Scroll To See More Images
I love reading tweets as much as the next person, but in my humble bookworm opinion, nothing beats a good novel. If you didn’t exactly nail your New Year’s resolution to read more in 2019, make 2020 the year you really amp up your bookshelf. To make this a bit easier, I’ve taken the liberty of rounding up 10 of the best books of 2020 written by female authors, featuring a a healthy mix of light-hearted beach reads and heavy, powerful stories. If you can’t find at least one book that strikes your fancy on this list, DM me and we’ll set up a field trip to Barnes & Noble. Or your local bookstore. Support your local bookstores!
1. Followers by Megan Angelo
Graydon House
Full disclosure: I already picked this baby up during my last local bookstore visit. It’s good, y’all. Angelo’s debut novel, she tells Marie Claire, is about “what happens when Instagram goes wrong.” That includes government-appointed celebrities, zero privacy, and pretty much every concern you’ve ever had about social media come to life.
2. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
The Dial Press
Prepare for a story guaranteed to hit you in the feels, hard. In Dear Edward, Napolitano paints the inspired-by-a-true-story tale of 12-year-old Edward Adler, the lone survivor of an LA-bound flight gone wrong. The book bounces back and forth between the hours leading up to the plane crash and Edward’s attempts to rebuild his life and regain a sense of normalcy post-tragedy.
3. You Again by Debra Jo Immergut
Ecco
If you like your beach reads to include a mind-boggling twist or two, pre-order You Again by Debra Jo Immergut, which comes out on July 7, 2020. In this novel, character Abigail Willard spots her younger self in New York City and tries to piece together how that can be—and more importantly, why it’s happening. Is she hallucinating? Does it mean anything? Find out come July.
4. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
Wednesday Books
If you’re a frequent binge-watcher of rom-coms, try reading one instead. Emma Lord’s Tweet Cute is about two teens engaged in a viral Twitter war, completely unaware that the person they’re fighting with on social media is the same one they’re falling for on an anonymous chat app. Why do I feel like this could totally happen to me??
5. We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan
Riverhead Books
Told by the collective narrative voice of MFA students Jimmy, Hannah and Leslie, this story follows the quest for revenge on a professor after she…well, you’ll have to read it to find out why. If love, death, and sabotage check off all your boxes, you’re gonna love this one.
6. Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey
Knopf
In Topics of Conversation, a narrator that goes unnamed recalls 17 years’ worth of conversations with other women—students, mothers, et cetera. The topics in question? Love, lies, sex, men, and desire, discussed judgement-free.
7. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Flatiron Books
American Dirt made Oprah’s Book Club, so you know it’s worth a read. This novel tells the story of a brave woman from Alcapulco, Mexico, who must flee to the United States with her son as undocumented immigrants after her husband exposes the kingpin of a drug cartel and puts their entire family in danger.
8. Wow, No Thank You. Essays by Samantha Irby
Vintage
Available March 31, 2020, Wow, No Thank You.: Essays gives readers a look at the life of funny, honest author Samantha Irby and her everyday experiences. Think of the full-disclosure, tell-all convos you have with your closest friends, typed up and presented to the world in book-form. Personally, I could never—but I’m counting down the days until I can read this.
9. The Herd by Andrea Bartz
Ballantine Books
When a member of The Herd, a bougie women-only co-working space, mysteriously vanishes, all the Herders become suspects. Two sisters must uncover the secrets of their missing friend as they try to piece together who might’ve had it out for her. You can read all about it when The Herd becomes available on March 24, 2020.
10. All Adults Here by Emma Straub
Riverhead Books
You’ll have to wait until May 5, 2020, to read Emma Straub’s latest, the story of the Strick family. Astrid Strick looks back on the time she spent raising her three children and wonders what mistakes might’ve negatively affected their lives. This is a heartfelt story involving parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren, and Straub’s ability to nail the messy imperfections of family life from the inside is impressive.
Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.