Wife Shaped Bodies (2026) Laura Cranehill "Astonishingly beautiful, strange, and haunting, Wife Shaped Bodies is a gorgeous and terrifying ode to the natural world without and within, and what it might mean to forsake manmade communities in search of other ways of entanglement. I loved this defiant work about the dangers of fitting into another's need and the loss and loneliness of being a woman, a mother, a creature that is alive."
Molka (2026) Monika Kim "As brilliant as it is provocative, perverse, and deeply unsettling, Molka is the novel I've been waiting for...A rage-soaked interrogation of power that finally confronts our twinned cultures of surveillance and shame-I couldn't put it down. No one writes the monstrosities of man like Monika Kim, and even though this book lays bare the devastating consequences of nonconsensual voyeurism, I wouldn't hesitate to peek into Kim's brain."
The Merge (2025) Grace Walker "A heart-wrenching exploration of the struggle for autonomy amidst dwindling resources, The Merge perfectly captures a modern world obsessed with controversial solutions for problems it has created. Grace Walker depicts all too clearly the impossibility of aging with dignity in a society that doesn't value life, and I was riveted from the first page to the last."
Julie Chan is Dead (2025) Liann Zhang "I devoured this sharp and wickedly funny novel about the intoxicating and corruptive promise of love and connection telegraphed by influencers. With prose that crackles off the page, Liann Zhang skewers our brave new world where everything and anything is leveraged for likes."
Blob (2025) Maggie Su "Unique, heartfelt, and hilarious, Blob: A Love Story is a delightfully inquisitive meditation on relationships and identity. What responsibility do we have in the creation of our relationships? What do we bring and leave behind? And what repercussions exist when we force ourselves into an identity instead of nurturing our real selves? This winsome book pulls off the impossible feat of examining our deepest existential questions with equal parts tenderness and droll."
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng (2025) Kylie Lee Baker "Bat Eater and Other Names For Cora Zeng possessed me from the first page and haunted me for long after the last. The visceral emotionality of Baker's writing and the specificity of New York through the Asian American experience makes for a powerful exploration of loneliness, community, and belonging in the face of hatred. Singular in every way, this book dug its claws into me and would not let go."
The Queen (2024) Nick Cutter "A harrowing body horror you won't be able to put down, The Queen is an unforgettable journey that captures the monstrosity of pubescence and the violent heartbreak of adolescent friendships. As soulful as it is sickening, Cutter's writing kept me utterly enthralled. I have never turned pages faster, but I'm certain my brain will be buzzing with this book for a long time to come."
William (2024) Mason Coile "A deliciously terrifying book about creation and its false promise of control, William exposes the harrowing consequences of playing god. Coile demolishes the idea that our homes and identities are safe in a fully automated world. I dare you to read this in more than one sitting."
The Nude (2024) C Michelle Lindley "As stunning, complex, and carefully crafted as the sculpture our art historian protagonist hopes to acquire, I was astounded and utterly enchanted by Lindley's portrayal of a woman's internal journey from object to subject. The porousness of marble is a perfect metaphor for the vulnerabilities and dissolving boundaries of a woman finding autonomy in a world that insists on her complicit confinement. The lush, lyrical writing of The Nude depicts the gray areas of cultural appropriation, ethics, and sexuality so seamlessly, I had to remind myself to breathe while reading."
While We Were Burning (2024) Sara Koffi "An incendiary debut by a powerful new voice, While We Were Burning is a chilling and deliciously dark novel that explores the transformative crucible of grief and the impossibilities of reckoning with loss. It kept me guessing until the end and haunted me for long after."
Better By Far (2024) Hazel Hayes "A geography of loneliness, a map of the liminal spaces of heartbreak, and a testament to grief's ability to supplant any narrative, Better by Far is a tender and powerful book that simultaneously bruised and healed me. I leaked all the way through this deeply felt and moving journey."
Ellipses (2024) Vanessa Lawrence "An unflinchingly honest debut about the dizzying stakes of finding selfhood in a society that constantly threatens total consumption. Lawrence's writing is as lyrical as it is incisive, exposing the bravery it takes to not be complicit in your own oppression. I couldn't put this down."
Annie Bot (2024) Sierra Greer "Haunting and achingly luminous, Annie Bot is a powerful manifesto for the radical discomfort and necessity of pleasing and living for yourself. Greer brilliantly shows us the futility of relationships when one person is deemed inferior, examines the ways men and women socialize one another, and raises questions about whether the contours of love and womanhood are actually captivity. I fell in love with Annie Bot, one of the realest women I have ever encountered."
Here in Avalon (2024) Tara Isabella Burton "An utterly enchanting read that springs from the shadowy depths and liminal spaces of New York City, Here in Avalon dared us to shatter the binding social contracts we've signed in search of something greater, and is a dazzling testament to the realest magic in the world: family."
