When I’m unfamiliar with an author, I usually rely on reviews, recommendations from friends and book cover appeals to help me choose first novels by a authors, young and old. This posting lists a dozen recently released debut novels. If truth be told, these readings were hit and miss. for me. I liked some more than others and only in a few cases would I seek further publications by certain authors. I don’t usually do this but I’ve decided to give star ratings to these pieces of fiction.
THE ARTIST by Lucy Steeds / 2025
> Waterstones Book of the Year / Waterstone’s debut fiction prize <
The Setting: Province, France, Summer, 1920 .. An artist’s residence
The Characters: Joseph: a journalist from Britain who has come to write a profile about the artist,
Edouard Tartuffe: a reclusive artist of renowned, known for being the ‘master of light’
Ette: The artist’s niece who has been living with him, after her mother abandoned her
The Story: Joseph is eager to prepare an article(s) for an arts publication but is up against a cantankerous, sometimes volatile artist who is reluctant to reveal any secrets. Joseph ends up sitting as a model for Tata’s painting ‘ Young Man with Orange’. When the painting is finished, Joseph is pleased to be given permission to stay on where he ends up falling in love with Ette. Ette is totally obedient to her uncle, cooking, cleaning and preparing all his artist tools. Ette has dreams of her own about becoming an artist but feels obligated to stay with the demanding, domineering Tats. And besides, being an artist is not part of a woman’s world. When a romance with Joseph unfolds, Ette wonders if she is forever trapped to serve her uncle. Her secrets and mysterious behaviours add tension and intrigue to Ette’s life and her future.
Style: This was a compelling read. Lucy Steeds knows the French rural countryside well. She expertly paints a picture of an artist’s painting pictures. The book is presented in alternative voices of Joseph and Ette. Steeds vividly portrays the lives and secrets and passions of each of her characters along with digging into the pasts that haunts them. I was transported into the the sun-drenched atmosphere, the dedicated creative process, the intriguing mystery , and the yearning love found within The Artist. 4 stars
Excerpts
“Voices, voices, voices. And Tata, he is laughing. He is growling. One eye is mirthful, he other angry. He is the god of light and shade and at this moment he is everything wrapped up in one., Fury. Passiob. Madness. Ecstasy.” (p, 186)
>>>>>
“Why did you come? she whispers, and she is so close he can feel her breath on hgis skin.
Joseph finds the answer on the tip of his tongue without even realizing ir was there. “To feel alive,” he says. (p. 197-198)
BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan / 2025
This novel was on many 2025 top ten lists. It was recommended to me by a friend and I’m glad to have read it. Ryan seems to belong to the school of Elizabeth Strout, beautifully observing and capturing the day to day events of characters as well as capturing the connections and feelings of these characters. The setting of a small town in Ohio provides a backdrop of American history. The narrative spans five decades and is centred on two couples and their sons whose lives intersect. Secrets and lies and the ripple effect of having an affair drive the narrative forward. “That, as he saw it now, was his life’s work: trying to make right what he’d gotten wrong. Wasn’t that a fair measure of a person, what they did with their mistakes?” Seances, a homosexual affair, abandonment, war, PTSD, confessions are some of the ingredients that comprise this sweeping story of love, loyalty and sacrifice. Buckeye was a wonderful debut novel achievement and I look forward to reading other fiction by Patrick Ryan, hopefully a bit shorter than this book! 4 stars
THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans * / 2025
When is the last time you wrote someone a letter? When was the last time you received a letter from someone? (Let’s not count email correspondents.) Throughout her life, Sybil Van Antwerpt has been dedicated to writing letterrs to friends, families, neighbours, authors, businesses etc. and this book is written as a series of Sybil’s letters (and yes, emails). Sybil , now in her sevenies, is living alone in Annapolis, Maryland and her letter writing provides her with the opportunity e to complain to the Dean of a college, to help a troubled young teenager deal with his mental health, reflect on a challenging relationship with her estranged daughter, learn some truths through DNA testing, recount her current romantic experiences and sometime helping others to cope with their life circumstances and carry on. Most of all, Sybil is haunted by memories of significant mistakes that riddles her with guilt and she can’t seem to let go of. Virginia Evans gives us an unforgettable character whose secrets and opinions and worries we get to know through beautiful writing (Evans and Antwerpt). Her letters reveal Sybil to be a smart, kind, cranky, and honest character. The letters we write are often meant to be private but this epistolary novel invites readers into the world of an opinionated senior citizen who looks back on her life, attempts to repair wrongdoings and confronts regrets, dreams and the reality of getting older (and losing her eyesight). Virginia Evans and Sybil Van Antwerp invite us to consider the relationships in our lives and think about the small and large things, the could have been, should have been events that are part of our life journeys. I highly recommend this novel. It’s wonderful! 5 stars
THE CURE FOR DROWNING by Loghan Paylor / 2024
Loghan Paylor is a Canadian queer, trans author and their debut novel The Cure for Drowning was longlisted for the Giller Prize in 2024 and in 2026 it was notable honoured with the 2026 CBC Canada reads competition. In Part One, the story begins in 1931 in a farm area near Orangeville Ontario and much of the narration comes to take place during World War II, until we return to the Ontario farm in the late 1940’s. Kathleen/ Kit Macnair has been a changeling since she was ten years old and enjoys a daredevil life wearing boys clostes, much to the chagrin of her mother. Kit falls in love with Rebekah a beautiful girl who lives to town withe her parents. However, Kit’s older brother Landon also is enamoured by Rebekah and a love triangle ends up tearing the McNair family apart. In Part II of the novel, Kit (Now Christopher) , Rebekah (naval intelligence) and Landon (Navy).each play their part in the war. Paylor does a fine job of describing the development and tensions of wartime. In Part III, we return to the farm where Rebekah hopes to find peace and love. I admired the construct of the book told in alternates voices of Kit and Rebekah. I was, however, somewhat disappointed in the journey of Kit as a non-binary character. As Christopher, we get little insights of them and what it means for someone to assume a different gender identity. Curious, too, is in the later part of the book, the “they/ their” pronouns are used when speaking of Kit and this seemed to be an unbelievable conceit. The element of magic realism also mystified me though it made for some appealing storytelling, particularly in the retelling of the Selkie story. For me, this was a well-told love triangle story, a good example of WW II historical fiction but overall a disappointment in digging deep into queer love. 3 stars
THE HILL by Harriet Clark/ 2026
From the reviews, and the book jacket, I was intrigued to read this novel. I like coming of age stories. The story of a girl visiting her mother in a hilltop prison each week was an interesting premise, I thought, to present a narrative of mother-daughter relationships, past and present. The fact that this story was drawn from the author’s own experiences with her inprisoned mother was certain to bring some authenticity to the novel. A quirky relationship wih a yiddish grandmother was another appeal. However, this book did not hold its promise for me and I would say. alas, it was one of the most unsatisfying debuts I recently encountered. The book is divided into three part. Part One was rather a slog for me and I put it the book aside only to return to it a couple of weeks later but I continued to be bored (Except for a few quirky bits about the grandmother’s behaviour) and gave myself permission to abandon the book after 200 of its 271 pages. I did skip to the last dozen pages which didn’t change my mind. I didn’t much care for the characters and found the telling of events to be fractured as the book went along. I expected to be more emotionally involved with a story about daughter, mother and grandmother (who refused to visit her daughter in prison. The Hill was not the book I expected to be and hoped to be. No tremcommended! 2 stars.
JEAN by Madeleine Dunnigan / 2026
The cover of this book caught my attention in the book store: A black and white photo of a rather attractive adolescent boy in a somewhat twisted position, lying on. beach. The opening sentence of the book jacket told me that Jean was a seventeen year old Jewish boy. The setting is 1970’s London, a boarding school for boys with problems. He is described as dyslexic, antisocial and prone. At the school he is infatuated with Tom a confident charmer. This is a coming of age story that Ii thought would appeal to me, but alas it was a disappointment. I found this to be quite boring and would have put it aside but at only 212 pages I decided to persevere. The story just didn’t build. The fact that Jean was a ‘Yid’ was neither here nor there. His sexuality was also seemed to be a taken for granted issue and I found myself not caring what was happening to the boy (not much I’d say, except for the fact that he smokes a lot of drugs). To be honest, I’d say leave the coming of age stories to the YA novelists. And though I’m hesitant to see this, I’d point out Madeline Dunnigan is straight didn’t help me much. Her prose style is confident, but, except for a few incidents from Jean’s past, not that interesting. For me, this was not an auspicious debut. I guess you can’t always judge a book by its cover. 2 stars
MAZELTOV by Eli Zozovksy / 2025
The cover of this debut novel captured my attention on a recent visit to a book store. The title intrigued. The book blurb motivated me into buying this book about Jewish boy confronting his sexuality as about to have his bar mitzvah. The jacket description suggested that this would be a novel i’d enjoy: An adolescent character, a Jewish family, a chorus of different voices, the threat of war, ‘queer lust’ and a book less than 200 pages. I only got to 100 pages. In recent years, I’ve given myself permission to abandon books and I though 100 pages would be a fair chance. We are told about Adam Weismann’s life from different perspectives but even at reaching half the book presented in short story manner, I didn’t get to know this young adolescent and found only glimpses of the narrative promised in the book blurb. A disappointment. Oh well! 2 stars
PICK A COLOUR by Souvankham Thammavonsa / 2025 > GILLER PRIZE <
This story takes place during a single summer day in a nail salon named Susan. Anyone who has gotten a mani-pedi at any salon anywhere will know the atmosphere, the customers, the manicurists, the procedures, the conversations (in English or otherwise) described in this novel. Each of the employees (each with the name tag, ‘Susan’) buff and clip and polish and tweeze as they listen to stories and complaints about husbands having affairs, online dating, taking care of children. Ning runs Susans with precision and acute observation (“I want to know, then realize there are some things I don’t need to know. I was there. I saw it all” (p. 165). As a retired boxer, Ning brings stamina and resilience to the workplace. Gossip abounds throughout the day, much of which is in a language that customers don’t know. A short novel (180 pages) Pick a Colour brings strong insight into the life of an immigrant and the complexity of power dynamics. 3 stars
THE READING LIST by Sara Nisha Adams / 2021
I often introduce the literature courses I teach with an activity that invites participants to list any book titles that have been important to them in their lives. I have a handout entitled ‘The Book Shelf of My Life” where people are invited to record books – of any genre – that they would consider to be significant. What picture books, novels, poetry, nonfiction academic titles would be on your list?
The Reading List is a wonderful heartwarming story about how books come into our lives and give significance to our lives. The book is centred on Mukesh, a widower, who leads a quiet life in West London. He his bereft after the passing of his dear wife and regrets not having participated in her life as a reader. His three daughters are hoping that he will ‘move on’ and gain some independence in his life. Hoping to forge a relationship with his granddaughter who is an avid reader, Mukesh makes visit to the library and connects with Aleisha a somewhat troubled teenager who is working at the library for the summer. Aleisha’s life is rather stressful. She is no longer part of the social circle she once was and She and her brother Aidan need to balance their schedules in order to take care of their mother who is experiencing mental health issues. At the centre of the book is a mysterious list of novels that spurs Aleisha to investigate and read. The books offer Aleisha comfort and connections which she passes on to Mukesh. (“The books fill the space where there had once been silence.” The reading list circulates amongst others in the community and each comes to discover how books can help to provide reflection, comfort and joy. (“Please try to remember that books aren’t always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world: they don’t hide it.” (p, 319); “Books alway change as the person who reads them changes too.” (p 325)
In his debut novel, Sara Nisha Adams celebrates the magic and power of reading fiction for both readers who consider themselves to be avid readers and for those who may grow into the reading habit. You might know (have read) the books on the list but Adams does a fine job of providing a synopsis of the book and capturing the significance of the theme to those who choose to read the books. The Reading List may inspire readers to check out some of those titles, or consider their own personal lists to share with others. This book was recommended to me by a good friend. Isn’t it great to have good books recommended to you by good friends. Isn’t it great to read a good book about good books and those who love to read? 4 stars
The Reading List that frames this story features the following titles “Just in case you need it.”
To Kill A Mockingbird
Rebecca
The Kite Runner
Life of Pi
Pride and Prejudice
Little Women
Beloved
A Suitable Boy
SHE WHO REMAINS by Rene Karabash / 2018 / 2026 (translation)
The opening words to this novel are “Sworn Virgin”. Seventeen year old Bekija, living in a village high in the Mountains of Bulgaria which is ruled by the ancient laws of the Kanun (an ancinet and strict patriarchal code of honor and revenge). Bekija escapes an arranged marriage, by swearing toa virgin, renouncing her womanhood and live as a man. This Balkan tale of gender, law and survival and shattered family, first published in 2018, was shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize. The story unravels in nonlinear fashion and it is often challenging to figure out what is happening, what is real, what is a dream. what is past, what is present. The poetic style of writing also tended to slow down my reading. She Who Remains bravely explores what it means to be a omen in a world defined by violence and archaic traditions. 2 1/2 stars
MIDDLE YEARS: 2 picture book authors publish their debut novels
THE INCREDIBLY HUMAN HENSON BLAZE by Derrick Barnes / 2025
Henson Blaze is the hero of Great Mountain Mississippi and in the first 100 pagess or so we learn how much he is admired and respected by the whitefolk citizens. After all, thirteen-year old Henson is a star football player and his prospects to play on he high school team are celebrated. When the narrative takes us to the season’s opening game where everyone cheers on the talented Henson, the young teenager learns of a horrific incident that involved police brutality over a young black boy who was a loyal friend to Henson. Henson is forced to make a decision: Football fame or fighting justice. While deciding to withdraw from the sport, the town is emphatically divided in their support.Henson’s father, a leader in the community helps his son think about his destiny and consider that greatness can mean different thing. Also, the inclusion of heritage stories about experiences from the past that appear throughout the book provide some meaningful contexts about the Black Experience and Anti-Black experiences. Derrick Barnes tells a powerful story centred on a black ‘stars’ being responsible for the entertainment of others. (“This is a story about – along with other pertinent themes – America’s strange obsession with the Black body: for labor and entertainment” (author’s note, p. xi). The Incredibly Human Henson Blaze is more than a novel about community, self-discovery and pursuing dreams. It is a tale of “boyhood, manhood, sonhood and fatherhood and the blues.” (Sabaa Tahir). Derrick Barnes s picture books (Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut and I Am Every Good Thing) are rich tributes to the Black experience. Derrick Barnes you too are a hero. 4 atars
from the Author’s Note (p. xiv)
“Don’t force yourself to fit neatly and quietly into the perception of those who do not have your best interests at hear, in their narrow-minded definition of who they think you are supposed to be. Be who you want to be…Hopefully, Henson will live with you for a long time, and will motivate you to never stop growing, changing and being the best version of yourself every single day for the rest of your beautiful lives.”
A POTION, A POWDER, A LITTLE BIT OF MAGIC or LIKE LIGHTNING IN AN UMBRELLA STORY: A story out of order by Philip Stead / 2026
The jacket blurb helps to conveniently summarize what this novel is about: “It is a tale of precisely twent-four goats and how they became free of heir tiresome burden. It is a tale of a twelve-year old goatkeeper on a quest to save the life of her greatest friend . It is a tale of bravery. It is a tale of luck. It is a tale out of order – a tale whose first chapter is lost insdie the noggin of a once-extraordinary magician, in accessible not only to him, butto the author as weell. We can only hope it will be revealed in time.”
Yes, the chapters are out of order (that didn’t bother me too much since each chapter was filled with adventure and wit), Yes, there are twenty-four goats (one of them a three-legged goat), who together are given the burden of being the foundation upholding the king’s castle. An old tree, that grants wishes transforms itself into a wheelbarrow. The Forest of Disappointment, The Mountain of Regret, a tollbooth, swamps, vultures, alligators, sea creatures all play a part in young Bernadette the Brave’s quest to capture her turtle (named Perseverance) before it is turned into a meal for the king. Latin phrases are spread throughout (e..g., ‘Omni mea culpa’ (It’s all my fault); ‘In media res’ (In the middle of things); ‘Finis Felix’ (a happy ending); Morals abound: “Most stories have only one moral.Some have none at all. This story has several – twenty-four to be exact” (p. 24) . Throughout the book, the author sits in hut in mountain wonders what he could write, should write to be helpful and specific (“When writing a story it is important to be specific. Otherwise, the reader will have no choice but to address any lack of specificity with their own imaginations. This can lead o disastrous results.” (p. 129). Yes, author meets his own disastrous adventure. A Potion, A powder, A Little Bit of Magic or Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm: a story out of order, stands on the shoulders of The Phantom Tollbooth (Norman Juster), A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears (Jules Feiffer) And A Series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket) and anything by David Walliams. I myself got somewhat bogged down by all that happened from story that jumped from page to page, paragraph to paragraph but I sort of hung in there. Philip Stead’s black and white illustrations are sublime (I probably would have liked some more full-page images throughout). For those seeking something completely different, daring, whacky, puzzling, super-imaginative, mind-boggling and funny you’re in for a unique reading adventure. 4 stars
Some morals:
There is no use paddling in a river that cannot decide which way it is going.
Imprecise wishes lead to imprecise results.
Never hold your umbrella aloft in a lightning storm
It is never lucky to be unkind.
It is better to do one thing well than two things poorly.