Bestseller lists are everywhere, but where are the books without the huge fanbases? These literary gems deserve their moment in the spotlight. It can be intimidating to start a new series with tons of fan theories and alternate versions that make it hard to figure out where to start. Let’s explore some of the smaller titles that can be your hidden hideaway from the world. This list will guide you right off the beaten path and into something extraordinary.
Heart the Lover by Lily King
King’s groundbreaking romance novel, Heart the Lover, explores the implications of young love on us later in life. Jordan, a creative writing major in her senior year of college, meets Sam and Yash — two best friends — in one of her classes. When the pair invite her to stay at their professor’s house, which they’re housesitting, the proximity leads to the development of their friendship into something more. As the three get to know each other better, Jordan finds herself in a love triangle that will unravel her adult life when one of the boys shows up at her door years later. How will the choices Jordan made in love as a young and dumb college student come back to bite her?
The Devil Is a Southpaw by Brandon Hobson
A creative commentary on systematic injustice, Hobson’s The Devil Is a Southpaw explores the complicated and strained friendship of two boys living in a juvenile detention center together in the 1980s. Milton had always kept a close eye on Matthew, overanalyzing every move that the young artist made in an envious rage. Until one day, Matthew escaped from the detention center. This novel follows the life of Milton as he reflects on his relationship with Matthew and how their mutual imprisonment influenced their upbringing. If you’re looking for an incredibly insightful account of the impact of racial violence in the context of a classic rivalry between boys, this title is for you.
Loved One by Aisha Muharrar
Muharrar’s Loved One navigates the incredibly unpredictable ways in which grief influences human emotion. When Julia’s best friend Gabe dies suddenly, she is thrown into a world of searching through his past to reconcile with a future she had never pictured for herself. Eventually, her journey leads her to Elizabeth, Gabe’s mysterious ex-girlfriend. Julia then finds herself grasping onto the last pieces of Gabe she has by obsessing over Elizabeth. Will the two women be able to put their past behind them to bond in their mutual grief, or will they need to learn to let go, moving on with the rest of their lives?
Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams
We can all remember turning 18 years old and thinking we had the world figured out. Charlie is starting to learn that might not be the case as she reexamines her relationships as a young woman. Having recently begun a love affair with her much older idol, Richard Aveling, Charlie seems to have everything she wants out of life. But when meaningless flings mask themselves as epic romances, how can we see through the cracks? Join Charlie as she navigates complex adult relationships for the first time, figuring out who she is and how to love herself in the process in Williams’ Bitter Sweet.
Endling by Maria Reva
While her family is begging her to stop and settle down, Yeva couldn’t care less. All she wants to do is breed rare snails, living out of her mobile lab in Ukraine. Yeva’s family doesn’t have the full story, though. Even though she might not be searching for love, Yeva dates plenty of men to fund her research. With Nastia joining her to search for their mother after her disappearance, Yeva’s calm life of bugs and boys is about to get a lot weirder. Will the girls’ search come to a screeching halt when Russia begins to invade Ukraine, or will they find a way around this in Reva’s innovative Endling?
Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart
Told from the delicate perspective of a young girl, Shteyngart’s Vera, or Faith explores the complicated dynamic of the Bradford-Shmulkin family. All Vera wants is for Daddy and Anne Mom to make up and to find her birth mother, Mom Mom. This novel frames the tender relationship between heritage and found family as Vera navigates understanding where she comes from and where she’ll soon go. Will Vera’s wishes come true, or will her point of view sour as the world crashes around her?
The best books aren’t always the loudest ones. Sometimes, the stories that whisper to you in a hidden corner of your favorite bookstore are the ones that will stick with you for life. Exploring the obscure book titles will open the door to new worlds that you can’t find in the mainstream. The excitement in the unknown is what keeps readers turning the page, so let your curiosity guide you into your next obsession.
Interested in the books that our team would recommend? Check out our Recommendations page!
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