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How do you feel about posthumously released books?
I ask because there’s a new collection of stories and essays by Harper Lee out now, titled The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays. It comes nine years after the author’s death. I must admit that I had never given posthumously published books much thought until I saw how upset a close friend of mine was about the release of Go Set a Watchman in 2015. My friend was an English major, and Harper Lee was one of her favorite authors—she’d even named her Goldendoodle after Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. She strongly felt that it was wrong to publish a work without the author’s consent. Books coming out well after an author has died is nothing new, as Steph Auteri writes, but ever since I saw my friend’s reaction to Harper Lee’s early draft being fully published, my view of them has changed.
I will say, though, that I have not seen any controversy surrounding Lee’s latest release, as it seems the essays and stories were finished.
Now for books published by the living!
New Books
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Austenites will appreciate Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen by Kate Evans, while lovers of magical schools will vibe with Red Threads by Ila Nguyen-Hayama. Another YA book out this week, this time a contemporary dark academia, is Balancing Act by Paula Chase.
As for the books below, there is a lot ot fantasy to be had. There’s a tale of time travel and a heroic lady knight by a bestselling author, a surreal story of child imprisonment, and even a retelling of Cinderella steeped in Chinese fairy tales.
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The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
The Devil Is a Southpaw by Brandon Hobson
From the author of The Removed comes an at times surreal story of child imprisonment. When he was a teenager in the ’80s, Milton Muleborn was locked up with someone he has envied ever since: the handsome and talented Cherokee artist Matthew Echota. This story within a story outlines the details of Milton’s jealousy, family secrets, institutional violence, and even Matthew’s escape from the dangerous juvenile detention center where they were being incarcerated. This is ambitious, trippy, and very messy.
🎧 Listen to Liberty talk about this title on today’s episode of All The Books!
Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan
Living in the Iron Mountains is anything but easy, so when Yining loses her beloved uncle, she’s worried about how she’ll survive. She’s survived so far through lying and theft, which is where she’ll continue to work as she figures things out.
So when she steals a ring that promises her a bright future, it’s not long before Yining’s step-aunt steals it, forcing Yining to head into the heart of the kingdom to get it back.
Yining catches the attention of the prince when she’s in the kingdom, and she’s especially taken with his promise of a life within the palace that would change her entire future. But this promise isn’t what it seems, and now she’s trapped inside. She’ll find solace in an unlikely rival, though it won’t be for long. It’ll be up to Yining to unravel the secrets of her past and their ties to the palace to find safety…and maybe even a meaningful future and romance.
This is the first in a new series steeped in Chinese fairy tales. — Kelly Jensen
Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America by Irin Carmon
The award-winning author of Notorious RBG takes a look at the issue with maternity in America. Carmon was eight months pregnant when Roe v. Wade was overturned, and here, she follows five pregnant women who are navigating the mess that is the health care America gives to its pregnant women.
The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell
In a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps in 1935, Eva and Max are young people in love, healing from great traumas. And in London in 2015, a reclusive woman meets a charming old man, and upon shaking his hand, gets the feeling she has met him somewhere, sometime, before. — Liberty Hardy
Tall Is Her Body by Robert De La Chevotiere
Here, colonialism and traditional African and indigenous American spirituality all converge on one boy after he is met with disaster. After Fidel’s mother receives an omen, his young life is changed forever. He is shuffled back to his mother’s native Dominica, away from the natural splendor of Guadeloupe. His grandmother loves him, his aunt hates him, but perhaps more importantly, the violence he’s seen taints him and those around him.
More New Releases Mentioned Today on All The Books! Podcast:
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
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