2025 Round Up: Favourite Debut Fiction

Resolve to read new authors. In 2025, these authors debuted with their first novels.

Updated January 9, 2026
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Greater Victoria Public Library
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Old School Indian
Curtis, Aaron John
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * BUZZFEED BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "[An] entrancing new voice . . . Aaron John Curtis will be your new literary obsession." --Marion Winik, The Boston Globe "An inspired novel by an author whose voice absolutely sizzles on...
The three lives of Cate Kay
Fagan, Kate (Sports writer)
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK | NATIONAL BESTSELLER Named a Best Book of 2025 by Time, NPR, Goodreads, and others. "[A] propulsive puzzle of a novel." --The New York Times Book Review "This story swept me away with its big...
Silver elite
Francis, Dani
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * In the first book of a sizzling dystopian romance series, psychic gifts are a death sentence and there are rules to survival: Trust no one. Lie to everyone. And whatever you do, don't fall for your greatest enemy.
The List of Suspicious Things
Godfrey, Jennie
THE INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER! "A quietly moving and intimate tale about family mysteries in a small town." --People magazine "We'll make a list. A list of all the people and things we see that are suspicious. And then... we'll investigate them." Twelve-year-old Miv is...
The names : a novel
Knapp, Florence,
READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY | AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! 2025 BOOK OF THE YEAR AS FEATURED IN THE INDEPENDENT, THE TIMES, THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE GUARDIAN, COSMOPOLITAN (UK), WOMEN'S HEALTH (UK), AND IRISH...
A killer wedding : a novel
O'Leary, Joan
*A NATIONAL BESTSELLER* "Fans of The White Lotus and Knives Out will gobble up this whip-smart whodunit... Good luck solving this especially twisty mystery before the big reveal--you'll need it."--Marie Claire  "The Riptons are American...
To the Moon and Back : A Novel
Ramage, Eliana.
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK: "A breathtaking debut about family, identity, and love across generations." --REESE WITHERSPOON "Eliana Ramage will break your heart and take you to the stars. From painfully accurate depictions of adolescence to effortless jumps through time...
Julie Chan Is Dead: A Novel
Zhang, Liann
Paper Book
INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER One of NPR's Books We Love for 2025 For fans of Bunny and Yellowface, this razor-sharp debut thriller blends biting satire with chilling suspense, as a young woman steps into her deceased twin's influencer life--only to...

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