2017 gave us a lot of great first novels, and as I’ve written before, first novels are often an author’s best work — maybe because it’s more raw, or maybe because it’s the story the author is most driven to tell. Here are my favorite debut novels read in 2017 (all released in 2017 or late 2016):
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- The Leavers by Lisa Ko
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
- Goodbye Vitamin by Rachel Khong
- Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams
- Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
- All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
- The Wangs Versus the World by Jade Chang
I didn’t include nonfiction or short stories on this list, just novels.
I’m looking forward to the sophomore efforts from these writers! What first novels do you recommend?