Reading lists

5 debut novels we adored this year

2021 was a year of brilliant new voices in fiction. Here, we look back on five of Vintage’s most exciting debut novels of the year – you don’t want to have missed them.

Book jackets tiled against a grey background, including Three Rooms, Acts of Desperation, Highway Blue, Never Saw Me Coming, and The Dictionary of Lost Words

From the story of Esme reclaiming the words of women to a story of young love on the run in a classic American road-trip with a twist. From a modern heroine trying to find belonging in 21st-century Britain to an anti-heroine who will work her magic on you. And finally, a dark and funny look at a toxic relationship and the secrets of female desire. We asked five Vintage colleagues to pick the debut novels they have been most excited about this year – and here is what they said…

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