1. The Answers by Catherine Lacey
Sophomore college student Mary already has a rough deal. She’s scarred from a disturbing incident in her childhood, has no money, and if things couldn’t get any worse, she suffers from constant physical pain.
Thanks to a series of New Age treatments, however, the pain briefly subsides, but when it returns, Lacey realises she is too poor to keep paying for the treatments so decides to scour the net for quick cash solutions, and her prayers are seemingly answered when she sings up to a programme by a wealthy actor called the “Girlfriend Experiment.”
Riveting and well written, Lacey’s second novel looks sure to be a best-seller.
2. Seven Days with You- Hugo Driscoll
Described by one reviewer as a “quick but surprisingly deep read which looks sensitively at young love and terminal illness”, Seven Days with You looks set to be the latest tearjerker to hit shelves these coming months.
Short and sweet and also quite funny at times, stories like these tend to attract a female audience, so if you’re a guy and find yourself on the wrong side of your loved one, why not buy a copy to show her how much you care?
3. Men without Women by Haruki Murakami
The Japanese sensation Haruki Murakami is one of the few authors who can still draw large crowds at bookstores thanks to his prolific output of magical realist novels.
Having said that, his most famous and best-selling work, Norweigan Wood, was a love story about two young twenty-somethings, so perhaps that’s why he returned to the topic by writing a collection of stories called Men Without Women. Consisting of seven different male characters, each is devoid of female companionship, and as always, Murakami delves deep into his heart as well as his talents to explain why.
4. Dear Cyborgs by Eugene Lim
Any novel set in the quiet Midwest needs to be interesting (no offence Midwesterners), but Eugene Lim hasn’t let vast stretches of corn fields stifle his imagination. Instead, he’s written a compelling piece of fiction, which ranges from two teenagers bonding over their love of porno comics to futuristic superheroes raving about their favourite poetry.
Lim also isn’t afraid to explore satire and even critique modern-day economic markets. It’s a weird premise that shouldn’t be enjoyable, but it is, and we firmly recommend you read it.
5. Into The Water by Paula Hawkins
The author of 2015’s blockbuster novel The Girl On The Train is back with her eagerly-awaited follow-up Into The Water, a psychological thriller that begins with the drowning of a single mother.
What follows is the death of teenage girl succumbing to the same fate, which then leaves us with the story’s protagonist, a motherless and friendless 15-year-old girl forced to live with her emotionally disturbed auntie.
Written with the same suspense that left 20m readers of her debut enamoured, Hawkins’s book may not achieve anywhere near the kind of success The Girl on The Train did, but it’s a great book and one that will probably get the Hollywood treatment sooner or later.
6. Release- Patrick Ness
Patrick Ness set the world alight with his breakthrough children’s novel A Monster Calls, and he appears keen to establish himself as YA’s new cover star following the release of his most tender novel yet.
Release, much like A Monster Calls, deals with pain and sorrow all while trying to stay on top of everyday life but failing miserably. Gut-wrenching but also marvellously told, Release may just be the best YA book in years.
7. Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash
A good sports story is a rare find in fiction, but Gabe Habash’s brilliant novel about a NCAA wrestler intent on superstardom is engrossing- even if you’re not the biggest sports fan.
A tale much about obsession and dedication as anything else, Stephen Florida is one of our favourites on this list.
8. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
If you still want to be in an upbeat mood when your all-inclusive holiday comes to an end, ‘The Alchemist’ could just be the answer to your prayers.
Consumed by over 65 million readers, the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho’s narrative is one which offers hope to people who believe in the beauty of their dreams, and with a wonderfully written prose, you may just realise by its end that your life can be whatever you want it to be.
9. Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garciá Márquez
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s books are famed for their magical realist prose, but one of his last works as a fiction writer saw him take a different approach and explore the themes of love and morality.
Depicting the life a 90-year-old journalist who falls in love for the first time when he beds a virgin prostitute, the lines in this brilliant novella are breathtaking and once more illustrate Marquez’s awe-inspiring command of the written word.
10. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Okay, so maybe I’m a bit biased including this book seeing as it’s my all-time fav, but J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel about a disillusioned teenage protagonist named Holden Caulfield still shifts hundreds of thousands of copies each year and is usually considered the greatest American novel of all time.
Of course, a book about the fragilities of teenagehood written in 1951 might not have the same poignancy or depth as modern books chronicling the teenage experience, but it’s still a masterpiece and a book that was ahead of its time.
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