The Most Anticipated Books Of June 2022

June 1

In an alternate world where North America was never colonized, an Ojibwe Peacekeeper named Chibenashi has grown up in the shadow of his mother’s murder. His father confessed to the crime — but when his mother’s best friend is killed, Chibenashi must travel to the city where his father is imprisoned to investigate. What he learns there will upend everything he knows.

June 7

Ava Wong’s picture-perfect life is falling apart: Her marriage is on the rocks, her young son is driving her nuts, and she’s starting to regret leaving her career behind. So when her college roommate, Winnie, shows up — suddenly transformed from a mousy wallflower to a Birkin-toting globetrotter — Ava welcomes the excitement. But Winnie isn’t just stopping by to catch up. She needs assistance with her massive luxury counterfeiting operation, and Ava’s just the person to help.

June 7

A young woman’s trip to the bodega turns into something greater when she begins to run into her exes, one right after the other. As she faces reminder after reminder of failed relationships past, Lola must also confront the nuances of her upcoming nuptials to an artist — and the realization that this series of meetings may have been orchestrated by her boss.

June 7

In this taut thriller from The Speed of Light author Elissa Grossell Dickey, a woman on the run from her past finds herself terrorized by an unknown force when she agrees to housesit at a lodge in rural South Dakota. Not long into her stay, she begins to receive chilling messages from a walkie-talkie hidden in the lodge. But who would want to scare her with their cries for help?

June 7

Best friends Malak, Kees, and Jenna have always had each other’s backs. The three young women have spent their lives balancing cultural expectations and their personal desires, reconciling their faith in Islam with their youthful exuberance. But one fateful night at their university could radically alter their friendship — or end it for good.

June 7

In this multigenerational novel from Sabrina & Corina author Kali Fajardo-Anstine, a Chicana fortuneteller is left alone in Denver after a lynch mob runs her big brother out of town. When she begins to have visions of life in their ancestral home — now colonized — she realizes that she alone may be responsible for preserving cultural memories.

June 7

Zyla and Kai broke up... right? The odd couple met as coworkers at a summer job, and their short-lived romance ended, just like everyone thought it would. Or at least, it appeared to end — until Zyla and Kai disappeared together on a field trip to the Poconos, taking everyone by surprise. Kristina Forest’s YA romance alternates between the couple’s past and present as it explores the couple’s heartwarming love story.

June 7

In 1985, Lore married her second husband in Mexico City... before divorcing her first husband back in Texas. Her double life came crashing down when one of her husbands murdered the other. Thirty years later, Cassie, a true-crime writer, finds she can’t shake her fascination with Lore’s story. But Cassie’s investigation turns up some details that other people, including Lore, would rather remain in the dark.

June 7

Essayist Raquel Gutiérrez makes their debut with Brown Neon, a collection that thoughtfully tackles questions of gender, sexuality, and performance.

June 7

When she catches her husband cheating, Georgina does the only thing she can think of to save her marriage: She gets her husband to agree to a swinging lifestyle. Georgina’s friends, Felix and Norah, are also opening up their marriage, but as the two couples embark on new sexual escapades, Georgina’s grand plan hits a snag. She felt a spark during her reunion with a college ex, and now she has to question what she really wants out of life.

June 7

Artist, writer, and TikTok sensation Lewis Hancox writes a letter to his teenage self — an AFAB British student who still believes he’s cisgender — in this thoughtful and hilarious graphic memoir that’s perfect for both trans adults looking back on their high-school experiences and trans and questioning teens currently navigating adolescence.

June 7

From the author of The Best Man and Pack Up the Moon comes Out of the Clear Blue Sky, a beachy new standalone about second loves and starting over. The story here centers on Lillie, whose husband unceremoniously dumps her when their son leaves for college. She’s devoted her life to helping others, but now Lillie’s the one who needs help. Thankfully, three unlikely allies — her estranged sister, her ex’s niece, and a man with whom she shares an old and intimate connection — are about to come into her life when she needs them the most.

June 7

The nine stories in Nigerian American author Arinze Ifeakandu’s collection introduce readers to the ups and downs of queer Nigerian life. Perfect for readers who loved Eloghosa Osunde’s Vagabonds!, God’s Children Are Little Broken Things is a stunning debut from Iowa alum Ifeakandu.

June 7

The first novel in a new trilogy, J.M. Miro’s Ordinary Monsters follows children from around the world — each born with a supernatural ability — as they gather together in 1880s Edinburgh, where a mysterious estate has opened its doors to help them understand their powers and destinies.

June 7

From 2018 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Leila Mottley comes Nightcrawling, a deeply affective novel about a young woman who becomes a sex worker to support both her brother — an aspiring rapper — and the abandoned 9-year-old living in the apartment next door. Inspired by a 2015 case in which more than a dozen Oakland police officers sexually exploited a teenager, Nightcrawling follows its heroine as she draws media attention in a similarly scandalous case.

June 7

When she develops a strange symptom that’s unresponsive to treatment, Marianne journeys to an experimental, New Age treatment facility in Wales to find answers. Marianne’s doctor believes the persistent streak of long, black hair growing along her spine is a trauma response, so he packs her off to Nede, where other patients are trying to work through their own strange afflictions. But all is not as it seems in Nede, and Marianne may be forced to choose between her identity and her health.

June 7

Everyone’s favorite overachiever returns to store shelves this month. Tom Perrotta’s new novel finds his ambitious heroine working as an assistant principal at a New Jersey high school. With her boss set to retire, Tracy’s angling to take the principal’s office by storm, but the rest of her life keeps getting in the way.

June 7

The third book in Katee Roberts’ contemporary Dark Olympus series finds Achilles and his lover, Patroclus, vying for a life-changing position in Olympus’ inner circle. Throwing both their hats in the ring gives the pair two chances to come out on top, but it also means double the intrigue for the enterprising duo. The winner gets Helen of Troy’s hand in marriage as part of a package deal, and Helen has the hots for both of our intrepid heroes.

June 7

Between her tenement apartment and her job as a seamstress, Viv’s day-to-day life in Prohibition-era New York is hardly glamorous. But when she’s living it up in her favorite speakeasy, sipping on illicit liquor and dominating the dance floor, that all fades away. It’s her happy place — until she discovers a dead body behind the club, and everything changes.

June 7

The highly awaited follow-up to Witches Steeped in Gold, Empress Crowned in Red finds Jazmyne and Iraya forming yet another tentative alliance to retain what they’ve gained — and facing off against a new enemy threatening their home.

June 7

Hannah Whitten’s sequel to For the Wolf centers on Red’s older sister, Neve. She’s been trapped in the Shadowlands, alongside the Old Kings — powerful enemies, once thought to be heroes. To bring an end to the Shadowlands, Neve will have to align herself with a rogue king and embark on a dangerous journey.

June 14

When a local music festival becomes the scene of three seemingly unconnected incidents — two overdoses and a disappearance — the small, coastal hamlet of Ebbing is shocked. Enter local detective Elise King, who’s back on the job after being sidelined by medical leave. She suspects the seemingly idyllic town has its secrets, and she’s determined to dig them up.

June 14

Matty and Parker, a queer married couple, think they’ll have a nice vacation when Matty’s younger sister invites the whole family to a tiny island to meet her beau... who never shows up. But that’s just the beginning of the group’s problems: When a volcano erupts, they find themselves stranded for six weeks. It’s only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.

June 14

Soccer star Britt expected to go to college on an athletic scholarship, but her dreams have recently been dashed by a career-ruining injury. In need of a new way to fund her education, Britt decides to try and win the big prize in a scavenger hunt across the UK, which is based around the real-world locations from everyone’s favorite old books. There, she meets Luke, who can’t give her any hints, but tags along for the ride anyway. As the competition heats up and sparks begin to fly, Britt must decide how much she’s willing to change her plans for the future.

June 14

Amanda Brooks has what looks like a perfect life — but she’s been carrying a dark secret for years, ever since that fateful day at summer camp. When she lets the truth slip, the fallout threatens to destroy everything she’s built.

June 14

Dracula meets Agatha Christie in this YA thriller, which follows seven young cinephiles working to make one last short film before college separates them. Their plan is to travel to a castle in an isolated corner of Romania, where they’ll shoot a Dracula retelling before heading home. Once they arrive in Romania, however, the teens find themselves fighting against an unknown evil that’s picking them off, one by one.

June 14

In her work rescuing damsels in distress from their fairytale nightmares, Zinnia Gray specializes in saving Sleeping Beauties — fitting, since she was one herself. But when an Evil Queen straight out of Snow White asks for help in avoiding her grisly fate, offering Zinnia a break from the humdrum snorers she usually deals with, how can Zinnia bring herself to say no?

June 14

Single and looking for a new start, Lizbet throws herself into her new job: running the Hotel Nantucket, a Gilded Age hotspot that’s definitely seen better days. She hopes her work will get the attention of both her new boss — a London billionaire — and a local influencer who could make (or break) the Nantucket’s future. But between a ghost who’s running amok in the halls and a staff who have plenty of their own drama, Lizbet really has her work cut out for her.

June 14

In October 2019, Jessica Nabongo made history as the first woman to visit all 195 UN-recognized countries in the world. Chock full of her own photos, Nabongo’s memoir highlights 100 of her favorite adventures, including playing dominoes in Cuba and getting waylaid in a scooter accident in Nauru.

June 14

Just when all the pieces of her life seem to have fallen into place, a Ghanaian American med student is left foundering when she fails a test, loses her best friend, and gets dumped in quick succession. As Angie struggles to knit her life back together, a new romantic opportunity presents itself, forcing her to confront how her parents’ expectations have shaped her goals.

June 14

Poet Sun Yung Shin’s inventive new collection weaves together treatises on intimate, personal losses and widespread ecological catastrophes. The Wet Hex also draws from Shin’s experiences as a Korean American, from her childhood adoption and immigration, to the vanished — but not diminished — image of the Korean tiger, her zodiac animal.

June 14

Three Women author Lisa Taddeo returns to stores this month with the short story collection Ghost Lover. Containing the Pushcart Prize-winning stories “42” and “Suburban Weekend,” along with seven other tales, Ghost Lover probes the nature of our modern-day lives, who we are on social media, and what our celebrity infatuations — and infatuations with celebrity — say about us.

June 14

Although we often think of social media as the connective tissue that brings online communities together, it may actually be the other way ’round. In Everything I Need I Get From You, Kaitlyn Tiffany argues that boy-band stans made social networks what they are today.

June 14

Back in high school, baseball star Brian and wallflower Brisma made an odd couple — especially because Brisma’s popular best friend, Kelly, seemed like a much more natural fit for Brian. Now reunited as adults for the first time in years, the trio’s old tensions come simmering to the surface. Brian has been accused of sexual assault, and though Kelly’s standing behind her old friend, Brisma’s not so sure.

June 14

Building off of the author’s 2018 New York Times Magazine exposé about maternal and infant mortality rates in the United States, Linda Villarosa’s Under the Skin takes a wider look at Black and white patients’ disparate treatment outcomes. The reasons behind these bifurcated statistics are myriad, ranging from pervasive ignorance to the ongoing impact of redlining, but the results are the same: Black patients receive substandard care, and die as a result.

June 14

New Yorker cartoonist Sofia Warren embedded herself with New York State Senator Julia Salazar’s (D-18) team during her first year in office. Her graphic memoir Radical recounts how Salazar — a democratic socialist whose platform focused on Medicare for All, criminal justice reform, and free public college tuition — faced a fresh slate of challenges as a newly minted elected official.

June 21

Kalynn Bayron’s highly anticipated sequel to This Poison Heart finds Briseis searching for a way to free one of her moms, Thandie, from the underworld. To do so, she’ll need the last piece of the Absyrtus Heart, but Bri is far from the only person seeking it. Her aunt Circe, previously believed to be dead, is also on the Absyrtus Heart’s trail. How far will Bri go to save Thandie — and what else will be asked of her along the way?

June 21

When a London theatre company decides to stage a production of Juliette’s most famous play, she and her assistant, Winnie, waste no time booking their trip to the UK. But life across the pond isn’t all it's cracked up to be for Winnie, who’s beginning to think that Juliette will never make good on her promise to read her work. Luckily, Juliette’s handsome nephew, Liam, provides a much-needed distraction... thought her flirtation could come at a professional cost.

June 21

Carli comes from a musical background, and though she’s always dreamed of making a name for herself in the pop world, she’s contented herself with working at a music-adjacent media firm. There, she meets Tau, an up-and-coming pop idol, whose charms threaten to break down the barrier between Carli’s personal and professional lives.

June 21

Eerie and enchanting, Ottessa Moshfegh’s new novel revolves around Ina, a commoner with supernatural talents. Her magic has made her an enemy of the local priest, Father Barnabas, and the cruel Lord Villiam, who work together to keep the fiefdom’s serfs under their thumb. When Marek, an unloved, motherless boy, begins getting closer to Ina, Barnabas and Villiam set their sights on him as well.

June 21

Set in the same world as The Wolf and the Woodsman, Ava Reid’s new novel follows Marlinchen, a young witch struggling to find her place in a country shifting away from magic and toward a scientific revolution. Their abusive father strives to keep Marlinchen and her sisters sheltered from the wealth of Oblya’s wider culture, and the girls’ nighttime visits to the bustling city serve as their only form of rebellion. As Marlinchen’s romance with a young dancer begins to heat up, however, so, too, does her father’s wrath, and all involved will soon find themselves on a collision course.

June 28

The second novel in Nekesa Afia’s Harlem Renaissance Mystery series follows Louise, who’s just escaped from the Girl Killer’s clutches and is looking forward to resuming her normal life. But when Louise wakes up to find her girlfriend, Rosa Maria, covered in the blood of another Girl Killer survivor, she’s pitched into a race against the clock to clear Rosa Maria’s name before it’s too late.

June 28

After a rich newcomer initiates them into a world of magic, 16-year-old Dana and her best friend find themselves imperiled by a spell gone horribly wrong. Years later, Dana’s teenaged daughter begins to question her childhood memories after a frightening accident sets off a chain of eerie events.

June 28

On a Bachelor-esque reality show called The Catch, four contestants hoping to win the heart of an aloof reality star journey to the Pacific Northwest for a final showdown. But a fifth woman, the mysterious Patricia, will prove to be their ultimate test: She alone will determine which of the reality starlets make it out alive.

June 28

Lee is a through-and-through sadist, but when they meet X at a warehouse party, and their encounter leaves him aching for more, their priorities change. Lee is set on finding X again, even though she’s rumored to be among those “voluntarily exported” by the government — something that’s become increasingly common in a dystopian near-future America.

June 28

To turn the public’s eyes away from a series of royal scandals, the Queen tasks her grandson, Prince Jameson, with organizing a tribute concert to his late grandfather. Bored of royal life and unenthused with his new project, the prince takes someone else’s advice and books Duchess, a raunchy American rap star, to perform. It’s great publicity for her — just what she needs to finish inking the deal of a lifetime — but the move lands Prince Jameson in hot water. And with sparks flying between the prince and Duchess, things are about to get even messier.

June 28

Miranda’s trip home to Bard’s Rest was supposed to be the retreat she needed to finish her novel, but her mom had other plans. Now, Miranda’s stuck directing a local production of Twelfth Night instead of spending time with her manuscript. To make matters worse, being back in Bard’s Rest means seeing her disappointing prom date again. She’s never forgiven Adam for breaking her heart, but will the magic of one Shakespearean summer force her to give him another chance?

June 28

Zoe Hana Mikuta’s sequel to Gearbreakers is finally here! Godslayers finds freedom fighters and lovers Eris and Sona imprisoned, and their fellow Gearbreakers scattered to the winds. Even so, Eris may be positioned to stop Godolia from drafting Badlands children into their army — if she can hack it without her beloved Sona, who’s been brainwashed into forgetting their love story ever happened.

June 28

When her breast cancer recurs two years after her initial diagnosis, a 43-year-old children’s book author ruminates on her past, and tries to find the right words to explain it all to her 12-year-old daughter.

June 28

Funmi, Enitan, and Zainab became fast friends when they attended college together in Nigeria, but they were pulled apart as their lives grew complicated and messy. Now, they’re reuniting in Lagos for the wedding of Funmi’s daughter — and their get-together will send them on a journey that can end only in reconciliation... or utter defeat.

June 28

Drawing comparisons to Shirley Jackson and Margaret Atwood, Alexis Schaitkin’s Elsewhere centers on Vera, a young woman who has grown up in an isolated, mysterious town where mothers often vanish into thin air. Having grown up without her mother herself as the result of this phenomenon, Vera finds herself dissecting her own experiences as a parent.

June 28

From the author of The Small Backs of Children and Verge comes Thrust. The novel follows Laisve, a girl living at the turn of the 22nd century, whose supernatural abilities allow her to time travel by touching objects with intense emotional resonance. When she happens upon a talisman with ties to the 19th and 20th centuries, Laisve comes face-to-face with a cast of memorable characters as she fights her way back to her own time.