Debut novels top the list of new books…
Fiction
1. Maame by Jessica George is published in hardback by Hodder & Stoughton. Available now
It's very telling how much love the cover of #Maame is receiving considering you haven't even seen all its extra features yet! But until then, such a huge thanks to @iamsaintrose & @TheMJAP & all at @HodderBooks for creating my dream cover ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Lf0NDaIuJo
— Jessica George (@JessGeorge_) June 20, 2022
Maame is an exciting and emotionally charged debut from London-based author Jessica George. Set in the capital, it follows the story of 25-year-old Maddie Wright, who carries the heavy load of being her father’s carer and being the glue that holds her family unit together. It is easy to see why there was a bidding war to publish Maame, as every word is a gem and every page is a pleasure to read. You will devour it in one sitting and fall in love with Maddie’s character, as she sets out to find her way in the world via nightmare bosses, passive-aggressive flatmates, questionable men and online dating. A really heart-warming tale of redemption and self-discovery, that will appeal to anyone who loved Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams.
9/10
(Review by Lauren Gilmour)
2. Nothing Can Hurt You Now by Simone Campos, translated by Rahul Bery, is published in hardback by Pushkin Vertigo. Available now
Out today! 🔥
The page-turning Brazilian thriller from @simon3campos about a kidnapped sex worker and her sister who sets out to rescue her.
Nothing Can Hurt You Now is an unflinching exploration of the violence and oppression faced by Brazilian women.https://t.co/iSctx6io33 pic.twitter.com/eUbE3s739F— Pushkin Press (@PushkinPress) February 2, 2023
This is a debut book, but has the potential to be a series. It is a crime thriller based in Brazil, which is enthralling from the get-go. The story is based around two sisters, Lucinda and Viviana, and their intricate relationship – both with each other and many of the characters involved. Lucinda has long lived in the shadow of her model younger sister – but when Viviana goes missing and the police are indifferent, Lucinda picks up the baton to find her. Playing amateur sleuth, Lucinda learns a lot about her sister and her life – discovering she was actually a sex worker. This leads her to a lot of introspection, particularly when Lucinda reads Viviana’s files, containing all her thoughts and feelings. The story is thought-provoking, and keeps you gripped throughout.
8/10
(Review by Joanne Brennan)
3. The Dead Of Winter by Stuart MacBride is published in hardback by Bantam Press. Available February 16
Collecting a dying gangster from jail and taking him to a deserted Scottish village for the final few months of his life sounds like a run-of-the-mill job for two police officers. But the village of Glenfarach is home to criminals who are not safe to be freed even after serving their sentence, so it’s no surprise the mission turns out to be anything but ordinary for Detective Constable Edward Reekie and his boss DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter. Add in snowstorms, incompetent local policemen and a series of grisly murders in the village, and you end up with a classic crime thriller from Stuart MacBride. The shocking twists and turns of the story will keep you guessing throughout.
8/10
(Review by Alan Jones)
Non-fiction
4. Red Memory: Living, Remembering And Forgetting China’s Cultural Revolution by Tania Branigan is published in hardback by Faber & Faber. Available now
I'm proud to announce the publication of Red Memory: Living, Remembering and Forgetting China's Cultural Revolution - all about how people and societies go on when the worst has happened - by @faber 2/2/23 and in the US by @wwnorton May '23 Preorder here: https://t.co/E8roxwSKgx pic.twitter.com/n3yoCeXYvF
— tania branigan (@taniabranigan) October 3, 2022
Red Memory takes the personal tales of those on the front line of the violence of the Cultural Revolution, victims and perpetrators, and attempts to explain what that trauma means for modern China. The impact of the Cultural Revolution clearly lives on, but unlike in many other countries there has been no reckoning and the government chooses to forget, rather than remember. The stories The Guardian’s Tania Branigan tells bring home the horror of Mao’s final decade, while her meditations on memory and trauma are thought-provoking. It is hard to grasp modern China without understanding the Cultural Revolution, and this book will play an important role in illuminating the chaos.
8/10
(Review by Christopher McKeon)
Children’s book of the week
5. A Dragon Realm Adventure: World Book Day 2023 by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang is published in paperback by Simon & Schuster Children’s UK. Available February 16th
I am SO excited for @WorldBookDayUK this year! We have so many fun events planned and I can't wait for readers to discover our £1 World Book Day book A DRAGON REALM ADVENTURE! Finished copies are here and they look amazing! https://t.co/ev61XDvTZZ pic.twitter.com/SGyXaYouiA
— Katherine Webber Tsang (@kwebberwrites) February 8, 2023
Part of the Dragon Realm series by husband-and-wife authors Katie and Kevin Tsang, A Dragon Realm Adventure has twelve-year-old Billy Chan exploring a multi-realm setting alongside Spark – a dragon with whom he shares a close bond. With his friends, Billy must help retrieve a missing egg for a clan of dragons who have fallen into the Human Realm. Imagination knows no limits in this fantasy adventure. The story is an endless place for exploration and discovery, great for young readers to encourage their creative thinking. From the moment our young protagonists and their dragons face off with a temperamental scorpion, you are transported into an exciting world full of possibility, which like the Harry Potter series, demands you going back and finding out more about the story behind the story.
8/10
(Review by Christopher Henry-Reeve)
BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEB 11th
HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes
2. Weyward by Emilia Hart
3. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4. Song Of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao
5. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
6. Victory City by Salman Rushdie
7. The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths
8. The Murder Game by Tom Hindle
9. Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
10. Exiles by Jane Harper
(Compiled by Waterstones)
HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. Spare by The Duke of Sussex
2. Bored Of Lunch by Nathan Anthony
3. 8 Rules Of Love by Jay Shetty
4. Air-Fryer Cookbook by Jenny Tschiesche
5. Finding Hildasay by Christian Lewis
6. What’s For Dinner? by Sarah Rossi
7. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
8. Getting Better by Michael Rosen
9. The Story Of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel
10. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
(Compiled by Waterstones)
AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)
1. Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes
2. Spare by The Duke of Sussex
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear
4. 8 Rules Of Love by Jay Shetty
5. Exiles by Jane Harper
6. The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths
7. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith
8. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
9. The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters
10. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
(Compiled by Audible)
