April 2024’s Must-Read Book Releases

In Marissa Higgins’ engrossing and unsettling debut novel, a young attorney pursues an emotionally intense relationship with a married lesbian couple as she secretly grapples with her parents’ recent incarceration over a crime of neglect.

There’s a reason why U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo calls Tayi Tibble “one of the most startling and original poets of her generation.” The Māori writer’s sophomore collection of poetry is nothing short of gripping and fearless. And if that wasn’t enticing enough, Tibble also counts Lorde as one of her biggest fans.

In Scarlett Thomas’ suspenseful and darkly funny new novel, newlyweds Evelyn and Richard embark on their honeymoon-turned-nightmare on a remote Greek island as a storm looms. Expect a melding of Patricia Highsmith-level edge with the raised eyebrow of The White Lotus.

When the quiet and apolitical Minnow finds herself at the center of a public scandal in her small town, she flees to a teaching position in Paris. That’s there she meets Charles, a radical activist at odds with his powerful family — and unknowingly almost repeats a secret tragedy from her family’s past. There's Going to Be Trouble intertwines stories of the late-‘60s student movements and the tumult of the modern world for a novel that pulsates with suspense and heart.

Anyone who’s ever been trapped in their own head can find solace in Amanda Montell’s latest work, a delightful blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores the modern information age, our brain’s overloaded coping mechanisms, and societal irrationality.

Suzanne Scanlon examines the tradition of women whose stories of self-actualization are reduced to madwoman narratives in this transporting and honest memoir about recovery and transcendence. Inside, you’ll find the works of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Audre Lorde, and more.

As varied and unique as the artist himself, this landmark publication amasses a collection of visual ephemera found in Arthur Russell’s New York Public Library archive, from handwritten scores to drawings to lyrics. It also includes interviews with Russel’s collaborators and friends to paint a new, defining portrait of the late music pioneer.

In Justin Taylor’s daring Hollywood satire, washed-up actor David Crader has never felt further from his life as a teen heartthrob. After only landing roles as a deadbeat dad or recovering alcoholic, his former co-star — and ex-wife — brings him back to Los Angeles for a reboot of the show. It’s a chance for a new life, but soon, David realizes his new gig could be the final straw that sends on-edge country into the fight of its life.

Following 2023’s quickie — a poetry and photography project about voyeurism, desire, and neuroses — publisher Far West is releasing NDA, an intimate collection of poems. By writer and filmmaker Lily Lady, NDA charts safe words in New York City, Los Angeles alleys, and the many cross-country flights in between.

In the wake of predecessors like Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, a rising folk singer navigates love and life amid newfound stardom in Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley’s engrossing ‘70s coming-of-age novel.

In working-class Dublin in the ‘80s, teen delinquents Juno and “Legs” only have each other. As they defiantly fight for a better life, the pair begin to navigate a political and confusing adult world with honesty and intuition for a novel that highlights the power of bravery and coming into your own.

In Geoffrey Mak’s memoir-in-essays Mean Boys, the titular mean boys — be they artists, musicians, or meme-account admins — are considered an emblem of our volatile, image-obsessed society. Tracing his own experiences as the gay son of an Evangelical minister to the dark rooms of Berlin’s techno clubs, Mak investigates art and desire, transgression and forgiveness, and ultimately, the value of connection in a sick world.