I understand. You have a limited amount of precious reading time and don’t want to squander it lightly. Given the choice between a tried-and-true author and a newbie, it can be tempting to reach for something reliable. Although this might be the safer option, it risks preventing you from discovering a new voice that could open up an exciting new world.

This month, I wanted to suggest some debut novels released in 2024 and 2025 with positive reviews and buzz. Perhaps one of these authors will emerge as your new favorite. If not, with a library card, you to easily cast one aside and simply try another!

Great Black Hope - Rob FranklinThe Great Black Hope - Rob Franklin

"A gripping, elegant debut novel about a young Black man caught between worlds of race and class, glamour and tragedy, a friend’s mysterious death and his own arrest."

The Correspondent - Virginia Evans
The Correspondent - Virginia Evans

"When Sybil is forced to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes the letter she has been rewriting over the years needs to be read."

Homeseeking - Karissa Chen

Homeseeking - Karissa Chen

"An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland."

Blob - Maggie Su

Blob: A Love Story - Maggie Su

"A hilarious and moving debut novel about a young woman who decides to turn a sentient blob into her perfect boyfriend...Ultimately, Vi embarks on a journey of self-discovery and learns that it's impossible to control those you love.

Death at the White Hart Death at the White Hart - Chris Chibnall
"From the internationally award-winning creator of Broadchurch comes a brilliant new detective story following one man’s death and the secrets that unravel in a coastal English village."
The Edge of Water - Olufunke Grace Bankole

The Edge of Water - Olufunke Grace Bankole

"Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm."

This is Your Mother - Erika J. Simpson

This is Your Mother - Erika J. Simpson

"A remarkable, inventive debut memoir about a mother-daughter relationship across cycles of poverty, separation, and illness, exploring how we forge identity in the face of imminent loss."

Y2K - Colette Shade

Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything - Colette Shade

"A brilliantly provocative and entertaining essay collection about the Y2K era, a generation-defining period."

Worry - Alexandra Tanner

Worry - Alexandra Tanner

"follows two twenty-something sblings-turned-roommates navigating an absurd world about to suffer great change—a Seinfeldian novel of existentialism and sisterhood."

Fire Exit - Morgan Talty

Fire Exit- Morgan Talty

"A masterful and unforgettable story of family, legacy, bloodlines, culture, and inheritance, and what, if anything, we owe one another."

The Ministry of Time - Kalane Bradley

The Ministry of Time- Kaliane Bradley

"A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all..."

Annie Bot - Sierra Greer

Annie Bot - Sierra Greer

"Doug says he loves that Annie’s artificial intelligence makes her seem more like a real woman, but the more human Annie becomes, the less perfectly she behaves, and she starts to wonder whether Doug truly desires what he says he does."

Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar

Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar

"A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum."

The Berry Pickers - Amanda Peters

The Berry Pickers - Amanda Peters

"A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a community, and remains unsolved for nearly fifty years."

Flux - Jinwoo Chong

Flux - Jinwoo Chong

"A blazingly original and stylish debut novel about a young man whose reality unravels when he suspects his employers have inadvertently discovered time travel and are covering up a string of violent crimes."

Chostroots - Pemi Aguda

Ghostroots - Pemi Aguda

"Set in Lagos, Nigeria, Aguda’s stories unfold against a spectral cityscape where the everyday business of living is charged with an air of supernatural menace."

Maeve Fly - CJ Leede

Maeve Fly - CJ Leede

"A blood-soaked love letter to Los Angeles and a gleeful send-up to iconic horror villains that will thrill fans of slashers and the macabre."

The Slip - Lucas Schaefer

The Slip - Lucas Schaefer

"A haymaker of an American novel about a missing teenage boy, mistaken identity, and the transformative power of boxing. An audacious, daring look at sex and race in America that builds to an unforgettable collision in the center of the ring."

The Belles - Lacey M. Dunham

The Belles - Lacey M. Dunham

"A chilling and seductive coming-of-age story, and an excavation of the dark side of girlhood, the intricacies of privilege, and the unbridled desire to belong at any cost."

The Once and Future Me - Melissa Pace

The Once and Future Me - Melissa Pace

"A spellbinding psychological thriller about a young woman who wakes, agitated and confused, remembering nothing of the dark things that have forged her into such a skilled and cunning fighter."

Summaries sourced from publisher materials.

November's Featured Review

The Whisper Man - Alex North

The Whisper Man - Alex North


Hop on the Holds List

Dear Debbie – Freida McFadden

It’s Not Her – Mary Kubica

More Than Enough – Anna Quindlan

The Astral Library - Kate Quinn

The Keeper – Tana French

Quote of the Month:

"Whenever a thing is done for the first time, it releases a little demon" - Emily Dickinson

Bookish News and Links:

Want personalized recommendations? Fill out a questionnaire to get a customized list sent directly to your email: https://gpl.org/services/reade...

Love Lists? Try these:

Debutiful.net is a website devoted to debut discovery, with lists, interviews, and podcasts.

The Center for Fiction has released the longlist for its First Novel Prize.

For an exhaustive list of 2025's debut novels, see this list on Goodreads.

Adaptation News: Upcoming movies and shows based on books:

A remake of The Running Man, based on the Stephen King novel- in theaters 11/7

Sarah's Oil, based on the biographical novel inspired by Tonya Bolden's book, Searching for Sarah Rector - in theaters 11/7

Die, My Love, an American adaptation of Argentine writer Ariana Harwicz - in theaters 11/7

If you missed del Toro's Frankenstein in theaters, it will be streaming on Netflix beginning 11/7

The prequel to The Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping - in theaters 11/20

Wicked: For Good, the continuation of the screened adaptation of Gregory Maguire's series - in theaters 11/21

Hamnet, based on Maggie O'Farrell's novel will have a limited release in the US on 11/27, expanding nationwide on 12/12

Recent Reads

I have recently finished reading Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood and The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith. I also just finished listening to Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz.

I am currently reading Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry (for the GPL Thrillong Reads Book Group!) and Strange Houses by Uketsu. I am also listening to the audiobook of Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach.

What do you think: Are you ready to give a debut (or two) a try? Fill me in at: jegan@gpl.org.

Until next time: Be safe, be well, and be well-read!

Joelle


So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, four mostly-grown children, and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part-time at the Groton Public Library and writing monthly reviews for Booklist Magazine. In a former life, I was a Director of PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration in the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind, and my thoughts, opinions. and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.

Nov 01, 2025 / Joelle M Egan