The best new books out this week
  Hello, book lovers! Each week, dozens of new releases hit the shelves. These are our favorites. ❤️📚 –The BuzzFeed Books team
Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer  Credit: gamwyn "If you love standalone fantasies with the fairy tale feel of Uprooted or Among the Beasts and Briars, I have a book for you. For centuries, a witch has harvested souls lured by siren songs into the forest, using them to feed the heartless tree and growing its, and thereby her, power. Owen is one of the souls being led into the wood, but Seren, a tree-siren daughter of the witch, breaks all the rules to save him, leading to an impossible love story amidst Seren's quest to become human." —Rachel Strolle
The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin "This intriguing Cinderella retelling extrapolates on what happens after happily ever after for Cinderella. Meditating on divorce, middle age, and finding meaning outside of marriage and children, Grushin utilizes postmodern techniques like having lengthy sections from Cinderella's mice's perspective, moving from a medieval-esque fairytale setting to contemporary NYC, and various fairy tales embedded into the characters Cinderella interacts with. Readers who enjoy the fairytale retellings of Margaret Atwood, Ann Sexton, and Kate Bernheimer will love this unique spin on a classic tale." —Margaret Kingsbury
Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert "This collection of 12 deliciously dark fairy tales set in the Hinterland tell stories of mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters haunted by jealousy, revenge, curiosity, cruel loved ones, and the brutality of a medieval patriarchal society. While the collection is built around the fictional book referenced in the The Hazel Wood and The Night Country, it can be read as a standalone and would make an excellent introduction to the series. Readers of dark fairy tale writers like Angela Carter, Holly Black, and Tanith Lee will love these stories. The beautiful illustrations by Jim Tierney make it feel like a classic fairy tale collection to put on the shelf beside the Grimm brothers.." —Margaret Kingsbury
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson  Credit: sadeqasays "Pheby Delores Brown is the daughter of an enslaved medicine woman and a white plantation owner, and her father (and enslaver) has promised her freedom as soon as she turns 18. But when Pheby's mother is killed and her father hurt in an accident, her father's wife sells her to the owner of a jail for enslaved people who have run away. Pheby must protect herself — and the children she ends up bearing — until her ex-lover arrives at the jail, prompting Pheby to hatch a plan to get her family to freedom, no matter the cost." —Kirby Beaton
Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink "Angel of Greenwood follows two teens, Angel and Isaiah, in 1921 in the days leading up to the Greenwood Massacre. Up until their English teacher offers them a job on her mobile library — a bike with three wheels and two seats — Angel and Isaiah hadn't spent much time alone together. As the days pass, they grow closer, but when May 31st arrives, and with it a vicious white mob, Angel and Isaiah will have to band together with their community as the town is destroyed and the residents are displaced." —Rachel Strolle
The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata by Gina Apostol "Gina Apostol won her second Philippine National Book Award for The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata when it originally published in 2009; now (following her 2018 novel, Insurrecto, one of our favorites of that year), Soho Press is releasing the first US edition. It's another genre-bending historical novel that blurs the line between fact and fiction, presented as the memoir of Raymundo Mata, a 19th-century revolutionary who crosses paths with famed Filipino writer and national hero José Rizal, complete with feuding annotations from a nationalist editor, a psychoanalyst, and a translator." —Arianna Rebolini
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas  Credit: epicreads "In this prequel to The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas explores the life of Starr's father, Maverick Carter, when he was just a 17-year-old kid growing up in Garden Heights. Mav thinks he has it all figured out: he has a girl, his gang friends, and a side drug hustle to make a little cash. But when he finds out he's a father, his world turns upside down. Suddenly, his Friday nights are filled with dirty diapers and chores instead of parties and football games. With his new responsibilities, Maverick must make difficult choices to balance being both a father and a teen, learning lessons about manhood along the way. Set with the backdrop of the '90s, this book is an engrossing read with captivating characters you can't help but root for." —Shyla Watson
The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson "It might be a dreary winter outside, but that just means you should warm your heart with this fantastic YA rom-com. Unfortunately, Mia hates rom-coms. Her friends, however, love them. When Mia finds herself in need of a date to her sister's wedding, her friends come up with a rom-com inspired plan to land Mia the perfect meet cute. A swoony, lighthearted you're guaranteed to love if you can't get enough of To All The Boys I've Loved Before." —Farrah Penn
Find Me in Havana by Serena Burdick "In the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution, rising star Estelita is discovered in a Havana nightclub and invited to live out her dream of singing in America. There she falls in love, but she's forced to flee to Hollywood with her daughter, Nina, when the relationship turns toxic. Thirty years later, Nina is reeling from her mother's death and decides to investigate her tumultuous past. Based on true events and interviews with the real Nina, this story weaves a heartbreaking tale of fame, loss, and an unbreakable bond between mother and daughter." —Kirby Beaton
W-3 by Bette Howland  Credit: Arianna Rebolini "The resurgence of the late writer Bette Howland — thanks to A Public Space's 2019 release of her short story collection, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage — has been one of the most exciting literary developments in recent years. This new edition of her 1974 memoir, including a poignant introduction by Yiyun Li, is a stunner. Written during and about her stay at a Chicago hospital psychiatric ward, it's an illuminating account of mental illness, the pitfalls of psychiatric treatment, and the ad hoc communities formed within it." —Arianna Rebolini
You Have a Match by Emma Lord "You Have a Match is a Parent Trap–inspired story about two sisters who discover each other through the results of a DNA test. Abby and Savannah could not be more different. When the two secretly meet up at summer camp to discover why their parents gave Savvy up for adoption, shenanigans ensue — including a budding romance with Abby's best friend, who is also at camp for the summer. This heartwarming story is filled with rich and authentic characters and witty, hilarious dialogue that will leave you feeling like you just hung out with all your good friends. (*Note: Emma Lord is a Market Editor at Buzzfeed.)" —Farrah Penn
To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi "Based on a real 19th-century Lutheran preacher, Laestadius, To Cook a Bear focuses on his relationship with Jussi, a young runaway turned son. When a string of attacks — chalked up to bears and accidents — hits their village in northern Sweden, the pair set out to find the real culprit. But their investigation doesn't sit well with everyone, and danger lurks around every corner as the duo try to solve the mystery before they're next." —Kirby Beaton
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire  Credit: tordotcom "Although this is the sixth book in the Wayward Children novella series, new readers can still start here — it tells a standalone story featuring brand new characters. When Regan flees school after revealing she's intersex to her best friend — who reacts by mocking her — Regan finds a door where no door has ever been before. She steps through it and discovers Hoofland, a world full of centaurs and unicorns and the perfect place for a horse girl such as Regan — but not all is safe in this new world, and despite the centaur friends she makes, Regan misses her parents. Humans can only visit Hoofland when it's in danger, and Regan is a valuable commodity to the competing hooved creatures that live there. This lovely novella may be quieter than the previous books in the series, but it still packs an emotional punch." —Margaret Kingsbury
The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth "In a steampunk version of Victorian England, aristocrat Miss Constance Haltwhistle secretly sells her invented weapons under the title of the "Brass Queen." Threatened with losing her estate if she doesn't marry, Constance throws herself a debutante ball. But when her homemade robotic waiters go rogue and kidnap three scientists, she must team up with a handsome but annoying American cowboy to get them back." —Kirby Beaton
Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne "Browne pens a stunningly-told coming-of-age novel-in-verse about one girl's journey to self-discovery while navigating a tumultuous friendship that's falling apart. The lyrical prose captivates the emotional struggle of trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in. If you're a fan of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds (who blurbed it!) you don't want to miss this one." —Farrah Penn
The Frozen Crown by Greta Kelly "Princess Askia is the heir to the Frozen Crown of Seravesh, but Seravesh is under attack by the emperor of the Roven Empire, who uses brutal methods as he conquers countries one by one. She and a small contingent of her military travel to the prosperous Southern country Vishir to beg for military aid in reclaiming her northern kingdom, but Askia is unpracticed in political maneuvering. The Vishir nobility views her as a savage. Moreover, Askia has a secret that puts her in danger at the Vishir court: She's a death witch and can see ghosts. Her parents were put to death in Vishir when she was a child because they were witches, so her secret is deadly. This first book in a duology expertly combines classic fantasy tropes of political intrigue with dashes of romance, sword fights, and magic training, plus solid character development and feminist themes. It's a fun and action-packed read." —Margaret Kingsbury
Now in paperback: Little Gods by Meng Jin: A woman gives birth at a hospital in Beijing on the same day as the Tiananmen Square protests. Amid the carnage, her husband (presumably the baby's father) seems to disappear. Who the woman is, where the father is taken, and who the child becomes are all at the heart of this quietly unfolding mystery in this buzzy debut novel.
Everywhere You Don't Belong by Gabriel Bump: Young Claude McKay Love has a history of abandonment — his parents left him to be raised by his grandmother in Chicago's South Side; his friendships and potential romantic connections just seem to fade away. After local police kill a young boy, the ensuing riot wreaks havoc on Claude's life; when he travels to Missouri for college, he hopes to leave the trauma behind. But, of course, the past has a way of following you — and Claude's story is a bighearted coming-of-age, a reckoning with everything he can't abandon.
So We Can Glow by Leesa Cross-Smith: In 42 (!) stories, Cross-Smith examines — and delights in — female obsession and desire. There's the grocery store love connection, the teens sneaking out to make out, the therapeutic effect of fantasy lives, and much, much more, many nodding to the complicated, indelible bonds between women.
Cleanness by Garth Greenwell: Hewing closely both in tone and theme to Greenwell's first novel, What Belongs to You, his second book picks up where the first left off. The narrator, an unnamed American who teaches English in Sofia, Bulgaria, recounts various interactions he has had with former students, lovers, and friends. Each chapter reads like a compelling short story, and Greenwell's writing about sex in particular is at turns erotic, chilling, thought-provoking, and just so artfully done. If you enjoyed his first book, you'll love this gorgeous, evocative follow-up.
The Resisters by Gish Jen: "When AutoAmerica rejoins the Olympics with the goal of defeating ChinRussia, Gwen — who is "Blasian" (of Black and Asian ethnicity), has a golden arm, and has developed into a great pitcher in an underground baseball league formed by her parents — suddenly finds herself a top recruit. And under the omnipresent, watchful and witty eye of Aunt Nettie, Gwen is on the verge of delivering on her promise. But at what cost?" (Paul Swydan, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore)
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