New novels to look out for this year
By: Zac Soper, Columnist
Since this is my first column of the year, I wanted to bring attention to a few of the releases I’m looking forward to reading. I want to start this reading year off strong and I hope to maintain stamina through the coming months and read as much as possible. Making lists like these can be a good way to keep you excited about reading through the whole year as you anticipate releases.
- “Infinity Son” by Adam Silvera. NYT bestselling author of “They Both Die At The End” and “More Happy Than Not” switches up his genre from contemporary fiction to high fantasy with the first installment in his new trilogy, “Infinity Son.” This story follows two brothers as they attempt to navigate a New York filled with magical ‘celestial’ beings and monsters sent to destroy them. These brothers will put their relationships and morals to the test when confronted with a magic they have never possessed. Silvera is known for his contemporary romance stories and I am interested to see how well he tackles fantasy, with all of his hardships in world building and magic systems.
- “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins. After years of silence following the major success of “The Hunger Games,” Suzanne Collins is hitting the market again with a prequel to the trilogy. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is set to follow a young President Snow. It should be interesting to get the villain origin story of the dictator we all came to hate in 2011. There are a lot of mixed feelings from readers- those who aren’t interested in Snow at all and are disappointed that this is the origin story we’re getting, rather than Haymitch or Effie, and there are readers who can’t wait to see into the mind of the raging antagonist.
- “Chain of Gold” by Cassandra Clare. Cassandra Clare continues writing in the Shadowhunter world with “Chain of Gold,” the first in “The Last Hours” series. We are traveling back to Victorian London for this series, following Cordelia Carstairs as she interacts with the cast from Clare’s “The Infernal Devices” trilogy. Monsters have been let loose once again and it is up to our young group of heroes to save London. There is sure to be some romantic conflict and gory battles that Clare is so famous for as well as more unpacking of the lore of this ever-expanding universe.
- “More Myself” by Alicia Keys. To branch out of Young Adult Fiction, I’m excited for “More Myself” by Alicia Keys. This autobiography is the first book to be published under Oprah’s imprint of Flatiron Books (a division of Macmillan Publishing) and is set to be released in late March. Keys’ life has been one without privacy and one of many pressures and hardships, “More Myself” will reveal the star’s inner monologue through her fame. Keys, in writing this autobiography, is on a journey of self-discovery after letting the public be her voice of reason for so long.