We’re over halfway through 2026, so the Chicago Review of Books staff decided it was a great time to look back at all the wonderful books we’ve read so far this year.
On Witness and Respair
By Jesmyn Ward
Scribner
Jesmyn Ward never fails to take my breath away, and in this new collection of her essays, speeches, and other writings, we see her again bring her home of Mississippi to life in all its beauty and complications. But I was completely taken by the vulnerability and honesty she brings to her own life as well. I’ve long thought this, but I think this collection hammers it home: Ward is one of the best American writers of our generation.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
United States of Rejection: A Story of Love, Hate, and Hope
By Alison Kinney
University of Georgia Press
Alison Kinney’s United States of Rejection: A Story of Love, Hate, and Hope really isn’t only one of the best books I’ve read this year, but it’s also one of the most important. It’s about personal and political rejection, the impact that has on individuals and groups of people, and challenges the narrative that rejection makes us resilient. Have I mentioned the humor? Because despite tackling heavy topics, this thoughtful and well researched book is delightfully engaging, and one I highly recommend readers check out.
—Rachel León, Managing Director
Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World
By Daniel Kraus
Counterpoint
There are so many reason to celebrate Daniel Kraus this year (A new novel, a film adaptation of Whalefall, and, oh yeah, the Pulitzer Prize), but I want to give a special shoutout to his stunning nonfiction debut. Partially Devoured is a book only Kraus could write, blending memoir, cultural analysis, deep historical research, and second-by-second analysis to create one of the most unique and compelling books I’ve read this year. For a book about the walking dead, this book is full of life. Check out our review here!
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
On an Inland Sea: Writing the Great Lakes
Edited by Michael Welch
Belt Publishing
Here’s a hot take: Anthologies are very underrated. I personally love a collection of short writing all centered on a theme, and Michael Welch (yes, our very own Editor-In-Chief) edited a beautiful collection about the Great Lakes. There’s so much range and texture to the pieces collected here. Also, Welch’s introduction is gorgeous (and his last paragraph is perfection). Don’t miss our interview with Welch here.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Mass Mothering
By Sarah Bruni
Henry Holt and Co.
I found Mass Mothering to be so beguiling in the best way. Tying together the story of a translator and the book she’s investigating, which details a community of mothers whose sons all disappeared, this book holds so many mysteries to uncover amidst its pages. It’s unlike anything I read this year. Read our interview with Sarah Bruni here!
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Work to Do
By Jules Wernersbach
University of Iowa Press
Jules Wernersbach’s debut is already one of my favorite novels of the year. The story begins during a hurricane and is about an Austin, Texas food co-op largely run by a senior manager whose girlfriend is sleeping with another employee who is leading efforts to unionize. We get the perspective of the senior manager, the employee with whom her girlfriend is cheating on her, and the owner. Work to Do is delightfully queer, tender, funny, and empathetic. I’d also categorize it as a social novel because it speaks to not only organizing, but about power structures. For a fairly slim novel, it really packs a punch.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
The Memory Museum: Stories
By M Lin
Graywolf Press
With characters who leave an impression months after you’ve finished the book, it’s shocking that M Lin’s The Memory Museum is a debut; it’s a marvelous collection that’s surprising when you least expect it, and has a whole lot of warmth, empathy, and smarts. Read our interview with M Lin here!
— Ruby Rosenthal, Social Media Manager
Hidden River
By Sara Lippmann
Tortoise Books
If Sara Lippmann writes it, I want to read it. Her work is punchy, and witty. But above all, it never shies from the truth—she’s unflinchingly honest. Set in the summer of 2008 with flashbacks from the late 80s and early 90s, Hidden River is an unsentimental, atmospheric exploration of trauma, grooming, gender and power dynamics consent, and memory written in Lippmann’s singular voice. (And be sure to check out our interview with Lippmann here.)
—Rachel León, Managing Director
Vigil
By George Saunders
Random House
The mark of a truly magnificent writer is the ability to take a tried-and-true trope and give it fresh life. That’s what Saunders has done here. Vigil is a short novel about many things — but perhaps most notably, it’s about coming to terms with mortality, looking back on your life, and simply asking yourself (or, in this case, being forced to answer by a liminal being tasked with ushering you into the afterlife), “How did I do?” There is a LOT going on in Vigil’s 172 pages. It’s quirky and funny, it’s profound and sad, and magnificently imaginative. I really loved it! Check out our review here!
— Greg Zimmerman, Daily Editor
SOULMATE AS A VERB
By Kelsey L. Smoot
DOPAMINE/Semiotext(e)
After seeing Kelsey L. Smoot read from their poetry collection, SOULMATE AS A VERB, I know I needed to buy the book. It’s an understatement to say the poems in this collection are powerful. They’re necessary. It’s a book that I’ve thrust into the hands of friends to say, “Read this poem!” And I’ve watched the impact Smoot’s words have on others. I’ll end by pleading, “Read this collection!”
— Rachel León, Managing Director
How We See the Gray
By Rachel León
Curbstone Press
“We believe this world would be kinder if people’s default response was curiosity, rather than judgment.” I still think every day about this line from León’s debut novel. What a profound and beautiful sentiment! How We See The Gray is a kaleidoscopic, but intimate novel about foster care social workers in Rockford, Illinois. Such a heavy story has no right being this entertaining…and funny. Read our interview with Rachel León here!
— Greg Zimmerman, Daily Editor
I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side
By J Brooke
Driftwood Press
It’s not often a debut poetry collection becomes a USA TODAY– bestseller, but J Brooke’s I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side did just that. And for good reason: this collection is dynamic. Blending personal narrative and social commentary, I Can Tell You the Version That Will Make You Take My Side deals with bodily autonomy, gender roles, and trans liberation with a quiet urgency. (Also, be sure to check out our review of the book here.)
—Rachel León, Managing Director
Day Care
By Nora Lange
Two Dollar Radio
Perhaps one of the funniest books I read this year, Day Care is Nora Lange’s triumphant follow-up to her debut novel Us Fools. Lange has such a sharp eye for the absurdities of life and the prosaic prowess to translate it into unforgettable short stories. Check out our review here!
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
Whole Holy Hot
By Chrissy Martin
Write Bloody Publishing
Full disclosure: I’ve been working with Chrissy Martin for almost a decade over at CHIRB‘s sister publication, Arcturus. While I’ve come to know Chrissy as a delightful, thoughtful, and hard-working person, I’ve also been following her work, which I’ve long admired. As she’s published poems over the years, I’ve long wished to be able to read an entire collection of her work. That long wait is over with her searing debut collection, Whole Holy Hot, which deals with pop culture, disability, and gender performance. I can honestly say it was worth the wait. (Also, be sure to check out our interview with Chrissy Martin here.)
—Rachel León, Managing Director
Fat Swim
By Emma Copley Eisenberg
Hogarth
Full of big emotions and characters of all ages who are considering their bodies and sexuality for the first—or umpteenth—time, Fat Swim places Emma Copley Eisenberg as a chronicler of the uncomfortable in the best possible way. Read our interview with Emma Copley Eisenberg here!
— Ruby Rosenthal, Social Media Manager
Earthly Playing Field
By Radhika Singh
Common Notions Press
Radhika Singh’s gorgeous debut novel speaks to our current moment; it’s extremely timely and relevant. Set in a sci-fi present, the novel deals with AI warfare, the genocide in Gaza, ICE, inequity under capitalism, and the need for a socialist revolution. It’s urgent and searing—I couldn’t put it down. (You can read our interview with Singh here.)
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Now I Surrender
By Álvaro Enrigue
Translated by Natasha Wimmer
Riverhead Books
I think Álvaro Enrigue is one of the most astute critics of the American mythos. Between his last book, You Dreamed of Empires, and his new release, Now I Surrender, he masterfully reimagines American history and identifies the people who have been erased from the record. Now I Surrender is his take on the traditional Western—it’s a slow-burn thriller that ends as an absolute scorcher.
— Michael Welch, Editor-In-Chief
You Know Nothing
By Yasmina Din Madden
Curbstone Books
Okay, yes, Yasmina Din Madden’s story collection was published by the same imprint as my novel, but You Know Nothing is really one of my favorite story collections out this year. To borrow a description from Anson Tong’s review these stories alternate “between painfully realistic and spectacularly strange, frequently dragging the reader into a vivid, intriguing new story only to boot them out soon after. Through the 41 stories in this collection, the author takes serious interest in women and their bodies, the many iterations of motherhood within the same life and across different ones, mixed-race Asian identity, and shapeshifting grief. Madden lets visceral, tangled-up emotions shine with unwavering, clear prose that manages to immerse the reader immediately into the handful of paragraphs that sometimes comprise the entire story.”
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Replica
by Lisa Low
University of Wisconsin Press
I’d heard such good things about Lisa Low’s poetry collection, Replica, that I was eager to check it out—but it was just one of the many books on my never-ending TBR list until I heard Low read from it. Wow. I bumped it up to the top, devouring this collection of poems that deal with race, relationships, and representation. I don’t often use the word “witty” to describe poetry, but Replica is indeed a witty collection. It’s powerful and poignant, and deserves to be bumped up higher on your TBR. (Also, be sure to check out Angie Raney’s interview with Low here.)
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Where You’ll Find Us
By Jen St. Jude
Bloomsbury YA
Like their debut If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come, Jen St. Jude’s latest, is a beautiful queer speculative novel. This one tells the story of Cal Quick, a trans teen whose parents have disowned them and has been temporarily taken in by their girlfriend’s family. On prom night, the couple discover a magical farmhouse that’s a refuge for queer kids throughout history, where time ceases to exist. Where You’ll Find Us is a profound and moving story about friendship, identity, history, and being true to oneself. (And please don’t miss my interview with St. Jude here!)
— Rachel León, Managing Director
The Hitch
By Sara Levine
Roxane Gay Books
One of the hardest things to learn as an adult person is what’s your stuff and what’s someone else’s. Rose Cutler is a woman who acts like everything is her stuff, bossing around everyone in her life. We love Rose—she’s hilarious and her heart’s in the right place—and we worry her impact on others will come back to bite her. She even seems to consider herself the rightful parent of her beloved six-year-old nephew, Nathan. Rose badgers her brother into allowing Nathan to stay over for a week, and almost immediately, Rose’s massive dog kills a corgi named Hazel, whose spirit migrates into Nathan and possesses him. The Hitch is one of the funniest books of the year, and it’s an earnest investigation into whether love can be enough.
— Aaron Wolfson, Daily Editor
Lake Effect
Hillary Behrman
Sarabande Books
They say don’t judge a book by its cover and while this one is gorgeous, it didn’t prepare me for the often raw stories in Hillary Behrman’s debut collection. Chosen by Lauren Groff for the 2024 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, Lake Effect is full of beautiful and tender stories that reveal the messiness of human life.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Man Overboard!
By Kathleen Rooney
Gallery Books
This novel gives the summer beach read a new meaning: It takes place entirely in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Kick Kilpatrick has fallen, or jumped, into the water from the deck of a cruise ship. As his family steams away, he’s forced not only to figure out how to survive in the frigid depths, but to examine the choices that got him stranded at sea. Luckily Kick was a high school and college swimmer, so he has some survival skills, but time is running out… And if that floats your boat, you can read more in my conversation with Rooney!
— Aaron Wolfson, Daily Editor
Magdalena Is Brighter Than You Think
By Grace Spulak
Autumn House Press
This debut story collection is stunning. Winner of the 2025 Rising Writer Prize, selected by K-Ming Chang, Magdalena Is Brighter Than You Think (what a title, right?), is full of emotionally intelligent stories dealing with trauma, queerness, parenthood, gender, and resilience.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
Ash by Louise Wallace is extraordinary, surprising and not to be missed! This story of a woman named Thea, her struggles, her rage, her joys captured me and I could not put this book down. Written beautifully in short, taut paragraphs, poetry and wonderful detail, Thea’s story comes alive. Powerful and moving!
— Karen Bellovich, Daily Editor
Chitra Demands to Go Home
By Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay
Modern Artist Press
There have been a lot of great novels published already this year, but Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay’s debut is one of the most unique ones I’ve read so far. We get the perspective of someone often not portrayed in literary fiction: a 75-year-old Bengali woman in an assisted living facility, feeling trapped and wanting to, as the title says, go home. The poignant novel explores mother-son relationships, cross-cultural conversations, friendship, and aging.
— Rachel León, Managing Director
