March 28, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET
Is there any better feeling than settling into a new book?
A good read can transport you to faraway places, let you step into the shoes of a stranger or teach you something new. And 2026 is already off to a bright start, with a buzzy debut novel from Jennette McCurdy, plenty of celebrity memoirs and sci-fi spectaculars. It’s also shaping up to be a big year for book-to-screen adaptations, like “Wuthering Heights” and “People We Meet on Vacation.”
Between our interviews with authors like Andrew McCarthy, Andy Weir, Liane Moriarty and Lucy Score, we had time to do some reading, too. Here are the titles we think you should pick up next.
What to read next: 15 new books to read now
From memoir to romance to thriller, there’s something for everyone to love here. Bring this list of recent titles to the library or your local bookstore and then enjoy crossing them off your TBR list.
Check out: USA TODAY’s weekly Best-selling Booklist
‘Once and Again’ by Rebecca Serle
What if you could take back the worst moment of your life? This silver ticket opportunity, passed to each woman in the Novak family, allows them to turn back time just once. In “Once and Again,” Lauren questions every decision that led to her current discontentment, a life that includes fertility struggles, bumping into her first love and a bitter relationship with her mother. Is it just another hurdle to shoulder, or is it a chance at a redo?
‘Whidbey’ by T Kira Madden
This searing thriller will grab you by the throat and won’t let up until the very last page. “Whidbey” follows a young woman named Birdie, who is seeking solace on a remote island after the man who abused her as a child, Calvin, reemerges. Another victim has come forward with a tell-all memoir about his abuse, and the true crime-hungry are enthralled. Then Calvin is murdered. Told through the perspectives of the two victims and Calvin’s hardened mother, Mary-Beth, “Whidbey” is a singular story with an ever-changing structure that feels like a living, breathing thing.
‘Strangers’ by Belle Burden
In the throes of the early pandemic lockdown, Burden’s marriage collapses overnight. One day, Burden, her husband and kids are hunkering together at their house on Martha’s Vineyard and the next, she finds out he’s been having an affair and is leaving, done with the life they’d cultivated for 20 years. Burden, an immigration attorney and the granddaughter of editor and socialite Babe Paley, throws herself into writing to make sense of this sudden departure and the country club rumor mill that followed. With unflinching vulnerability, Burden asks, how well do we really know our loved ones? “Strangers” is slated for film adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
‘Lost Lambs’ by Madeline Cash
I have to warn you that this book causes spontaneous, doubled-over laughing fits in public. “Lost Lambs” may very well be this year’s literary It Girl novel, and for good reason. In it, we meet the madcap Flynn family: parents Catherine and Bud are opening their marriage (reluctantly), eldest Abigail is dating an older man dubbed “War Crime Wes,” Louise is building a bomb in the backyard treehouse with the help of an online chat room friend and Harper, too smart for her own good, is sniffing out a hunch about the town’s billionaire resident.
‘The Final Score’ by Don Winslow
Winslow is fresh out of retirement with a nail-biting new crime collection of six novellas to keep you on your toes. In “The Final Score,” dive headfirst into a casino heist or into the cold, gang-riddled cells of a Southern California jail. These crime capers range from small-town jobs to border-crossing schemes, all with settings that feel as developed as the characters themselves.
‘One Bad Mother’ by Ej Dickson
Looking for a timely book that’s both political and pop culture savvy, something that’ll make you put on your thinking cap? “One Bad Mother” dissects the concept of the “bad mother” and who we deem as such – the stage moms, the momfluencers, the woman who can’t catch a break. Both sobering and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Dickson’s exploration of modern motherhood is one you won’t want to miss.
‘Rings of Fate’ by Melissa de la Cruz
Perfect for fans of “The Princess Bride,” this new romantasy novel follows a barmaid, Aren, who is too busy tending to her tavern and dreaming of her escape to scheme her own happily ever after. Prince Dietan, on the other hand, carries an ancient power that is slowly killing him. When he proposes an allyship that’ll help him thwart enemies, it might just be the ticket out that Aren needs.
‘This is Not About Us’ by Allegra Goodman
This masterful family drama revels in the petty misgivings of the Rubinstein family, helmed by elderly sisters Sylvia, Helen and Jeanne. But Jeanne’s death, and a misunderstanding over an apple cake, causes an uproar in the Rubinstein family across three generations. With the help of a sprawling family tree illustration on the very first page, “This is Not About Us” tackles divorce, dating, college, bat mitzvahs, coming-of-ages and the silent treatment with heart and humor.
‘Kin’ by Tayari Jones
A touching tribute to female friendship and sisterhood, “Kin” follows two motherless girls and neighbors, Niecy and Annie, so close they often refer to each other as “cradle friends.” Both grow into adulthood differently – Annie sets off toward Tennessee to find her long-lost mother and Niecy, at Spelman College, must choose between two conflicting paths of love and expectations. Despite years apart, through strife and success, they remain tethered to each other.
‘So Old, So Young’ by Grant Ginder
If the unique structure of “So Old, So Young” doesn’t draw you into this sprawling friend saga, the well-crafted characters will. Told vignette-style across five parties and 20 years, this novel follows six college friends as they love, fight, pull apart and find their way back together again in the wake of a close friend’s death. “So Old, So Young” is an embodiment of the growing pains of adulthood.
‘The Optimists’ by Brian Platzer
“The Optimists” is a big-hearted and wry novel about an eighth-grade teacher remembering his most promising student, Clara Hightower. Decades later, bedridden, he chronicles her meteoric rise to Silicon Valley celebrity and fall from grace into domestic terrorism. Quietly mysterious and introspective, “The Optimists” meditates on the fleeting but influential impact of teachers and the all-consuming orbit of those few “chosen one” students.
‘Good People’ by Patmeena Sabit
The Sharaf family, Afghan refugees who rose to prosperity, success and an exclusive neighborhood, are left reeling after their daughter’s untimely death in “Good People.” Told through a Greek chorus of onlookers, the tragedy leaves neighbors asking what about the Sharaf family was perfect and what was merely a facade.
‘No Matter What’ by Cara Bastone
“No Matter What” is a slow-burn romance about a couple trying to rebuild what has been lost. Roz and Vin survived a life-altering accident a year ago, and their marriage hasn’t recovered. When Vin announces he’s finally moving out, Roz throws herself into a new hobby of figure drawing. Her first model volunteer? Vin. Will drawing her estranged spouse (nude!) be the turning point to bring them back together, or will it tear them further apart?
‘All the Little Houses’ by May Cobb
Get ready for more juicy small-town gossip from the author of “The Hunting Wives.” “All the Little Houses” follows the well-to-do Andersons in small-town Texas who always get what they want, especially daughter Nellie and mother Charleigh. But when a new “prairie-kissed” family moves to town and climbs up the ranks, the social standing of the new-money Andersons teeters on collapse.
‘The Re-Do List’ by Denise Williams
Willow is nursing heartache after splitting from her high school sweetheart and a very public breakup in “The Re-Do List.” Everything reminds her of her ex, and she wants a redo on all the “firsts” she wasted on him. Some time away dog-sitting for her brother will do her good, but then she meets his maddeningly handsome best friend, Deacon. Is he up for the task of helping her check off her list?
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.
