These Are the Best Books of 2024 (So Far), According to Real Simple Editors
If reading more is a goal for you this year, this list is a great place to start.
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If you can't decide what to read next, you're in luck because we have some ideas. From memoirs to heartfelt fiction, these are our favorite books of 2024. Each month, we'll add more new books we love—and you can add them to your own TBR pile.
Related: 15 Books Coming Out in 2024 That We Can't Wait to Read
The Cemetery of Untold Stories
Algonquin Books
The Cemetery of Untold Stories, the latest by literary legend Julia Alvarez (In the Time of the Butterflies), centers on Alma, a writer living in Vermont who inherits a small plot in the Dominican Republic, her family’s homeland. Everyone is curious what she’ll do with it—well, imagine the reaction when she turns it into a graveyard for the manuscripts she hasn’t finished. Her characters aren’t done telling their stories, though, and as they refuse to let their voices be buried, this imaginative book will make you think about legacies and how they live on.
Women and Children First
Zando — SJP Lit
Women and Children First is set in a seen-better-days beach town in Massachusetts. All the locals know one another and not much goes unnoticed, so when a teenage girl mysteriously dies at a house party, the ripples are felt by everyone. Author Alina Grabowski reveals the girl’s story through vignettes told from the points of view of her mother, her teacher, her best friend, and others. The result is an original, deeply affecting debut novel about complex women and the community they carry.
The Alternatives
Riverhead Books
All in their 30s, all unmarried, and all with PhDs, the four Flattery sisters live unique lives in various corners of the world. That is, until the eldest, a geologist who’s distraught over the state of the planet, disappears into the Irish countryside, and the other three join forces to find her. Told with biting wit and warmhearted insight, The Alternatives by award-winning Irish author Caoilinn Hughes reflects our collective yearning to make sense of our lives.
Did I Ever Tell You?
Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books
Writer Genevieve Kingston was just 11 when her mother died from breast cancer. During her illness, her mother put together two chests for Kingston and her brother, each filled with boxes and letters to mark every milestone they might hit before they turned 30. Incorporating pictures and stories, Did I Ever Tell You? details how this gift has guided Kingston throughout her life. Her recounting is both a beautiful tribute to her mother and a portrait of unconditional love, providing catharsis for anyone who has ever lost a loved one.
Real Americans
Knopf
In Real Americans by Rachel Khong, Lily Chen is the 22-year-old daughter of Chinese scientists and can barely afford her life in Y2K-era Manhattan. When she meets Matthew, who is white and extremely wealthy, she’s surprised that sparks fly. Fast-forward to 2021: Nick Chen, 15, lives with his mom (Lily!) on the West Coast and, confused about where he belongs in life, is desperate to find his biological father. This multigenerational stunner asks a thought-provoking question: Do we have any control over our destiny, or do some people just get lucky?
The Limits
Knopf
The Limits, the latest by Nell Freudenberger, is an astonishingly realistic portrayal of everyday people facing the challenges of modern life. Set during the peak of Covid (but don’t worry—it’s not a pandemic novel!), it features unforgettable characters: Nathalie is a French biologist living on a tiny Polynesian island who sends her teenage daughter, Pia, to Manhattan to stay with her ex and his new wife, Kate, a teacher. After Pia meets one of Kate’s students, a 16-year-old caring for her toddler nephew and haunted by anxiety, everyone’s paths collide in deeply moving ways.
A Great Country
Mariner Books
Two decades after immigrating to the U.S., the Shahs seem to be living the dream. They have a successful business, a new home in an upscale California community, three happy kids, and a close-knit network of fellow Indian Americans. Then their 12-year-old son is arrested, and they learn they might have more in common with other communities of color than they’d believed. With vivid characters and an absorbing plot, A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda asks important questions about race, class, and what it really means to “make it” in the U.S. today.
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers
Doubleday
When Clayton Stumper was just a baby, he was left on the steps of an English commune where a group of professional enigmatologists (i.e., puzzle makers) invented new games and riddles. Now in his 20s, Clayton is a quirky young man mourning the death of the woman who discovered and raised him. But she’s left him with one final mystery to solve: Where did he really come from, and what’s next? Samuel Burr’s The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers takes readers along on Clayton’s quest to discover his roots, treating us to a literary mood boost about friendship and found family.
The Stone Home
William Morrow
It’s 2011 when a stranger knocks on Eunju Oh’s door and sends her reeling back to a past she’d hoped to forget. In the 1980s, teenage Eunju and her mother, living on the streets of South Korea, were picked up by police and taken to one of the country’s “reformatory centers”—ostensibly created to help struggling members of society but actually brutally violent work camps. Told from the perspectives of Eunju, her mother, and two teenage brothers imprisoned in the same camp, The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim exposes a dark reality in South Korea’s history through a gripping story about human connection and the will to survive.
The Husbands
Doubleday
In Holly Gramazio’s debut, Lauren comes home after a big night out and finds a man she’s never met in her London apartment. According to the photos on the wall and the texts in her phone, he’s…her husband? But when he climbs into the attic to change a light bulb, another man climbs down, and it isn’t long before Lauren realizes that every time she sends someone up the ladder, a different spouse returns. Refreshingly original and laugh-out-loud funny, The Husbands has a sneaky-smart message about how hard it can be to make confident choices in a world with zillions of options.
The Hunter
Viking
Tana French is beloved worldwide for her crime novels, and her latest release, The Hunter, doesn’t disappoint. Set in a small Irish village, the story features Trey, a teenage girl with a not-so-great home life who’s found companionship in Lena, a neighbor, and Cal, a retired police officer from Chicago. When Trey’s long-absent dad returns to town, boasting about a moneymaking scheme that ropes in much of the community, she resolves to put an end to his nonsense. The quirky characters, subtle snark, and propulsive plot make this an excellent contender for your spring break beach bag.
Related: 3 Reasons to Start Reading a Book Before Bed, According to Research and Sleep Pros
The Divorcées
Flatiron Books
Reno, Nevada, was famous in the mid-20th century for its “divorce ranches,” where married women from around the U.S. could establish six-week residencies to take advantage of the state’s lenient divorce laws. Rowan Beaird’s debut novel centers on Lois Saunders, a self-doubting 1950s housewife who’s left her stifling marriage in Illinois to live at the Golden Yarrow, one of the city’s most reputable ranches. Her father, who’s funding her stay, expects she’ll move back in with him once she’s single, but she has a secret wish for something more. Moody, sexy, and mysterious, The Divorcées offers a fascinating look at female desire.
Anita de Monte Laughs Last
Flatiron Books
In Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez, Raquel is a Puerto Rican art history student at an Ivy League school, where her wealthy white classmates never miss an opportunity to make her feel like an outsider. When she lands a coveted fellowship and discovers the story of a forgotten Cuban American artist who died a suspicious death in the mid-’80s, she feels a kinship with her, and their connection could alter her own path. Told from the two women’s points of view, this rollicking page-turner from the bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming includes of-the-moment commentary about who succeeds and why.
James
Doubleday
It takes real guts to reimagine a book as iconic as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but Pulitzer Prize finalist Percival Everett has done it with James, telling the tale from the point of view of the enslaved Jim (who, in this version, prefers his formal name). The story follows his and Huck’s journey down the Mississippi River, this time revealing him to be an erudite man with immense heart and wit who just wants to be reunited with his family. No matter how much you loved Mark Twain’s original, you’ll devour this blazingly funny and thoughtprovoking update.
The Morningside
Random House
The Morningside by National Book Award finalist Téa Obreht (The Tiger’s Wife) is an astounding rethink of the mother-daughter narrative. With themes of myth and folklore, it’s set in a dystopian future, in a flooded city that seems a lot like Manhattan. Tween Silvia and her mother are climate refugees who’ve moved into a dilapidated high-rise managed by Silvia’s aunt, Ena. Because Silvia’s mother won’t speak of their homeland, Silvia turns to Ena for stories. Then she discovers an elusive woman living in the building’s penthouse and becomes obsessed with her secrets, which could help unravel the mystery of the past.
The Women
St. Martin's Press
Beloved bestseller Kristin Hannah (The Nightingale, The Four Winds) turns her lens on the Vietnam War era in The Women. It’s 1966, and Frankie McGrath is a mild-mannered nursing student from a wealthy California family who’s always done what’s expected of her. When the brother she idolizes is deployed with the Navy, she impulsively decides to follow his example and joins the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. The gripping, powerful story that unfolds pays tribute to the women whose courage and sacrifice during one of America’s longest wars remain largely overlooked.
Grief Is for People
MCD
On June 27, 2019, Sloane Crosley came home to her apartment to discover that somebody had crawled through her bedroom window and stolen all her jewelry. Exactly one month later, the former book publicist and author of Cult Classic and I Was Told There’d Be Cake lost her closest friend to suicide. In Grief Is for People, she examines how she confronted both events. Raw, deeply moving, and laced with her trademark wit, it’s a profound take on loss and how we make our way through it.
Acts of Forgiveness
Ballantine Books
Willie Revel is a single mom who reluctantly left a promising journalism career in New York City to help run her father’s struggling construction business in Philadelphia. When America’s first woman president announces the Forgiveness Act, which would grant Black families descended from slaves $175,000, Willie wants to apply, both to uncover her ancestry and to keep her parents out of bankruptcy. But not every family member is on board. Acts of Forgiveness by Maura Cheeks is a heartfelt read that beautifully personalizes a current debate.
Related: Best Books by Black Authors
Family Family
Henry Holt and Co.
India Allwood, an actor and adoptive mom, confesses in an interview with a journalist that her latest film is a shallow, inaccurate take on adoption. The media goes wild, and protesters follow suit. Her tween daughter tries to help: To prove that her mom has a well-rounded and legitimate perspective on the issue, she contacts the girl India gave up at birth 16 years earlier. A dual-timeline story told through multiple points of view, Family Family by Laurie Frankel tackles the complexities of how families are formed.
The Fortune Seller
St. Martin's Press
In The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, Rosie Macalister is a member of the Yale equestrian team who has finally found her place among her well-to-do teammates. Just back from her junior year abroad, she discovers there’s a new member of the clique: Annelise, an elusive rider whose hobby is tarot cards, and whose readings become increasingly unnerving. This dark page-turner has excellent storytelling (strange deaths! class warfare!), characters you’ll love to hate, and fascinating insights into the twists and turns of friendship.
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