Library Journal’s Top Fall Debut Picks

Now that Fall is right around the corner, check out what forthcoming debut novels the Library Journal editors are excited about!

THE MAKE-UP TEST by Jenny L. Howe
9781250837868 | 9/13/22

ONE TO WATCH meets BEACH READ in this smart, swoony debut in which two exes find themselves battling against each other—and their unresolved feelings—for a spot in a prestigious Ph.D. program… THE MAKE-UP TEST embraces the truth that people can sometimes change and grow, even when you least expect it.

THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING THINGS by Aanchal Malhotra
9781250802026 | 12/27/22

Lush, sensuous, and deeply romantic, THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING THINGS is the story of two lovers and two nations, split apart by forces beyond their control, yet bound by love and memory. Filled with exquisite descriptions of perfume and calligraphy, spanning continents and generations, Aanchal Malhotra’s debut novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

THE RESEMBLANCE by Lauren Nossett
9781250843241 | 11/8/22

Lauren Nossett’s artfully written debut, THE RESEMBLANCE, is an exhilarating, atmospheric campus thriller reminiscent of THE SECRET HISTORY and THE LIKENESS. On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene…but in the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university’s most elite and connected students.

WHITE HORSE by Erika. T Wurth
9781250847652 | 11/1/22

Heavy metal, ripped jeans, Stephen King novels, and the occasional beer at the White Horse have defined urban Indian Kari James’s life so far. But when her cousin Debby finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, it inadvertently calls up both her mother’s ghost and a monstrous entity, and her willful ignorance about her past is no longer sustainable.