The Best New Book Releases Out April 23, 2024

In 2016, when things online felt especially hateful and soul-crushing, Amy Tan turned to nature. The world right outside her window gave her solace, but this peacefulness turned to something more — she started imagining the lives of the birds she watched, and here, she shares her thoughts, sketches, and daily entries as she took her birding to a new level.

In this opposites-attract, fake-dating story, we get a side of mess with our romance. Daphne’s fiancé Peter leaves her for Petra, and Petra leaves her fiancé Miles for Peter. Then, these two Messy Melindas invite both their exes to their wedding. So, naturally, Daphne and Miles decide to fake date and attend the wedding. But, practical children’s librarian Daphne may find more than she bargained for in the chaotic Miles.

First off, gorgeous cover is gorgeous. Secondly, this debut is part action-packed mystery, part romantic space opera, and sounds like a swashbuckling good time. Ocean Yoon is a descendant of a long line of highly revered female divers in a futuristic and united Korea. Despite this, she’s currently on the Alliance’s trash list since her flub on a mission gained her a bad reputation. When her wealthy bestie Teo is accused of murdering his family, she and each member of her motley crew of shipmates will have to decide on which side of politics they lie. I’ve seen this book and its adventure, slow-burn romance, and political intrigue likened to Firefly and Bladerunner, which are the highest compliments in my book.

Portero’s unnamed protagonist is a trans woman who comes of age in a fun but troubled time in Madrid. Once she realizes her hometown has nothing for her, she travels to downtown ’80s Madrid, with its party animals, divas, and raging heroin epidemic. As she comes to know herself more, making sense of things with a poet’s verve, she finds herself closer and closer to potential devastation.

The author of Gearbreakers is back with another queer science fiction and fantasy YA novel, this time in the form of a Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling. Young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to Wonderland, a dark forest full of monsters, for a crime they didn’t commit. To get out, both of them were willing to risk it all, which included each other. Now, Icca is set on getting revenge for Caro’s betrayal. And while Caro lives a somewhat privileged life as a royal monster killer, she doesn’t know of the secrets the Queen holds about the monsters, nor the plans she has for Icca and Caro.

In this experimental fiction and nonfiction essay collection, Dutton explores the relationship between literature and each of the categories in the title. For example, in the “Prairie” section, there are five stories that juxtapose the beauty of nature with its destruction. In the “Dresses” section, Dutton weaves together literary excerpts that center dresses and examine gender and class.