debut Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

Saoirse by Charleen Hurtobise

Catherine — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 07:35:16 +0000

A teenage girl in fear for her life steals both money and a passport to get out of the U.S. and into Ireland in the 1990s. This is the beginning of the novel Saoirse, but it’s nowhere near the beginning of the life of Sarah, the main character. That unspools slowly throughout the book as […]

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Good People by Pameena Sabit

Catherine — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 08:02:41 +0000

When the Sharaf family emigrated from Afghanistan to the United States in the 1980s they were met by an Afghan community that understood not only the terrors of war they’d escaped, but the hardships they would face in building a new life in a foreign country. They were welcomed and aided in their early years […]

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Best Offer Wins

Catherine — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:32:48 +0000

For anyone who’s purchased a house in a competitive market the subject of Marisa Kashino’s novel Best Offer Wins won’t come as a surprise: the lengths a buyer will go to win the house of their dreams. Think buying a home is just about paying the price the owners are asking for it? Then you’ve […]

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Lucky Girl

Catherine — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:40:50 +0000

What is life like when you have an extraordinary gift? When you’re a child with an ability that goes far beyond your years and you have the determination to see it grow? For Lucy, the ability was dance and her ambition so fierce it takes her to the heights of commercial success in Lucky Girl, […]

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The Poet Empress

Catherine — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 08:28:19 +0000

The Poet Empress is a debut by Shen Tao, set in 650AD China in the kingdom of Tensha. The current emperor is dying and two of his sons are vying for the throne. One of them, Terren, needs a bride and concubines, so a nationwide search is begun. During the approval process he randomly chooses […]

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The Names by Florence Knapp

Catherine — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 08:05:39 +0000

It feels odd to say that a book that left me so saddened and troubled was a favorite, but it’s the case with author Florence Knapp’s debut, The Names. This is an alternate realities story about an infant boy whose mother, Cora, in three scenarios, chooses a different name for him. The story follows the […]

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The Correspondent

Catherine — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 07:17:09 +0000

When Sybil Van Antwerp came of age there was no such thing as digital. Given that, she sees no reason to abandon her lifelong habit of communicating via letter. She’ll even use email when it is the only option, but that is as much as she’ll concede. This means Virginia Evans’ debut The Correspondent is […]

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Penitence: A Novel

Catherine — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 08:17:33 +0000

When Penitence begins 13-year-old Nora is alone in a jail cell after turning herself in for killing her 14-year-old brother. An opening like this has the heft to carry a traditional thriller/mystery whether as a police procedural (solving the crime) or a courtroom drama (Nora on trial). Instead, debut author Kristin Koval forges a completely […]

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Those Fatal Flowers

Catherine — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 08:54:28 +0000

While my fascination surrounding the legend of Troy has waned (I can only watch Eric Bana and Brad Pitt in the movie so many times) my curiosity about mythology has not. Those Fatal Flowers is a genre-bending tale of a handmaiden to a goddess who is cursed for her carelessness, but has the opportunity to […]

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Snake Oil: A Novel

Catherine — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 08:35:47 +0000

Three women, one company. Set in the wellness industry Snake Oil is about the woman who starts the company and two of the women who work for her. At opposite ends of the spectrum, one is a fervent believer in the company’s mission while the other avidly opposes it, but needs the paycheck. When the […]

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