15 New Books for June
Here are works by authors on and of the West—including There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood, Villa Coco, and Daughters of the Sun and Moon—that we’re excited to see published this month.
NICE PLACES, BY VINCENT CHU
After quitting his tech job to travel the world, Georgie doesn’t make it past the airport before he’s mugged and wakes up in a different neighborhood—in the same city he left. When his photo of boat noodles is mistaken for an image from abroad and goes viral, he decides to lean into the charade—how hard can it be to fake being a travel influencer? Nice Places is an insightful satire about authenticity, social media, and connection. Forest Avenue Press, June 2
MUÑECA, BY CYNTHIA GÓMEZ
Natalia Fuentes breaks into Violeta Miramontes’s house with only two things on her mind: reversing Violeta’s curse and collecting a hefty reward from the wealthy heiress. She does not expect to fall in love with Violeta—nor does she realize how much the curse, and the effort to dispel it, will demand of her, forcing her to contend with her troubled past. Set in 1960s Oakland, Muñeca is a spellbinding blend of horror, fantasy, and romance. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, June 2
THERE’S ONLY ONE SIN IN HOLLYWOOD, BY RASHEED NEWSON
Set during the golden age of Hollywood and narrated by Aaron Touissant, a fixer intent on keeping gay actors in the closet, the novel follows a young man’s entrance into media and show business at this time of crucial change and unraveling. In exploring the protagonist’s newfound fame and power, Newson considers morality and queer identity, resulting in a character-driven and culturally detailed semihistorical novel. Flatiron Books, June 2
WHAT CAME WEST, BY JOSH WEIL
Weil crafts an adventure novel set deep within the Sierra Nevada during the gold rush. The story follows Silas Hall, a misfit who flees his family in Pennsylvania for the Western wilderness, leaving turmoil and guilt behind. Through parallel narratives, emotionally dark lyrical prose, and vivid imagery, What Came West explores identity, manifest destiny, and encroachment on Native land. The author, who is also an illustrator, created 20 gorgeous dip-pen images to accompany the story. Doubleday, June 2
AMARISA’S COOKING POT: TALES OF LIFE IN ALL ITS WONDERS, BY DÉSIRÉE ZAMORANO
From Alta Journal contributor Zamorano comes a beautiful short story collection centered on Mexican American culture and the lives of women. Zamorano moves between the realistic and the magical, spinning tales about mothers, daughters, a businesswoman, a student—and even God herself. The collection also includes stories previously published only in journals (like the one Alta ran, “Magda’s Hen”) alongside retellings of classics such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Wild Swans.” University of Nevada Press, June 2
RED SHEET, BY JAMES ELLROY
Ellroy continues to expand his Los Angeles crime universe of police brutality and institutional corruption in this thriller set immediately after the Cuban missile crisis. The novel follows recurring detective character Freddy Otash, who investigates after Robert Kennedy calls for a Communist probe. Fast-paced and fragmented, Ellroy’s novel, written in kamikaze-style prose, blends real historical figures with the darkness of a noir plot. Alfred A. Knopf, June 9
VILLA COCO, BY ANDREW SEAN GREER
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Greer tells a story about a young American who finds himself in a crumbling villa in Tuscany cataloging the art of an older baroness named Coco. The task pulls both the protagonist and the reader into Coco’s emotional chaos and desperate search for a lost love. Greer’s writing is witty and satirical as he balances themes of isolation, emotional reinvention, and aging. Doubleday, June 9
A VOICE LIKE MINE, BY DEB HAALAND
In this memoir, Haaland, former United States secretary of the interior and now a gubernatorial hopeful in New Mexico, writes about her Laguna Pueblo and Norwegian ancestry and her rise to become one of the most historically significant Native American leaders in United States politics. She touches on growing up in a military family, single motherhood, activism, and leadership. Haaland lets readers into the human side of success on a national stage. Henry Holt and Co., June 9
DAUGHTERS OF THE SUN AND MOON, BY LISA SEE
See transports readers into the little-known period of 1870s Los Angeles. A trio of Chinese women arrive in America under vastly different circumstances—one is a second wife in an arranged marriage, another is a peasant sold into sexual slavery, and the third is the wife of a doctor—but despite this, they forge intense bonds. Set against a backdrop of violent anti-Chinese hostility and racism, the novel reflects on the implications of female migration and unveils the three protagonists’ rich inner lives. Read more about the book here. Scribner, June 9
SAFAR: FINDING HOME, HISTORY, AND CULTURE THROUGH PUNJABI FOOD IN THE AMERICAN WEST, BY MADHUSHREE GHOSH
Ghosh’s second book, Safar, is equal parts memoir, cookbook, and reflection on the life of South Asian refugees and immigrants. Inspired by her own experience of connecting home with certain comforting foods, Ghosh follows four Punjabi women on their journey to the United States—sharing their stories of displacement and injustice while also sharing the recipes they brought with them to retain a piece of their home. Bloomsbury Academic, June 11
SCRAP BOOK, BY NICK MARTINO
Drawing on scholar Marianne Hirsch’s theory that pain can reverberate across generations, even among those who did not directly experience it, Martino examines his own life through this lens. Through a scrapbook made up of poems, his mother’s journal entries, and photographs, he explores how his father’s incarceration shaped his life, the family history that influenced future generations, and the trauma and estrangement that can echo through a family over time. Alice James Books, June 16
MARCHING WEST: THE LOS ANGELES CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN PHOTOGRAPHS, BY KARIN L. STANFORD WITH MARK SPELTZ
Stanford and Speltz dive deep into the Los Angeles civil rights movement in this stunning photography collection. Made up of more than 100 images from the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at Cal State Northridge, the Getty Research Institute, and other Southern California archives, this is a coffee-table book that documents the City of Angels’ importance in understanding the Black struggle for freedom in the United States. Getty Publications, June 16
NOTICING: INTIMATE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE NATURAL WORLD, BY RICHARD LOUV
“Noticing is the beginning of wonder” are the opening words of Louv’s guide to nature. The author invites us to tune in more deeply to the natural world around us, partly as a means of addressing the “nature-deficit disorder” he diagnoses in an earlier book. Pulling from his experiences in the mountains east of San Diego, along with conversations with artists, teachers, biologists, ranchers, and others, he writes lovely essays, illustrated with photographs, that range from personal reflections on wilderness to explorations of neuroscience, art, music, and Indigenous traditions. Algonquin Books, June 23
AMERICAN TRICKSTER: THE HIDDEN LIVES OF CARLOS CASTANEDA, BY RU MARSHALL
Marshall crafts a compelling investigative biography of the Peruvian-born bestselling writer and literary hoaxer Carlos Castaneda. Castaneda gained fame for supposedly studying under a Yaqui shaman and writing up the lessons in The Teachings of Don Juan, one in a series of 12 New Age books that proved to be essentially novels—and then starting a Los Angeles cult. Marshall examines the life and psychology of a con man. OR Books, June 23
OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS: THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE ON THE WALLS OF LOS ANGELES, BY SAM QUINONES
The Virgin of Guadalupe has long been revered as a protector and mother figure, and nowhere is this more evident than in Los Angeles. Murals of the Virgin adorn side streets, building façades, and street corners across the city. In Our Lady of the Angels, acclaimed journalist Quinones documents her presence in Los Angeles neighborhoods using photographs taken over decades. Angel City Press, June 30
Elizabeth Casillas is an associate editor at Alta Journal. A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, she has previously written for the Poly Post and Enspire Magazine.
