The Best New Book Releases Out September 17, 2024

A new Alexis Henderson for fall always bodes well, and An Academy for Liars is an especially fall-friendly dark academia novel that has a synopsis that kind of reminds me of Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko and Sergey Dyachenko (which I loved). In it, Lennon Carter is invited to take the entrance exam for the mysterious Drayton College because of her innate gift of persuasion—which can be used on people and matter alike. Once she passes the test and gains entry to the school, she finds that she loves her studies and the moss-covered campus. Her alluring adviser, Dante, is kind of enjoyable, too. The history of the college itself, though? Unnerving. As is her mentor’s connection to it.

Nemonte Nenquimo had a traditional Waorani tribe childhood in Ecuador—she foraged and was taught about plant medicine and shamanism. After she goes to study with an evangelical missionary group, dreams of her ancestors send her back to the forest, and she becomes one of the foremost voices in climate change activism in the world. With We Will Be Jaguars, she tells the true story of her people.

Novik is a fantasy writer I keep meaning to get into, but just haven’t yet. If you’ve been curious about the bestselling author too, these 13 stories set in the worlds of her novels could give you a good sample of her writing before you commit to an entire book. Through them, we encounter dragon-filled worlds and gothic halls, and go from ancient Greece to Rome, Medieval times through to the Black Death and into the modern era. Characters turn pirate, captain magical beasts, and even leave marriages to pick up swords. There are also some familiar names that make appearances, like Mark Anthony, Elizabeth Bennet, and Sherlock Holmes. Suffice to say, there is a lot going on. Novik, I was not aware of your game.

For Brooke, a 33-year-old Black woman fed up with her Bronx teaching job, working in the proximity of wealth proves to be life-altering. When she takes on a new job working for an 80-something-year-old billionaire, it starts to inspire new ideas in her. Mainly that maybe she should have some of the money he’s trying to give away. She wants it for herself, yes, a little—who wouldn’t want designer clothes and bougie meals—but she also has helping others in mind. Except that her decision-making starts to go a little off the rails. Roxane Gay said, “The way I read the last two thirds of this novel through my fingers, cringing!!!!”

I love a good, messy tale of an unraveling woman.

My older brother got me into gaming years and years ago, back when me telling people I played a PS2 had them doing bombastic double backs. Thing is, even with how far gaming has come since then—Did talks about how it will be a $0.5 trillion industry come 2027—some people are still getting whiplash when they encounter female gamers (and other marginalized gamers, as Gamergate revealed). Here, she gets into everything Gamer World—from how video game events are watched by more people than NBA games, to how the US military uses gaming to train soldiers, to how games can change the world for the better if we let them.

Looking at this cover, you already know it’s going to be a kii. In it, Rex Araneta hears about Aaron Berry’s failing karaoke bar and decides to step in. Now, Aaron was Rex’s college boo thang back in the day, and Rex always felt like he was the one that got away. But Rex’s methods of helping are a little secretive—he decides to whip out the mega wigs and contour and become his internet-famous drag queen alter ego, Regina. Regina is That Girl at the bar, and the ruse seems to be helping, but no one knows it’s Rex underneath it all. And him revealing the truth—to himself and to Aaron—may be what he needs for a happily ever after.