6 of the Best New Book Releases Out July 21, 2026

Luckily, if you want to read this two-time Oulitzer Prize winner’s latest, you don’t really need to have read the first two books in The Harlem Trilogy it belongs to. It looks at New York City in the ’80s and its explosion of real estate development, which gets juxtaposed with homelessness. We follow Ray Carney as he tries to play it straight (he’s just been named Furniture Dealer of the Month at his job), but gets dragged back to do just one more heist. To his credit, it’s because his wife was unfairly denied a loan by the bank. In any case, Ray and his associates find themselves navigating a new New York City, which is fighting to have a glistening new exterior, while its inner workings maintain the same level of inequity and violence.

We love a bit of reimagining, especially when there’s revenge involved, and here, the queens Henry VIII did dirty unite to give him what he’s owed. To do that, though, Anne Boleyn will first have to survive her scheduled death. And when her deceased rival Catalina de Aragón shows up in her jail cell in the Tower of London, right before she’s executed, it looks like she just might. The women use everything at their disposal—Boleyn’s witchery and cunning, a secret sisterhood, and court maneuverings—to get what they want: Henry’s head.

How would you feel if you looked back a few years at your past loves? Would you find fond memories or (be honest) a little cringe? Well, it’s been about twenty years since Rose was a college kid and enamored with Miles, and in that time, she’s moved back to Nothingness Flats—a homestead in the desert—given birth, and found peace. She’s even become a part of a community with a worthy cause, and yet, she feels compelled to revisit things with Miles. The question is, will everything crash and burn like it did last time, even though she is a totally different person?

In this fantastical alternative history novel set during WWII, people start dreaming about King Arthur all over the world. As word of these dreams spread, people begin to believe it’s a sign that the king is going to return and save them. Except for Elaine Ambrose, a librarian in North Wales. She dreams of the Lady of the Lake and worries her dreams signal doom, not rescue. —Liberty Hardy

Two words: racist cult.

Junie Daniels was in a car accident a month ago. Her sister died, and her mother has since been so deep in her grief that she’s mostly just checked out of life. She’s unable to plan a funeral for her daughter, so Junie decides she has to do it.

The cheapest place where Junie can get a grave for her sister is in the next town. But Williamsville has a sinister history and legacy, including that its namesake was an enslaver who practiced dark magic. Janie can only worry so much, as she lives in North Carolina, where such historical stories aren’t exactly rare.

But things at the cemetery are feeling weird. Janie enlists her best friend Omari to help her investigate what’s happening. Then, the two girls are taken. It seems like Williamsville’s legacy isn’t a rumor…nor is it gone. —Kelly Jensen

Muéganos is a traditional Mexican candy that is made of pieces of fried dough that are kept together with a thick syrup, just like the family in The Muéganos. They’re so close to each other that it also feels like honey is holding them together, too. That is, until different interests—like the oldest child’s curiosity during a museum trip—start to make their bond crack. Try as they might to fix it, it may just be unavoidable. The art is striking art in this must-read coming-of-age picture book.