15 New Books for August
Here are the works by authors on and of the West—The Sleeping Sisters, Makeshift, The Nightingales—that we’re most excited to see published this month.
MEET ME IN THE GARDEN, BY NINA LACOUR
Odette, the youngest of the Honore sisters, who are part of a Creole community in New Orleans, has always longed for something more than being a wife and mother; she dreams of being an artist, and she’s in love with a woman. She harbors a close bond with her cousin Delphine, who is keeping secrets of her own, including a relationship with a white man. Five years later, neither woman’s life has unfolded as expected. When Delphine is pushed to her limit, Odette, now living in Los Angeles, must make a choice that could determine the future of her family. Flatiron Books, August 4
THE NIGHTINGALES, BY EMIL WILSON
Based on a true story, this dazzlingly sketched graphic novel, a worthy addition to AIDS literature, follows the relationship between 17-year-old Lou and a dying gay man, Jim. After Jim is evicted from his apartment in 1985, his coworker Doug, Lou’s father, offers him and his dogs a place to stay in their small-town-Oregon home. Despite her mother’s reservations about bringing a stranger into their house, Lou is drawn to Jim’s warmth and steadfastness, and the two develop an unlikely friendship. Avid Reader Press, August 4
IT WILL BE MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE: THE ART OF SUSAN O’MALLEY, BY CHRISTINA AMINI
Amini, a close collaborator of Bay Area artist Susan O’Malley (and the steward of her estate), has assembled a career-spanning collection of O’Malley’s most-celebrated works, including pieces from My Healing Garden Is Green and her public-art series Advice from My 80-Year-Old Self. Alongside these vibrant and colorful works, Amini has also rounded up 24 of O’Malley’s other collaborators to write essays walking the reader through this icon’s incredible career at the vanguard of art’s social practice movement. Chronicle Books, August 11
DREAMLAND, BY OLIVIE BLAKE
While fighting for a place in the exclusive world of show business, a driven actor named Anya Morris becomes entangled with a family considered Hollywood royalty. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is consumed by the “summer of exsanguination,” a period during which women are being mysteriously killed. Willing to do anything to break into the industry and searching for fame, Morris makes deals with the devil. Tor Books, August 11
SURVIVING THE LIE, BY JAMES QUEALLY
In Surviving the Lie, the absorbing final installment of a trilogy, Queally’s protagonist, Russell Avery, a journalist turned private investigator, returns. After retiring to enjoy the peace of suburbia, Avery finds himself pulled back into the game to search for his missing mentor, following two extremely mysterious deaths. Avery is consumed by danger as he battles extremists and ex-cops and uncovers a larger scheme involving kidnapped reporters and their past investigations of corrupt politicians. Counterpoint Press, August 11
AMPERSAND ORGAN: A MORE-THAN-HUMAN LYRIC, BY HEIDI ANDREA RESTREPO RHODES
In this collection of prose poems, Rhodes reflects on the mind, the body, the ecosystems around us, and the intimacy of day-to-day life, connecting them all through the ampersand. Here, the ampersand stands for everything that’s unfinished, interconnected, or endless, and the symbol opens every piece of verse midway through a sentence—challenging both traditional poetic forms and systems of supremacy. Milkweed Editions, August 11
TRUE CRIME BURBANK, BY JAMES BARTLETT
True-crime fans, this one’s for you: Using extensive archival research, Bartlett explores the lesser-known criminal history of Burbank. From infamous figures like the Night Stalker and the Toolbox Killers to lesser-known cases—such as those involving Nellie May Madison, who was convicted of murdering her husband, and Barbara Graham and her accomplices, who killed widow Mable Monohan—Bartlett sketches a chilling portrait of Burbank’s criminal history. History Press, August 18
SHIP HAPPENS, BY MASON DEAVER
Deaver delivers a second-chance romance following trans characters Owen and Jacob, exes who, while stuck on a seven-night Alaskan cruise with their friend group, confront what derailed their relationship. Owen feels as if his life is in smithereens when Jacob reappears at a Christmas party, holding up a mirror to why they fell apart. Are they destined to fall in love again? Avon, August 18
THE SLEEPING SISTERS, BY JENNIFER GIVHAN
Inspired by true events, Givhan’s literary horror novel tells the story of two women whose lives become entangled after a series of murders. Fortuna Miércoles moved her family to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in an attempt to outrun a curse that has haunted her for decades. Meanwhile, Detective Jeanette Palacio has spent years trying to solve the murders of her cousins. When a new body is discovered in Miércoles’s backyard, the two women must uncover the truth behind this violent act and what it’s connected to. Little, Brown and Company, August 18
NEARSHORE, BY STEVE HAWK
Hawk delivers a nuclear-terrorism thriller that opens in West Virginia along an Appalachian highway. Half Moon Bay lifeguard and surfer Jamie Palmer’s best friend, a Stanford professor, dies in a boating accident, leaving behind a son to whom Jamie becomes a legal guardian. When a link emerges between a Silicon Valley megacorporation, its sociopathic billionaire founder, and a nuclear threat in West Virginia, an unlikely team of underdogs join forces to uncover the perpetrators of the violence plaguing their home and beyond. Viking, August 18
UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, BY MALAVIKA KANNAN
With a Gen Z perspective on coming of age and growth, Kannan tells the story of Rishi’s freshman year at Stanford. In her first year, Rishi experiments with love, gets her first tattoo, makes a true best friend, and writes about her experiences. As the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts her maturation, she and her friends navigate a new political climate, shifting relationships, and sexual tension after moving to a farming collective in Pennsylvania. Henry Holt and Co., August 18
CALIFORNIA FUTURES: HAUNTED ECOLOGIES, DECOLONIAL RELATIONS, BY DANIEL LANZA RIVERS
In this collection of case studies, San José State University associate professor Rivers examines the colonial fantasies that have shaped how California has been farmed, settled, and governed. Tracking everything from the rise and fall of grizzly bear hunting to the environmental toxicity of the Central Valley caused by drought and industrial farming, the author explores how capitalism and heteropatriarchy have shaped the state. He also imagines a different future for California—one rooted in more-sustainable relationships with the land. Duke University Press, August 18
MY SISTER IS GOING TO KILL ME, BY NINA SIMON
During a river-rafting adventure in the hallowed Grand Canyon, sisters Liv and Mandy Chisolm are forced to alter their annual vacation tradition. Their already-strained relationship is put to the test as Liv’s practical, color-coded itinerary clashes with Mandy’s boundless spontaneity. As they discover that everyone around them seems to have a secret, the sisters—despite barely trusting each other—are vested with a new responsibility: solving the murders of fellow tourists. William Morrow, August 18
TANGLED: SEVEN ICONIC MOMENTS IN WHITE WOMEN’S HAIR AND WHAT THEY TELL US ABOUT POWER, PLEASURE, AND COMPLICITY, BY SARAH MESLE
White women’s hair takes center stage in Mesle’s latest book. Drawing on decades of American politics and pop culture, Mesle analyzes how hair, often dismissed as a superficial concern, has long served as a symbol of whiteness, privilege, and conservative ideals. Through seven defining moments, she reveals the little-known ways hair has shaped American identity. Beacon Press, August 25
MAKESHIFT, BY PETER ROCK
Rock tells the mesmerizing tale of three sisters on a Pacific Northwest island who believe they are the last humans on Earth after their community is brutally slaughtered. As they venture beyond their home, they discover how far their beliefs have been from the truth—a revelation that tests their instincts, resilience, and bonds with one another. From spirits to foraging to shipwrecks, Rock creates a compelling world waiting to be explored. Soft Skull, August 25
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.
Katie Hulse is a graduate of UC Berkeley who has previously written for Bay City News and the Daily Californian.
