10 New Books for August
This month, we’ve got our eyes on My Chicano Heart, A Wilder Shore, and eight other titles by writers on and of the West.
THE DIVIDE, BY MORGAN RICHTER
In the glitter of Los Angeles, Jenny St. John fades from breakout indie movie star to fake psychic making ends meet. But when the director of her film is murdered, she becomes involved in investigations, disappearances, and a murderer’s mysterious motives. Worse: Jenny looks just like his wife, the police’s prime suspect. Richter’s novel is a riveting ride. Knopf, August 20
EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD, BY RANDY RIBAY
Ribay is a National Book Award finalist; in his new novel, four generations of the Maghabol family are stripped bare. Moving from 1930 to 2020, the novel traces a line from Francisco, the patriarch, to his son Emil, and then to the ensuing generations, Enzo and Chris. Kokila, August 27
HIGHWAY THIRTEEN: STORIES, BY FIONA MCFARLANE
A serial murderer picks off hitchhikers in Barrow, Australia, and the small town becomes notorious. But McFarlane’s stories are about more than that. They portray communities that vary in their level of connection to serial murders. Highway Thirteen focuses on the ripple effect of storytelling and terror. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, August 13
MY CHICANO HEART: NEW AND COLLECTED STORIES OF LOVE AND OTHER TRANSGRESSIONS, BY DANIEL A. OLIVAS
In the title story of this collection, published in Alta Journal, a man gives his beating heart to his wife, who refuses to return it. Another story features a woman who travels throughout New Mexico without her soulmate. Rooted in Chicano and Mexican traditions, these stories examine the strange, desperate, powerful ways people search for love. University of Nevada Press, August 6
THE PALACE OF EROS, BY CARO DE ROBERTIS
In this queer retelling of Greek mythology, Eros is the nonbinary god of desire. She falls in love with Psyche, the most beautiful woman in town, who angers Aphrodite with her ability to transfix suitors. The clash leads to nights of abundant passion and days of questions as Psyche waits for Eros to return. The Palace of Eros brings a passionate, modern perspective to stories that have captivated humanity over the centuries. Atria/Primero Sueno Press, August 13
STRANGE FOLK, BY ALLI DYER
In Dyer’s novel, Lee returns to her childhood home in Appalachia, where her estranged family still lives. Not only is she coming back to her hometown; she is also returning to the magic her family is known for, used to protect the community for generations. After a mysterious death, Lee joins in a search for answers, rediscovering, in the process, herself, her family, and the town. Atria Books, August 6
THERE IS A RIO GRANDE IN HEAVEN: STORIES, BY RUBEN REYES JR.
The characters in Reyes’s debut collection are immigrants, celebrities, farmers, robots, and abuelas, all of whom wake up to find that they are living an existence different from any they’ve ever known. In these trippy, speculative stories, migration narratives find a heart and voice, and Reyes establishes himself as a writer to watch for his unique and tender style. Mariner Books, August 6
UNSPEAKABLE HOME, BY ISMET PRCIC
Years after a violent civil war in his homeland, Prcic—a Bosnian refugee in Oregon—wrote fan letters to the comedian Bill Burr. These autofictional stories grew out of the letters, marking confessional waves that separate in wavering attempts to communicate pain and trauma. Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, August 6
A WILDER SHORE: THE ROMANTIC ODYSSEY OF FANNY AND ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, BY CAMILLE PERI
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are well known, but less regarded are the writings of his wife, Fanny Stevenson, who recorded the couple’s globe-trotting travels. In this book, excerpted in Alta Journal, Peri focuses on her stories of their journeys—from California to Samoa—and in the process celebrates commitment and the enduring power of human imagination. Viking, August 13
WRITING THE GOLDEN STATE: THE NEW LITERARY TERRAIN OF CALIFORNIA, EDITED BY CARRIBEAN FRAGOZA, ROMEO GUZMAN, AND SAMINE JOUDAT
This collection of essays—edited by Fragoza, Guzman, and Joudat—offers a road map to contemporary California through its writing. Here, you’ll find essays on migration, home-building, beauty, and belonging by writers such as Fred Williams, Peter Chesney, Ramón Garcia, Daniel Rivers, Carolyn Dunn, Melissa Hidalgo, and Alta Journal’s books editor, David L. Ulin, with a foreword by Susan Straight. Angel City Press, August 20
Jessica Blough is a freelance writer. A former associate editor at Alta Journal, Blough is a graduate of Tufts University where she was editor in chief of the Tufts Daily.
Ajay Orona is an associate editor at Alta Journal. He earned a master’s degree from USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism in 2021 and was honored with an Outstanding Specialized Journalism (The Arts) Scholar Award. His writing has appeared in Los Angeles Review of Books, Ampersand, and GeekOut.
Will Garrett, Alta Journal's 2024 summer intern, has written for Colorado College's Cipher magazine and the Catalyst newspaper.
14 New Books for September
15 New Books for August
New Releases for July
Upcoming Releases: Moderation and Cozy Dystopias
