10 2015/16 Debuts I Can't Wait To Read

So, because the 200 or so books in my TBR pile and the 400ish on my Kindle aren't tempting enough, I occasionally end up browsing publishing websites, Query Shark and similar sites, tempting myself with books coming in the distant future. If you have a problem with anticipation, look away now! If not, here are 10 debuts in 2015 and 2016 that I can’t wait to read.

(One warning: not 100% sure everything is coming out over here, so you may need to be ready to hit up Foyles for imports... I certainly am!)

Title links go to author/publisher sites or announcements, depending what I could find. Author links go to their Twitter feeds. If you're particularly looking forward to any of them, drop them a tweet! No particular order except for the top one which is my most-anticipated.


IVY SPARROW by Jennifer Bell (Random House)

I don’t think being hugely knowledgeable about children’s books guarantees you’ll write a great novel, but I think it probably boosts the chances. Jen, assistant children’s buyer at Foyles, is one of my absolute favourite people to talk to about MG and YA books. This magical adventure set in “a city beneath London where uncommon people trade in uncommon goods” sounds wonderful!


THE SIN EATER’S DAUGHTER by Mel Salisbury (Scholastic)

I don’t know all that much about this one, other than it’s about a young girl working as a court executioner, which sounds fabulous. Oh, and it’s the first in a trilogy. However, I‘ve met Mel twice. She is terrific, in the Lords and Ladies sense of the word. I am half looking forward to seeing what she’s come up with for her book, and half wondering whether I dare read it. Also, I’m hugely jealous of Rainbow Rowell, because she has a copy of this in her TBR pile. (Well, not quite true. I’m hugely jealous of Rainbow Rowell because she’s a talented, best-selling author with legions of fans and gets great reviews. Having a copy of this as well just makes me even MORE jealous!)


BRIMSTONE FOR BREAKFAST by Tatum Flynn (Orchard) - Note: Since this post, this has been renamed The D'Evil Diaries. Also, check out the fab cover reveal and an extract here!

Tatum Flynn is one of my favourite people to talk to about MG on Twitter, and I love reading her blog – her interview with Susie Day last week was BRILLIANT. I’m keen to see what her novels are like and the Brimstone Diaries series, about a devil who's 'terrible at being terrible' looks amazing.


SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)

“You’ve Got Mail starring teenage boys with good grammar”? Sold! Becky’s agent is the fabulous Molly Ker Hawn, which only adds to my feeling that this is going to be amazing.


THE FLOOD GIRLS by Richard Fifield (Gallery Books)

Yes, rare moment of me being interested in something that isn’t YA/MG! Montana, softball, fabulous flamboyant 12-year-old boy, self-acceptance and love – lots of brilliant-sounding elements in this one.


WHEN MY HEART WAS WICKED by Tricia Stirling (Scholastic)

The line “magic exists in the everyday” in Molly Ker Hawn’s post about this one (linked above) has me seriously intrigued, as does the one sentence summary about an unstable mother who’ll use dark magic to keep control of her daughter’s heart and soul.


THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig (Greenwillow Books)

Nix grows up on a ship which travels through time, but her father will go anywhere – and do anything – to save the life of her mother. Even though changing history like that could mean Nix was never born…

I don’t like time-travel at all, but how could you resist anything which looks as wonderful as this query makes this one sound? Also, I’ve just realised that Heidi is represented by Molly Ker Hawn. I possibly knew this previously but had forgotten. I’m not ACTUALLY just going through the Bent Agency blog to put this list together. (Although saying that, it might save time!)


THE BAD KID by Sarah Lariviere (Simon & Schuster)

Okay, up until that last paragraph, I WASN’T trawling through The Bent Agency’s blog pages, but I decided I might as well start. And wow, what a decision! Phrases like ‘mobster grandfather’, ‘screwball humour’, ‘original voice’ and ‘modern-day Harriet The Spy’ make me desperate to read this ASAP.


STONEBIRD by Mike Revell (Quercus) – I’m not actually sure if I can read this, as it’s about a ten-year-old struggling to deal with his grandmother’s dementia and it may hit too close to home. My own beloved Nain (Welsh name for grandmother) passed away a few years ago. Towards the end of her life she was in a nursing home, and visiting her was incredibly difficult for me emotionally as it was tough to see someone I absolutely adored, who’d been a rock for me all of my life, not really know what was going on any more. Because of this, I’m not sure I can personally read anything dealing with dementia, but also because of this, I think it’s a topic which needs much more understanding. Having met Gemma Cooper a few times recently and being a big fan of Robin Stevens and Katy-Jo Cannon, who she represents, I have absolute faith that any author who has her as an agent will treat the subject with the utmost respect.


UNBURDENED: THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF A LONDON CYCLE COURIER by Emily Chappell (Guardian Faber)

This snuck on right at the last minute, I saw this deal on The Bookseller just as I was about to post this. I really love non-fiction and haven’t read that much of it recently for various reasons, but anything London-based is especially interesting to me.


So, which of the above 10 are you most looking forward to? Anything else that should be on my radar? Leave me a comment or tweet me!