According to Amazon editors — from Molly Shannon’s heartwarming memoir to new novels by bestselling authors.
The saying goes that April showers bring May flowers — but they also bring plenty of opportunities to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a great new book.
If you’re looking for candidates for said book, let us introduce you to 10 worthwhile ones being released this April — including new works by Susan Cain (author of the bestselling nonfiction book “Quiet”), Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Egan ( of “A Visit from the Goon Squad” fame), Booker Prize-winner Douglas Stuart (author of “Shuggie Bain”), and Emily St. John Mandel (“Station Eleven”).
Other exciting new books include a memoir by Molly Shannon, a new novel that feels like a mix between “Emily in Paris” and “Big Little Lies,” and a debut everyone you know will eventually be talking about.
The 10 Best New Books in April, According to Amazon Editors:
Descriptions are provided by Amazon and lightly edited for clarity.
1. “Memphis” by Tara M. Stringfellow
Amazon
“Memphis”, from $13.99, available on Amazon
Set in Memphis, this novel traces three generations of unforgettable Black women as they gather strength from one another’s fortitude, humor, and care amidst heartbreak, racism, and violence. Filled with songs from the ’50s – you’ll be carried away by Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, and Nina Simone – you will bask in the lives of these very real women who hope, who desire, who find joy. — Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
2. “Bittersweet” by Susan Cain
Amazon
“Bittersweet”, from $13.99, available on Amazon
“Bittersweet” feels like a natural follow up to Cain’s 2012 blockbuster “Quiet” and deserves just as many readers. Sorrow and longing are at the heart of compassion, and compassion is at the heart of being human. And that’s not actually as bad as it seems. “Bittersweet” will be a timely and welcome read for so many, and it will serve as a guide to process how they are feeling – indeed, how we all feel sometimes. — Chris Schluep, Amazon Editor
3. “The Candy House” by Jennifer Egan
Amazon
“The Candy House”, from $14.99, available on Amazon
Jennifer Egan won the Pulitzer Prize for 2010’s “A Visit from the Goon Squad” and she revisits some of the characters in this sibling novel, “The Candy House.” While you don’t have to have read ‘Goon’ to feel the potency of this deft critique of the commodification of privacy (though why wouldn’t you?), it definitely enhances it. But on its own, this imaginative and exhilarating offering delivers, and proves fiction’s power to convey what even the best nonfiction can’t. — Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
4. “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel
“Sea of Tranquility”, from $11.99, available on Amazon
A memorable and moving story of the pandemic, time travel, and what it means to be a person. The pristine writing is there as always, as is Mandel’s ability to create intimate portraits at the same time she is addressing the big, essential questions of existence. But in “Sea of Tranquility” there’s a little more freedom to the writing. Emily St. John Mandel is a novelist who has written herself to a very high level. — Chris Schluep, Amazon Editor
5. “The Younger Wife” by Sally Hepworth
“The Younger Wife”, from $14.99, available on Amazon
After opening with blood-spattered nuptials, Sally Hepworth’s “The Younger Wife” takes us back to the engagement lunch, where the first domino fell. From there, it’s an engrossing, engaging, often-horrifying trek through the dark secrets of the affluent Aston family, and how those secrets led to murder. Hepworth’s knack for writing characters readers will feel they have known and loved for years is on full display here, as she weaves a mesmerizing whodunit that reveals itself as a whydunit, too. — Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
6. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
“Lessons in Chemistry”, from $14.99, available on Amazon
If you’re looking for delicious hilarity, characters filled with competency and quirk, and pure entertainment, then read Bonnie Garmus’ exuberant novel, “Lessons in Chemistry,” about an accomplished scientist-turned TV cooking star. With “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” vibes, this novel will make you laugh and admire a woman who does exactly what she wants. — Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
7. “Young Mungo” by Douglas Stuart
“Young Mungo”, from $9.45, available on Amazon
Douglas Stuart’s debut novel, “Shuggie Bain“, won the Booker Prize in 2020, and two years later, he’s back with another triumph. Young Mungo tells the story of a young Scottish boy trying to make sense of himself, the boy across the street, his drunk mother, gang-leader brother, and big-hearted sister. With a gentleness that defies the hard-scrap poverty and social order around him, Mungo is a character you root for. Young Mungo feels both cinematic and so intimate you don’t want it to end. — Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
8. “The Caretakers” by Amanda Bestor-Siegal
“The Caretakers”, from $14.99, available on Amazon
Think Liane Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies” meets “Emily in Paris” and you’ve got something close to Amanda Bestor-Siegal’s debut novel, “The Caretakers.” Set in a wealthy Parisian suburb in 2015, the book opens with a young boy dying and his au pair being arrested. Told from the points of view of six women – three au pairs, the boy’s mother, the boy’s sister, and the suburb’s local French teacher – The Caretakers kicks off on an ominous note, and doesn’t ease up until the suspenseful ending. — Sarah Gelman, Amazon Editor
9. “Four Treasures of the Sky” by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
“Four Treasures of the Sky”, from $14.99, available on Amazon
A shocking, heartbreaking, and utterly absorbing story of a young girl stolen from her rural home in China and brought to America where she is made to be someone she isn’t: a whore, a man, and an orphan. Set during the Chinese Exclusionary Act, Zhang’s novel looks at personal identity, racism, and how one brave young woman survives amidst a world she cannot trust. — Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
10. “Hello, Molly!: A Memoir” by Molly Shannon
“Hello, Molly!: A Memoir”, from $14.99, available on Amazon
Molly Shannon’s life was shaped by early tragedy and a love of acting that led her to appreciate every opportunity to laugh and learn along her hard-won rise to fame. In “Hello, Molly!” Shannon shares both challenging and hilarious insider moments from Hollywood and “Saturday Night Live,” and from living with a “break-the-rules, everything-is-an-adventure, people-are-mostly-good,” mentality. Reading “Hello, Molly!” gave me a new sense of admiration for this caring, wild, witty, woman who is true comedy gold. — Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
