Debuts. I’ve always loved them and 2019 was no exception. To date, I’ve read 37 debuts this year, making up just over one-third of all my reading. Not every debut is a hit for me, but SO many are. I think authors often have that kernel of a story inside of them for a long time and when it finally bursts out? Magic! I guarantee that you’ll see more than one of these nine debuts I’m sharing today on my 2019 Best Books of the Year list next week….

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As some of you might know, I have a real thing for debuts. I think that debuts are often an author’s best work, so I’m constantly on the look out for first novels, that pique my interest. A few weeks ago, as I was putting together my Winter Preview 2018, I noticed that I already had a lot of debuts in my 2018 reading list. They deserved some serious attention! So, the Winter Preview featured established authors, and today it’s all about DEBUTS!…

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Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo (debut)
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: August 22, 2017
Length: 272 pages
Buy on Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

After four years of infertility, a Nigerian man is pressured to take a second wife, leaving the woman he adores devastated….

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The post Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

A few weeks ago, I was exchanging emails with some other bloggers and we were all feeling like there weren’t as many “hot” books as usual this fall. Now, I’m not so sure because I had a terrible time weeding through the books on my “to be read” list down to something manageable. I’m hoping this means the fall will bring many unexpected surprises in the literary world. Once again, I won’t try to sum up books that I haven’t yet read. Instead I’ll share a bit about what draws me to each title. For a synopsis, click on the link….

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It’s May and you’ve got to love that! Spring is still teasing us here in Washington. We get a day of sun and then four or five of clouds. Still, I took the time this past weekend to plant a few flowers in my yard, as well as in pots on my porch. I’m preparing my favorite reading spot: a comfy chair there on the porch, surrounded by sunshine and flowers. If the forecasters are to be believed, I may be enjoying it this week!

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Single Sentence Summary: After a young mother drowns while sleepwalking, her very quirky family is left trying to build a life without the very core of their existence.

Primary Characters: Elvis – Elvis is the 12-year old narrator of Rabbit Cake. She’s looking back on the two years since her mother died and relating all that has happened to her family in that time. Lizzie – Troubled older sister, Lizzie was 15 at the time of her mother’s death, and like her mom, is also a sleepwalker. Dad – Suddenly thrust into the role of single parent, he has a stiff learning curve to overcome. Dad copes with his sadness in unusual ways….

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The post Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

Single Sentence Summary: Mel and Sharon meet the first week of college, sharing a love of drawing and animation, which will forever seal their friendship and entwine their lives.

Primary Characters: Mel Vaught – a talented animator with a big, brash, confident personality. Mel is often the life of the party and just as often doesn’t know when to stop. Sharon Kisses – also a talented animator, though less sure of herself. Sharon sees herself as the partner who keeps the work moving, but doubts her artistic contributions….

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The post The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

Single Sentence Summary: Fourteen-year-old Linda lives a lonely existence at home and at school, so when a young family moves in nearby and welcomes her into their home Linda is ready to hold their secrets.

Primary Characters: Linda – (actually Madeline, “but at school called Linda or Commie or Freak.”) Linda is 14/15 and leads a solitary life with her fading hippie parents at an abandoned commune in the woods of Northern Minnesota. The Gardners – a family of three, mother, father and 4-year old son, who move in across the lake from Linda….

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Single Sentence Summary: Ann’s love for Wade is ferocious, but ghosts from his first marriage, Wade’s growing dementia, and Ann’s own sense of guilt cast a pall over their life together.

Primary Characters: Ann Mitchell – Wade’s second wife. Ann cares for and watches over her husband as he losses more and more of his memory. Wade Mitchell – central to the story, Wade suffered the tragic loss of both his daughters on a single day. Jenny Mitchell – Wade’s first wife, now in prison for the murder of her daughter….

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The post Idaho by Emily Ruskovich | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

Single Sentence Summary: Four high school juniors struggle to learn what it means to survive a school shooting that killed 35, while the town they live in begins to burn.

Primary Characters: Christina Delbano – in French class when the shootings occurred. The shooter did not enter that classroom. Matt Howell – in the bathroom when the shootings began. He watched a friend die just outside the door. Nick Ito – with others, blocked the door to the classroom he was in. Zola Walker – in the library when the shooter entered and killed many people….

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The post Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down by Anne Valente | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.