24 Works of Fiction to Read This Spring

New York Times

12-03-2025

Dream Count
More than a decade has passed since Adichie's award-winning novel 'Americanah.' Now, the author returns with the stories of four African women, intertwined by blood or friendship, who grapple with love and grief, identity and belonging, and the pressures of community and their own desires — all set against the backdrop of the pandemic.
Wild Dark Shore
Dominic Salt, a widowed father, and his three children live on Shearwater, a remote island between the Tasmania and Antarctica. When a devastating storm strikes, an injured woman washes ashore. Who is she? Where did she come from? And what, exactly, does she want?
Fan Service
Devin is a washed-up actor who's trying to interest producers in a reboot of the werewolf soap opera that made him famous as a teen. When his own life begins to mirror that of his character, Devin seeks the help of Alex, who used to moderate his online fan forum — if she can put aside her disdain for him in order to figure out what's happened to him.
The Jackal's Mistress
In 1860s Virginia, Libby, the wife of a Confederate soldier away at war, faces a difficult choice when a critically injured Union officer shows up next door. Despite the risk, she tries to help him in hopes that a stranger would do the same for her husband.
Sunrise on the Reaping
Taking place 24 years before the events of the first book, this prequel begins the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. For the occasion, twice as many tributes are selected from each district. Among them is Haymitch Abernathy — the eventual champion and future mentor of the heroine Katniss Everdeen — who, despite all odds, must win the deadly battle royale.
The Love We Found
Nearly 10 years have passed since Gabe died in Santopolo's 'The Light We Lost.' His lover, Lucy, is still reeling from the loss when she finds a tiny piece of paper tucked in a box of his old photos. It leads her to an address in Rome, where she meets a doctor from New York. Can a new flame help her move on?
Tilt
Annie's life is upended when a devastating earthquake hits Portland, Ore. The disaster nearly kills Annie, who is nine months pregnant, and separates her from her husband. Walking past the wreckage of suburban sprawl, Annie reflects on her disappointing career, memories of her dead mother and her struggling marriage.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
The discovery of a century-old diary begins Jones's latest horror novel, which tells the tale of Good Stab, a Native man who transformed into a vampire after a brutal massacre of Indigenous people. Armed with his newfound powers, he embarks on a vengeful quest.
Rabbit Moon
When a hit-and-run accident leaves their daughter Lindsey critically injured in China — where she is teaching English during her college gap year — her divorced parents come together for the first time since they separated, bringing old grievances to the fore.
Flesh
István leads a solitary life with his mother in a Hungarian town. His only other companion is his neighbor, an older married woman with whom he becomes involved in a complicated relationship. Their entanglement results in a violent accident that reverberates throughout his life.
Flirting Lessons
Avery, newly single, is excited to dive back into the dating world — women, this time. She, however, has little to no experience dating people of the same sex. That's where Taylor, a notorious modern-day Casanova, comes in, giving Avery the lessons she needs on flirting and, ultimately, love.
My Documents
The lives of four young adult cousins of Vietnamese descent are turned upside down when a series of terrorist bombings on American soil ignites a national panic. The attacks prompt the government to issue an order directing Vietnamese Americans, including two of the four cousins and their mothers, to internment camps.
Audition
A middle-aged actress forms an ambiguous relationship with a younger man before a monumental shift halfway through the book. Are they lovers, co-workers or family members — who's to say?
Fish Tales
Drugs, sex and parties abound in this novel, which was Toni Morrison's last acquisition as an editor and originally published in 1983. Lewis Jones, a young Black woman, bounces between Detroit and New York, drifting through relationships and seeking a freedom that constantly eludes her.
Vanishing World
In this dystopian novel, sex between married couples is as taboo as incest, and society is populated by artificial insemination. As a child, Amane learns she was conceived the old-fashioned way. This discovery kindles a lifelong conflict between her desire to conform to society's expectations — or pursue what she actually wants.
Great Big Beautiful Life
Alice and Hayden, both writers, are hired to spend a month on an island to compete for the chance to write the exclusive biography of Margaret Ives, a former tabloid princess turned reclusive octogenarian. But what begins as a friendly rivalry soon turns into something far more intense.
The Staircase in the Woods
Five high school students on a camping trip discover a mysterious staircase leading nowhere. When one friend climbs up and vanishes, the staircase disappears. Twenty years later, the staircase reappears, prompting the group to reunite, return to the woods and find their lost friend.
My Name Is Emilia del Valle
Allende's latest follows Emilia, a woman born in 1860s San Francisco to an Irish nun and a Chilean aristocrat, who grows up to be an independent, self-sufficient journalist. When an opportunity arises to cover a civil war in Chile with another reporter, Emilia must confront her desires, her estranged relationship with her father and the violence brewing in his country.
The Emperor of Gladness
This new novel by the author 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous' traces the profound relationship between a Vietnamese man and a widow in a fictional Connecticut town. Hai, the young man, is about to leap into a river when he is stopped by the sound of a woman wailing. Hai becomes the caretaker for the widowed woman, Grazina, who is grappling with dementia, and whose struggles help him choose another path.
Sleep
Margaret, a recently divorced mother of two daughters, has yet to confront some ugly truths from her childhood. As one of her daughters approaches the age Margaret was when she faced her dark adolescent chapter, Margaret balances her past with her roles as a mother and a daughter.
Heart, Be at Peace
Told in interconnecting stories, this book paints a gentle portrait of a small Irish village recovering from economic collapse. Hope has returned to the town with new jobs and a sense of peace, but beneath the surface, old grudges and new threats stir.
Spent
In this new graphic work of autofiction, Bechdel, the author of 'Fun Home,' channels her existential dread through a character named Alison, a cartoonist in charge of a pygmy goat sanctuary who's living in a world ravaged by climate change and a country on the brink of civil war.
Harmattan Season
Boubacar, a veteran private eye, just wants peace. But Boubacar finds himself plunged into the shadows of a city teetering on violence after a bleeding woman arrives at his door and disappears just as suddenly. As tensions rise, Boubacar must confront his past and decide how much he's willing to sacrifice.
The South
After his grandfather's death, Jay travels to a deteriorating farm that his family inherited. As decay overtakes the property, Jay becomes enthralled with Chuan, the son of the farm's manager. Their connection deepens amid the tense family dynamics inside the house, where secrets and regrets begin to surface.