway — you had a mother, get to know her.”
—Anmiryam Budner, Main Point Books, Wayne, PA

State of Paradise: A Novel
By Laura van den Berg
(Picador, 9781250390516, $18, July 8)
“Propulsive from the very first sentence, a vortex of mystery, suspense, family pathos, and peak Florida uncanniness, rendered in exquisite prose. Like your favorite Twilight Zone episode if it had been written by Proust and performed by a troupe of sagacious Floridian kappas. Brilliant, transporting — a masterpiece!”
—Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books, Birmingham, AL

When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel (Indies Introduce)
By Lisa Ridzén, Alice Menzies (Transl.)
(Vintage, 9798217006731, $18, Aug. 19)
“A deeply moving story of an old man at the end of his days: the unconditional love of a good dog, the surprising shifts in power within a family, the consolation of a long friendship, the way love alters and sustains what we believe. This debut novel will change what you know about growing old.”
—Ann Woodbeck, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN

Historical Fiction

The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story
By Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Transl.)
(Riverhead Books, 9780593712955, $20, Sept. 23)
“Olga Tokarczuk has packed another punch in this novel. At the outset, this unassuming story has a cloudy, aloof feeling about it, like wandering aimlessly. But the tension slowly ratchets up to a fantastic ending. An exploration of the philosophy about femininity in society, bespoken by a group of misogynistic men, written by a woman, with the revenge of women always at the periphery.”
—Noah Ford, PRINT: A Bookstore, Portland, ME

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: A Novel
By James McBride
(Riverhead Books, 9780593422953, $19, July 29)
“Set in Depression-era Pennsylvania, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store centers around a hardscrabble neighborhood of Eastern European Jewish immigrants and African Americans who have fled the Deep South. Dramatic and suspenseful, sprinkled with humor, this is a novel of such empathy.”
—Diana Van Vleck, Bloomsbury Books, Ashland, OR

The Lion Women of Tehran
By Marjan Kamali
(Gallery Books, 9781668036594, $18.99, Aug. 5)
“I loved this story that explores friendship, family and class. Ellie and Homa are young girls in Iran growing up in a time when women had freedoms and advantages that disappeared after the Cultural Revolution. A tender story that immersed me in another time and country and showed how our choices can define our futures.”
—Karin Barker, Bookworm of Edwards, Edwards, CO

Masquerade (Indies Introduce)
By O.O. Sangoyomi
(Forge Books, 9781250904317, $18.99, July 29)
“O.O. Sangoyomi’s debut is a fast-paced page turner set in 15th-century West Africa, featuring a young woman who finds herself undergoing extreme changes in her social status in a short time. It’s riveting and fascinating — a great piece about women finding their power.”
—Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, GA

Nicked: A Novel
By M. T. Anderson
(Vintage, 9780593688007, $17, July 22)
“Wacky historical fiction with fun and endearing characters. Deceptively easy to read, Nicked contains multitudes. It’s a heist, it’s a romance, it’s a true origin story, and it’s gorgeously researched and written, its syntax surprising and supple. So brilliant!”
—Amanda Qassar, Warwick's, La Jolla, CA

The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts
By Louis Bayard
(Algonquin Books, 9781643755526, $18.99, Aug. 12)
“This book fully immerses us in the Wildes’ world. As we are tossed from one timeline and character to another, the reader has conflicting experiences of wonder and despair. Oscar Wilde’s life unravels and his family is tangled up and dragged down by his recklessness. This novel is a beautifully written tragedy.”
—Trish O'Neill, MacIntosh Books & Paper, Sanibel, FL

Nonfiction & Memoir

American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era (Indies Introduce)
By Nico Lang
(Abrams Press, 9781419773839, $18, Sept. 16)
“Nico Lang captures the essence of being a modern trans teenager — the weight of adult decisions on their shoulders but without the political autonomy to take actions for themselves. Though at times bleak, American Teenager is bursting with love for trans kids and the future.”
—Audrey Kohler, BookWoman, Austin, TX

The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi
By Wright Thompson
(Penguin Books, 9780593299845, $22, Sept. 9)
“The Barn digs deep into the 1955 murder of 14 year-old Emmett Till, tortured and killed by a group of men for whistling at a white woman. Wright Thompson weaves together first-person accounts and historical records to bring an understanding of the Mississippi Delta culture that enabled and covered up that brutal murder, and how it persists today. A powerful book, written with clarity, honesty, and empathy.”
—Tom Morrison, Newtown Bookshop, Newtown, PA

Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home
By Chris La Tray
(Milkweed Editions, 9781571311665, $20, Aug. 12)
“As an unenrolled Indigenous person raised by white parents, that part of my identity has always been tricky for me. La Tray's beautifully written account of taking ownership over his own identity, interwoven with the historical and contemporary issues facing Indigenous communities (the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in particular), makes for one of those rare books that truly is both deeply personal and profoundly universal.”
—Lane Jacobson, Paulina Springs Books, Sisters, OR

Didion and Babitz
By Lili Anolik
(Scribner, 9781668065495, $20, July 22)
“Babitz and Didion’s convoluted relationship — from best friends to dreaded enemies — is revealed in letters found carefully boxed inside a rundown apartment in Hollywood. I knew very little about Eve Babitz, who also wrote about ’60s and ’70s-era Hollywood. Anolik has brought her to life and unlocked an unopened door.”
—Gayle Shanks, Changing Hands, Tempe, AZ

The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science
By Dava Sobel
(Grove Press, 9780802165862, $20, Oct. 7)
“Madame Curie is almost mythical: an old woman who literally glowed by the time she died, who, with her husband, discovered the power of radium. The true magic is the reality of a young woman from Poland who travels to Paris to continue her studies. She did it all. A fresh look and in-depth appreciation of a true Wonder Woman.”
—Becky Milner, Vintage Books, Vancouver, WA

Trying: A Memoir
By Chloe Caldwell
(Graywolf Press, 9781644453476, $18, Aug. 5)
“Chloe Caldwell’s book opens with her happily married and attempting to control all the variables that might assist her in Trying to get pregnant: diet, lifestyle, hormones, anything that might get results. But the upheaval in the middle is something you (and Chloe) will never see coming. Written like journal entries, this reads like a best friend spilling all the tea.”
—Kelley Drahushuk, The Spotty Dog, Hudson, NY

Small Bites

The Hurting Kind: Poems
By Ada Limón
(Milkweed Editions, 9781571315601, $18, Sept. 23)
“The Hurting Kind reminds us to remain open and tender to the world, even with all of its hard edges. I found myself enthralled with her poems of companionship, both human and animal. Limón’s lyric style propels me toward what I love most about poetry: the liminal space between rapture and pain.”
—Halee Kirkwood, Birchbark Books & Native Arts, Minneapolis, MN

I've Tried Being Nice: Essays
By Ann Leary
(S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781982120368, $18.99, June 17)
“I had zero pre-conceived notions about Ann Leary's upcoming book of mid-life memoir-type essays. I laughed out loud a few times and found other parts quite moving. Leary has always thought of herself as an anxious person whose primary motivation was pleasing people, aka' ‘being nice.’ Her essays, from that border between 'real' and 'nice', feel honest and are fun to read.”
—Shirley Freeman, Bookbug, Kalamazoo, MI

Make Your Way Home: Stories (Indies Introduce)
By Carrie R. Moore
(Tin House Books, 9781963108286, $17.99, July 15)
“Each story in Make Your Way Home is absolutely remarkable. Like sinking into warm water, each story envelops you completely in the characters, bringing them and the setting to life. This is a book that aches with longing and with history.”
—Katherine Nazzaro, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories
By Mariana Enriquez, Megan McDowell (Transl.)
(Hogarth, 9780593733271, $17, Sept. 9)
“Mariana Enriquez is the best short story writer in all of modern horror. Her stories are clever, heartbreakingly honest, disgustingly horrific, and often darkly humorous. Take it from someone who got the cover of Our Share of Night tattooed on their body — this woman knows horror.”
—Adam Fall, Underbrush Books, Rogers, AR

The Tusks of Extinction
By Ray Nayler
(Tordotcom, 9781250393661, $17.99, Sept. 9)
“Decades after Dr. Damira Khismatullina is brutally murdered and elephants go extinct, the Mammoth is brought back to life, but must be taught how to be a wild Mammoth. Damira’s uploaded memories are put into a female Mammoth who will lead them. But poachers are still out there, and those who have sworn to protect them may not be doing exactly that. A quick and engrossing read.”
—Joe Rusnak, Charter Books, Newport, RI

We're Alone: Essays
By Edwidge Danticat
(Graywolf Press, 9781644453537, $18, Sept. 2)
“Having spent much time in Haiti, I discovered and fell in love with Edwidge Danticat's writing many years ago. We're Alone is no exception. Danticat has such a way of articulating her observations of the world around her. Her message in this book is: we’re alone, so let's talk. While many of the essays are about Haiti, there is a much broader scope of moral questioning and thought-provoking conversation. She voices her outrage and her heart for her community.”
—Karmen Somers, Court Street Books, Florence, AL