7 Can’t Miss Spring 2020 Book Releases

It’s hard to believe we’re only a handful of weeks away from 2020 being halfway over. It’s certainly been a strange year so far and it still doesn’t quite feel like we’re already in the middle of May. 

I may be in the minority here, but I am not a fan of summer and dread its arrival each year. Spring is lovely—comfortable and beautiful with trees coming back to life and flowers blooming all around. With this year flying by (and somehow dragging at the same time), summer’s arrival feels imminent and is sure to come before I feel fully prepared to endure its wretchedness. 

So for now, I’m focusing on spring—and that means also focusing on the exciting releases the literary world has seen over the last couple of months and some that are coming soon.   

7 Can’t Miss Spring 2020 Book Releases

---

Code Name Hélène (March 31)

by Ariel Lawhon 

Add to Goodreads

This book is based on the life of Nancy Wake, an Australian expat who worked as a reporter for Hearst in Paris just before WWII and later as a spy for the British. Lawhon throws readers into the middle of the action, as Nancy, under the alias Hélène, prepares to parachute from an RAF plane into France to help the Resistance in 1944, carrying in her head memorized lists of vital data, including bridges targeted for destruction and safe house addresses. After she lands, the story flashes back eight years, as Nancy struggles for respect and recognition as a journalist; despite her firsthand observations of Nazi brutality in 1930s Vienna, her editor is reluctant to publish a story about what she’s seen. Frequent jumps in time draw out the arc of Wake’s remarkable life; despite her statement early on that women’s weapons of warfare were limited to “silk stockings and red lipstick,” by the end she’s proven herself skillful at physical combat as well.

 

 

 

This novel is just barely outside the range I was keeping for this post (April through June), but only by a day, so we’re looking past that. Based on the true story of Nancy Wake, spy for the British in WWII, there is no way I could ignore this novel. The story of Nancy’s life is one I’m sure will fascinate and entertain. It’s certainly one I’d like to read. 

Sin Eater (April 7)

by Megan Campisi 

Add to Goodreads

The Sin Eater walks among us, unseen, unheard

Sins of our flesh become sins of Hers

Following Her to the grave, unseen, unheard

The Sin Eater Walks Among Us.

An old adage says there are really only two stories: a man goes on a voyage, and a stranger arrives in town. This is the third: a woman breaks the rules . . . Can you uncover the truth when you’re forbidden from speaking it?

A Sin Eater’s duty is a necessary evil: she hears the confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite. Stained by these sins, she is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town. Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen, only concerned with where her next meal is coming from. When she’s arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, however, and subsequently sentenced to become a Sin Eater, finding food is suddenly the last of her worries. It’s a devastating sentence, but May’s new invisibility opens new doors. And when first one then two of the Queen’s courtiers suddenly grow ill, May hears their deathbed confessions – and begins to investigate a terrible rumour that is only whispered of amid palace corridors. Set in a thinly disguised sixteenth-century England, The Sin Eater is a wonderfully rich story of treason and treachery; of women, of power, and the strange freedom that comes from being an outcast – because, as May learns, being a nobody sometimes counts for everything . . .

My most anticipated novel on this list, Sin Eater is the debut novel of playwright Megan Campisi and sounds like a dark, complex, twisting tale about women and their struggle for power in a world inspired by Tudor-era England. It’s been described as Alice in Wonderland meets The Handmaid’s Tale (what a combination!) and I’m incredibly eager to get my hands on it. 

The Moment of Tenderness  (April 7)

by Madeline L’Engle

Add to Goodreads

From the beloved author of A Wrinkle in Time comes a deeply personal, genre-bending short story collection that transcends generational divides and reminds readers that hope, above all, can transform suffering into the promise of joy. This powerful collection of short stories traces an emotional arc inspired by Madeleine L’Engle’s early life and career, from her lonely childhood in New York to her life as a mother in small-town Connecticut. In a selection of eighteen stories discovered by one of L’Engle’s granddaughters, we see how L’Engle’s personal experiences and abiding faith informed the creation of her many cherished works. Some of these stories have never been published; others were refashioned into scenes for her novels and memoirs. Almost all were written in the 1940s and ’50s, from Madeleine’s college years until just before the publication of A Wrinkle in Time. From realism to science-fiction to fantasy, there is something for everyone in this magical collection.

 

This is an unexpected choice for me. I’ve read A Wrinkle in Time and liked it just fine, but didn’t love it. I don’t often read short story collections. Bearing those things in mind, The Moment of Tenderness is certainly not something I’d usually jump at. While I’m not necessarily jumping at the chance to read this, I am curious about the stories L’Engle was writing that she perhaps never planned on letting see the light of day. I’m not sure what I expect from this collection of short stories—nothing at all, really—but my curiosity is enough to make it worth giving a shot. 

The Book of Longings (April 21)

by Sue Monk Kidd

Add to Goodreads

Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, Ana is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old Jesus, each is drawn to and enriched by the other’s spiritual and philosophical ideas. He becomes a floodgate for her intellect, but also the awakener of her heart. Their marriage unfolds with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, James and Simon, and their mother, Mary. Here, Ana’s pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel, partially led by her charismatic adopted brother, Judas. She is sustained by her indomitable aunt Yaltha, who is searching for her long-lost daughter, as well as by other women, including her friend Tabitha, who is sold into slavery after she was raped, and Phasaelis, the shrewd wife of Herod Antipas. Ana’s impetuous streak occasionally invites danger. When one such foray forces her to flee Nazareth for her safety shortly before Jesus’s public ministry begins, she makes her way with Yaltha to Alexandria, where she eventually finds refuge and purpose in unexpected surroundings. Grounded in meticulous historical research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus’s life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring account of one woman’s bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place, and culture devised to silence her. 

This novel certainly has a unique premise. So unique, in fact, that I can’t help but be curious even though it’s not necessarily the type of story I would usually go for. Based on The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd’s writing is wonderful—emotionally complex and descriptive but not flowery, striking a nice balance between emotional depth and the fantastically simple ways she conveys that depth. Partnered with a premise that promises to be unlike anything I’ve read before, The Book of Longings is not one to miss. 

America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster (May 19)

by Mary Kay McBrayer 

Add to Goodreads

America’s first female serial killer was not always a killer. America’s First Female Serial Killer novelizes the true story of first-generation Irish-American nurse Jane Toppan, born as Honora Kelley. Although all the facts are intact, books about her life and her crimes are all facts and no story. Jane Toppan was absolutely a monster, but she did not start out that way. Making of a serial killer. When Jane was a young child, her father abandoned her and her sister to the Boston Female Asylum. From there, Jane was indentured to a wealthy family who changed her name, never adopted her, wrote her out of the will, and essentially taught her how to hate herself. Jilted at the altar, Jane became a nurse and took control of her life, and the lives of her victims.

 

 

The only nonfiction book on this list, America’s First Female Serial Killer is truly a book I could not ignore. For fans of true crime novels and shows like myself, this book is the perfect read to devour while we’re stuck at home. The story of Jane Toppan is sure to captivate. 

The Prisoner’s Wife (May 26)

by Maggie Brookes 

Add to Goodreads

In the dead of night, a Czech farm girl and a British soldier travel through the countryside. Izabela and prisoner of war Bill have secretly married and are on the run, with Izzy dressed as a man. The young husband and wife evade capture for as long as possible–until they are cornered by Nazi soldiers with tracking dogs. Izzy’s disguise works. The couple are assumed to be escaped British soldiers and transported to a POW camp. However, their ordeal has just begun, as they face appalling living conditions and the constant fear of Izzy’s exposure. But in the midst of danger and deprivation comes hope, for the young couple are befriended by a small group of fellow prisoners. These men become their new family, willing to jeopardize their lives to save Izzy from being discovered and shot. The Prisoner’s Wife tells of an incredible risk, and of how our deepest bonds are tested in desperate times. Bill and Izzy’s story is one of love and survival against the darkest odds. 

 

I’m a sucker for WWII historical fiction. The emotional depth of the stories, the focus on the best of humanity and resilience in the most difficult times and the fact that I always end up learning something new keeps me coming back to this genre. The Prisoner’s Wife fits perfectly, but it’s a standout among the rest because it’s based on a true story. Brookes has novelized the story of a WWII prisoner of war as it was told to her directly by the ex-prisoner themselves. This story is certainly going to be a fascinating, heart wrenching read and I’m looking forward to it.

Death in Her Hands (June 23)

by Ottessa Moshfegh 

Add to Goodreads

While on her normal daily walk with her dog in the forest, our protagonist comes across a note, handwritten and carefully pinned to the ground with a frame of stones. “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body”. Our narrator is deeply shaken; she has no idea what to make of this. She is new to the area, having moved here from her longtime home after the death of her husband, and she knows very few people. And she’s a little shaky even on best of days. Her brooding about this note quickly grows into a full-blown obsession, and she begins to devote herself to exploring the possibilities of her conjectures about who this woman was and how she met her fate. Her suppositions begin to find echoes in the real world, and with mounting excitement and dread, the fog of mystery starts to form into a concrete and menacing shape. But as we follow her in her investigation, strange dissonances start to accrue, and our faith in her grip on reality weakens, until finally, just as she seems be facing some of the darkness in her own past with her late husband, we are forced to face the prospect that there is either a more innocent explanation for all this or a much more sinister one – one that strikes closer to home. A triumphant blend of horror, suspense, and pitch-black comedy, ‘Death in Her Hands’ asks us to consider how the stories we tell ourselves both guide us closer to the truth and keep us at bay from it. Once again, we are in the hands of a narrator whose unreliability is well earned, only this time the stakes have never been higher. 

With tons of buzz already, Death in Her Hands is set to be one of the most popular novels of the summer. A unique take on a psychological thriller, Death in Her Hands is said to be suspenseful and fantastically written, leading readers to question the narrator and everything they thought they knew. I’m eager to read this as soon as possible.  

What spring book releases have you enjoyed so far? Are there any upcoming releases you’re looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Madison