Looking for something good to read? USA TODAY’s Barbara VanDenburgh scours the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases. All books go on sale Tuesday.
“The Displacements”
By Bruce Holsinger (Riverhead, fiction)
What is it about : The world’s first Category 6 hurricane upends the lives of the Larsen-Hall family, who are driven from their Florida home to a FEMA megashelter, where a scary new society is forming.
The buzz: “Brilliantly imagined and terrifyingly believable. Seems destined to be a blockbuster,” says a star-studded review from Kirkus Reviews.
“Don’t Take Names”
By Daniel Nieh (Ecco, fiction)
What is it about : Wanted man Victor Li has a good job breaking into deportee warehouses recently. One day, he makes a deadly find: a rare gem valuable enough to transform his life. But he will have to travel to Mexico City to sell it, and there he discovers that the jewel is part of a much larger plan.
The buzz: “A sharp thriller with uninterrupted action and twisty consequences,” says Kirkus Reviews.
Forbidden books explained:Book bans are on the rise. What are the most banned books and why?
‘Jeanne’
By Katherine J. Chen (Random House, fiction)
What is it about : A secular reimagining and feminist celebration of the life of Joan of Arc that transforms the legendary saint into a flawed but undeniable young woman.
The buzz: A star-studded review from Kirkus Reviews calls it “An elegant and engaging work of historical fiction.”
“The Porters Club”
By Paul Tremblay (William Morrow, fiction)
What is it about : The psychological thriller tells the story of a lonely high school student who founded an after-school club for volunteer porters and has now written a memoir as an adult. And it turns out that the girl he knew who took pictures of corpses and was a magnet for the weird and unusual has some edits.
The buzz: Publishers Weekly calls it an “ambitious, metafictional pseudo-vampire thriller.”
“Under His Eye”:“The Handmaid’s Tale” is a post-Roe v. wade
“Acts of Violet”
By Margarita Montimore (Flatiron, fiction)
What is it about : From the author of “Oona Out of Order” comes a new novel about a woman named Sasha, whose famous magician sister Violet Volk disappeared in the act 10 years ago. Can she escape her sister’s shadow in the public eye?
The buzz: “This mesmerizing effort offers its fair share of magic,” says Publishers Weekly.
Contributor: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY.
