How is it already March 2021? A full 365 days since the pandemic decided, “Nope, you’ll be staying at home for a year (plus)”? Couldn’t be. Thankfully, we’ve had lots of good books to get us through this decidedly horrific situation, and only more to come. Below, we’ve chosen 11 March new releases that we especially are looking forward to. In case you want to order a copy of your own, we’ve dropped in our affiliates links. Make sure to check out the Bookshop list for this post here. Happy reading!
The Soul Of a Woman by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a celebrated author of both nonfiction and fiction works that have been translated around the world. In The Soul Of a Woman, Allende memorializes her own life and career, while also providing her musings on feminism. It is almost a stream-of-consciousness about what exactly it means to be a woman, finding a voice during the second-wave feminism movement. A short and quick read, this upcoming translation is a must-read for fans of Allende, who’s written famous works, such as A Long Petal of the Sea and The House of the Spirits. Thank you to Ballantine Books, NetGalley and Isabel Allende for providing an eARC of this book!
Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
If you haven’t read something by Mary H.K. Choi, you really should catch up on this phenomenal YA author. Two sisters have lived estranged lives that are the complete opposite of each other. Jayne is struggling in fashion school with a deadbeat boyfriend and is barely making her rent. June lives an affluent life with her finance job. Their lives collide again when one of them is diagnosed with cancer.
Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
An example of a great multigenerational family saga, this book looks into the intertwined lives of two families in North Carolina. The city of Piedmont is attempting to integrate their schools which affects the lives of Gee and Noelle. Their mothers want to give them the best lives possible – but is that possible in a complex world that is against them? We would recommend this book for fans of Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes.
Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
As Colombia recovers from years of conflict, Elena and Mauro fall in love. After the birth of their first child, they decide to move to the United States for better economic prospects. As they continue to have more children and move around the country, their immigration status changes and they become undocumented. Mauro is deported and must leave his family behind to navigate life in America without him. This book follows the precarious status that is being undocumented in the United States. This book reminds us of Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli.
Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The wait for a book can sometimes be unbearable and this is one of those books that has been whispered about for a long time in the book world (including by us just last month!). When we saw that it would be available in 2021, we were extremely excited to get our hands on it! Ishiguro already has a Nobel Prize in Literature and is the author of Never Let Me Go. This novel is about Klara, an artificial friend who is waiting to be purchased. Klara makes observations about human nature as she waits that have readers question what exactly we consider human and what is AI. We would suggest this book for fans of Ted Chiang’s Exhalation.
Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Following the story of The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s newest book continues the story of the Sympathizer as he arrives in Paris with his blood brother, Bon. As they try to escape their pasts and profit on their futures, they take up drug dealing together. The Sympathizer falls in with a group of leftist thinkers who change his ways of thinking and buy his merchandise. Viet Thanh Nguyen is one of the best writers of the modern age and this book is sure to make all of the “Best Of” lists at the end of year.
Expected Publication: March 2, 2021
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Fans of Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown and Take a Hint, Dani Brown, rejoice! We get to read a story all about the youngest Brown sister, Eve, who is seemingly unable to hold down a job. Her parents finally draw a line, telling her it’s time to grow up. She leaves home angry and ends up in Skybriar at a B&B with an uptight owner. In the classically steamy romance style that Hibbert is known for, the two can’t ignore the sexual tension between them for very long. Thanks to Talia Hibbert, NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this one early.
Expected Publication: March 9, 2021
How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
New York Times bestseller Imbolo Mbue is back with a gut-wrenching novel about a US oil company and its effects on a small African village. Pipeline spills render the land infertile and wreak environmental havoc on the village and its people. The dictatorship government is of no help to the villagers whose children are sick and dying from the contaminated water. How Beautiful We Were is told from the perspective of a revolutionary named Thula in the 80’s and explores colonialism and community. Thanks to Imbolo Mbue, Random House and NetGalley, we’re looking forward to reading this one in advance of it being published.
Expected Publication: March 9, 2021
American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar
This YA novel tackles prejudice in the form of microaggressions. Rani is an artist who wants to be a pediatrician. Enter Oliver, a “bad boy” artist type whom she quickly begins a secret-from-her-parents relationship with. She ignores the red flag actions he takes (calling her Princess Jasmine, mimicking her dad that he’s never met, etc.), although a part of her brain is screaming that what he’s doing isn’t okay. Thank you to Anuradha D. Rajurkar, NetGalley and Random House Children’s for an advance reader copy!
Expected Publication: March 9, 2021
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Looking at the cover, it feels likely that Firekeeper’s Daughter is going to be a captivating book and the content does not disappoint. Boulley’s writing is so good that, while reading the book, you may find yourself wishing that it never ends. The book is about Daunis, daughter of an Ojibwe man and a white woman, who witnesses a shocking murder and becomes embroiled in an investigation, rooting out the disease that is plaguing her Tribal community. Boulley has written a stunning masterpiece of a debut. Thanks to NetGalley, Angeline Boulley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this.
Expected Publication: March 16, 2021
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
You really can’t go wrong with multigenerational family sagas. They seem to always make for the best historical fiction stories. In this book, we follow Jeanette as she battles addiction and tries to understand more about her family’s past. She returns to Cuba to try to learn more about where she is from and the secrets that have been held by her mother for so long. This is a tale that examines closely the place of mothers within our family narratives and the complex decisions that they have to make. If you loved Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, we highly recommend this book!
Expected Publication: March 30, 2021
