Whether your goals for the year ahead involve discovering new authors, completing a certain number of books, or simply trying to read more, the benefits of diving into a good book are limitless. Reading not only improves our mental health but also introduces us to new worlds, perspectives and ideas.
From non-fiction that deepens our grasp of modern Britain to fiction debuts that will both shatter and mend your heart, here are the must-read debuts of 2025.
How do you forge a self and life of your own in a metropolis that can be both inhospitable and inspiring to those who call it home? Kay Sohini’s debut graphic memoir is not just another ode to New York, but a phenomenal meditation on how easy it is to fall beautifully, ridiculously in love with places – and people – that do not always love us back but somehow save us in weird, unexpected ways.
Nephthys by Rachel Louise Driscoll (February)
Clemmie, a gifted but overlooked hieroglyph reader, plays a vital role at her father’s renowned Egyptian relic parties that have made him the toast of the town. But when she deciphers a fearsome amulet at one such event, her life is irrevocably changed. Rachel Louise Driscoll’s Nephthys is a must-read for fans of mythological fiction and anyone who rewatches The Mummy
Discover the blazing new voice of Colwill Brown in this gut-punching story of girlhood in the early noughties. Donny lasses Rachel, Shaz and Kel have been bezzies since childhood, but as they grow up and away from one another, a long-festering secret threatens to rip their friendship apart.
A powerful and comprehensive history of the relationship between Britain and the Caribbean, and a radical investigation into the roots of systemic racism in our lives today. In her first trade book, Imaobong Umoren explores how a racial caste order was established in the Caribbean and exported back to Britain, continuing to dominate social, political and economic life in both territories into the twenty-first century.
There is a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one that exists beyond London - and for the first time We Were There brings it into the spotlight. Alive with energy and purpose, this debut non-fiction book decisively expands our sense of who we are, providing a profoundly important new portrait of modern Britain.
Over the course of one year, two teenage boys meet and transform each other’s lives. Set in the English countryside, Open, Heaven is the debut novel about the freedom of youth, the sacrifices of friendship and the possibilities of love in all its forms from award-winning poet Seán Hewitt.
An immersive and tender debut, A Family Matter follows one family torn apart by secrets, prejudice and their own best intentions. Claire Lynch crafts a novel that is at once heartbreaking and hopeful, asking how we might heal from the wounds of the past and what we might learn from them.
For the past five years, home cook Rosie Kellett has been living communally with six others, making delicious seasonal food on a budget of £25 per person, per week. In her first cookbook, Rosie shows us how to create affordable, delicious recipes to nourish ourselves and our loved ones, inspiring us to stay In for Dinner.
For fans of Really Good , Actually and Daisy Buchanan, discover the next novel you’ll become obsessed with in 2025. A book for anyone who has ever wanted more : more time, more meaning, more connection. Over the course of one hot summer, Marisa – a creative strategist at an advertising agency in her 30s – grapples with life as the clock ticks down towards a horrifying ‘team-building’ weekend.
