Debuts ~ My Favorites of 2023

I’ve always been a huge fan of debuts and this year is no exception. Even though I read a couple more books this year than last, fewer of them were debuts, but there were still plenty. In fact, there were so many good ones that narrowing this list down to my top ten was no easy task, but it’s done. These ten debuts will give you love, war, history, family, surprises and much more. I can honestly say that I highly recommend each of these books AND that you’ll be seeing quite a few move on to my Best Books of 2023 which I’m sharing on Thursday! That’s also where you’ll find out which of these was my #1 debut of the year. And now, in order of publication only:

Atomic Family by Ciera Horton McElroy (2/28) – Taking place over a single day, this is the story of a family living in the midst of, and fully emerged in The Atomic Age. Nellie, Dean and their son, Wilson, live in a small South Carolina town whose chief employer is a nuclear bomb plant. With dire secrets that need to be held, infinite questions that no one will answer, and hearts that want more from each other, this little family struggles to connect with tragic results. Both the beginning and the end of this story will touch your heart and the middle will have it racing. (my review)

 

Go As a River by Shelley Read (2/28) – I loved this story about Victoria Nash, a 17 year old in 1948 Colorado. She’s already lived a tragic life between devastation from WWII and a tragic car accident that took three of the people she most loved. Victoria is the sole woman left on her family’s Colorado peach farm. She has a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders when she meets a boy/man, Wil, who others deem an outcast, hated for the color of his skin. Victoria has her own ideas, follows her heart and steers her whole life down unexpected paths. You’ll love this visit to Colorado! (my review)

 

In Memoriam by Alice Winn (3/7) – This author and her beautiful writing cannot rise any higher in my admiration. Her story is a brilliant juxtaposition of love and war. It begins in 1914, just after the start of WWI, when classmates Gaunt and Ellwood are still in school with few worries and a large cadre of friends. There’s a strong attraction between the two, but neither is willing to fully acknowledge their feelings for fear of losing the other entirely.⁣⁣⁣⁣ As the war goes badly for the British these boys, not even out of school, must harden themselves to survive. (my review)

 

Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah (3/7) – This book has so many elements in my literary sweet spot. At its heart this is the story of one woman’s life, but with that comes a family story, a love story, a story of two different cultures, and a journey through motherhood.⁣ Dual timelines tell Efe’s story. How her relationship with her husband Sam began, how it progressed and why she’s suddenly fled their London home to her sister’s in Ghana, leaving behind Sam and her 4-year old daughter with absolutely no explanation and refusing to take his calls. (my review)

 

Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin (3/21) – This was of those books that was so much more than I’d expected. Pin’s is a beautifully told story of three siblings who fled Vietnam for Hong Kong after the fall of Saigon. Their parents and four younger siblings were to follow, but their boat sank, leaving 16-year old Ahn in charge of her brothers, Thanh and Minh. Strangers in a strange land, the three are eventually relocated to the UK where they struggle to build lives entirely different from those they’d long dreamt of.⁣ It’s both a haunting and touching immigrant story. (my review)

 

The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring (6/6) – This story takes place over a single year, in Dalton, Maine, the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone and like it or not, their lives are connected.⁣⁣ With each chapter her main focus was on a different citizen of the town, but also within each we got bits and pieces about others. It really was a book of tightly connected stories. Eventually, the entire book was woven into a rich tapestry of a town going through change, tragedy and grief, while trying to hold up those who needed it most.⁣⁣ (my review)

 

Talking At Night by Claire Daverley (6/20) – In very broad strokes this story is about Rosie and Will who meet as teens. She’s sort of a nerdy, very academically minded girl and he’s the handsome school bad boy. There’s undeniable attraction between the two, but that’s just the start of their story. There are walls that grow between them. Walls that become higher and higher over the years, with only occasional glimpses over the top. For 400 pages, I reveled in Rosie and Will’s relationship, the lows, the highs and so much in between. My kind of romance! (my review)

 

Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlyn Shetterly (7/4) – This is a rich character-driven story of a marriage on the brink. Pete and Alice are at a serious crossroad in their marriage just as NYC shuts down and the wail of sirens becomes almost constant. The two reluctantly flee to their summer home in Maine along with their 11 and 5-year old daughters. There they must initially work together to procure food, supplies, internet, and to keep their children engaged. At times it may even feel like their relationship is healing, but don’t be fooled. The kind of damage they’ve experienced is not so easily repaired.⁣ (my review)

 

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (8/8) – This book was a completely original reading experience, one I wish I could have deeply savored, but instead flew through.⁣ Shortly after Wren and Lewis wed, he is diagnosed with a rare condition that has him slowly turning into a great white shark. Just accept it! Though Lewis’s slow change is a big part of this story, it’s still only a part of it. This is also a love story. How can Wren do what’s best for Lewis? Can he survive without her? How will she carry on without him? And why did Wren enter their marriage as such a lonely soul?⁣ (my review)

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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (10/31) – In the 1960’s a Mi’kmaq family is struck by tragedy when their 4-year old daughter vanishes while they’re working the blueberry fields in Maine. For years they search for her, but there are absolutely no clues. Joe, the last to see her narrates half the chapters in this book with the rest told by Norma who was adopted as a young girl, but never quite fit in. This is one of those stories where the ending comes in the prologue and the rest of the book shows the readers just how that ending comes to be and that’s a device I love! (my review)

 

What were your debut favorites of 2023?

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