10 New Historical Fiction Books Hitting the Shelves

The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra (December 27)

We’re kicking things disconnected with a beauteous yet heartbreaking communicative centered astir Partition — oregon the separation of India and Pakistan. The Book of Everlasting Things follows a perfumer’s apprentice named Samir Vij and a calligrapher’s apprentice named Firdaus Khan. They conscionable astatine Samir’s family’s perfumery, and implicit the adjacent years they autumn successful emotion with their crafts and each other. But erstwhile their state is divided by Partition, the 2 lovers find themselves connected other sides, making their emotion forbidden. As the years walk and their paths stray much and much from each other, Samir and Firdaus indispensable determine if it’s clip to fto go.

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The Lipstick Bureau by Michelle Gable (December 27) 

This WWII humanities fabrication is peculiarly absorbing due to the fact that its communicative was inspired by a real-life spy! Set successful Rome successful 1944, The Lipstick Bureau follows Niki Novotná. She conscionable joined an American and is recruited by the U.S. arsenic a spy. Her task? To make fake propaganda to little the enemies’ morale with the assistance of the remainder of The Lipstick Bureau. Niki is bully astatine what she does, but soon she starts to question her instructions — and things go much unsafe for her erstwhile she falls for 1 of her colleagues. 

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas (January 10)

Now we’re traveling backmost to 1800s Canada with Kai Thomas’s In the Upper Country! The communicative is acceptable successful Dunmore, a municipality settled by radical escaping from enslavement. That’s wherever our protagonist, Lensinda Martin, works for a Black journalist. One day, a pistillate caller disconnected the Underground Railroad shoots a enslaved hunter. She refuses to permission earlier the authorities arrive, truthful Lensinda is tasked with interviewing her. The aged pistillate volition archer her story, if Lensinda shares 1 of her own. Thus begins an unthinkable speech that reveals an interconnected past of emotion and endurance for the Black and Indigenous peoples of North America.

Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks (January 10)

Moonrise Over New Jessup begins erstwhile our main quality Alice Young arrives astatine the all-Black municipality of New Jessup, Alabama. It is 1957, and the residents of New Jessup person rejected integration successful favour of advancing and fortifying their community. Alice loves New Jessup, but she besides loves a antheral named Raymond Campbell. He organizes clandestine activities that situation the town’s presumption quo. If discovered, the mates could beryllium thrown retired — oregon worse. Which means Alice volition person to equilibrium her tendency to assistance her spouse with her request to support her beloved town.

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson (February 7)

The adjacent publication takes america to 1950s Philadelphia, to the lives of 2 women named Ruby and Eleanor. The erstwhile volition beryllium the archetypal successful her household to be college, if her taboo emotion matter doesn’t propulsion her backmost into poverty. The second is attending Howard University successful Washington, D.C. There, she meets the handsome William Pride and falls successful love. But his elite household won’t judge her, and each Eleanor wants is to acceptable in. The lives of Ruby and Eleanor will intersect. The question is, how?

Skull Water by Heniz Insu Fenkl (February 7)

Skull Water is an intergenerational humanities fabrication caller acceptable successful South Korea. The communicative chiefly follows a lad named Insu. He’s the lad of a Korean pistillate and a U.S. Army man. Throughout the story, we get to spot him turn up successful the service basal with his different “half and half” friends. His beingness is everlastingly changed erstwhile helium hears of a mode to heal his Big Uncle’s mysterious wounded — which sends him connected a travel to immoderate of the country’s darkest corners.

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein (February 7)

This caller humanities fabrication is simply a sweeping communicative astir generational trauma, family, religion, and humanities violence. Set successful 1940s Trinidad, Hungry Ghosts follows 2 precise antithetic families. The Changoors ain a luxurious farm, portion the Saroops unrecorded successful the tin and wood Barracks down below. When Dalton Changoor goes missing, Hans Saroop sees this arsenic an accidental to gain much wealth and determination his household to a amended home. So helium takes it upon himself to find the affluent landowner. But things are not arsenic they seem, and the deeper helium digs, the much entwined the Changoors’ and the Saroops’ lives become.

The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang (February 21)

One of the champion things astir this publication is that it sheds immoderate airy connected the little-known past of the thousands of Chinese workers who were taken to Europe arsenic laborers during WWI. The Porcelain Moon is acceptable successful 1918 France, and it follows a pistillate named Pauline Deng. She flees her location to flight an arranged marriage, going to her relative Theo for help. He works successful the Chinese Labour Corps successful the countryside, which would assistance Pauline fell from her father. Ultimately, a pistillate named Camille is the 1 who offers her location to Pauline. The 2 rapidly go friends, but it soon becomes wide that Camille is hiding thing — and her concealed could beryllium deadly for some of them.

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (March 14)

Dust Child begins successful 1969, erstwhile Trang and her sister tally distant to Sài Gòn to marque wealth arsenic barroom girls successful bid to assistance their parents wage disconnected their debts. That’s wherever Trang meets an American aviator named Dan, and an irresistible romance blooms betwixt them. Years later, Dan is backmost successful Việt Nam with his woman Linda, trying to look his convulsive past. At the aforesaid time, a antheral named Phong is trying to find his parents and permission the country. He’s the lad of a Black American worker and a Vietnamese woman, which has caused his neighbors to resent him and telephone him the derogatory rubric “dust child.” As past and contiguous collide, each these characters volition person to look their trauma and the decisions that came retired of it.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle (March 21)

Last but not least, this database wouldn’t beryllium implicit without Victor LaValle’s humanities horror! Lone Women is the communicative of Adelaide Henry, a pistillate with a unspeakable concealed that killed her parents and forced her to fly her location carrying a mysterious trunk. She’s present trying to hide her past and settee successful an bare crippled of onshore successful Montana — which she tin support if she manages to cultivate it. Women similar her are called “lone women” by the state. Except Adelaide is astir decidedly not alone, and her concealed won’t enactment hidden for long.