Archives par étiquette : Writers House

RAMIN ABBAS HAS MAJOR QUESTIONS d’Ahmad Saber

An intensely brave, gorgeously written story about a gay Muslim teen who has to choose between being true to himself or his faith—and his realization that maybe they aren’t as separate as he thought.

RAMIN ABBAS HAS MAJOR QUESTIONS
by Ahmad Saber
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, March 2026
(via Writers House)

Now a senior at the top-ranked high school for Muslim teenagers, Pakistani Canadian Ramin can’t wait for the fresh start of college. He’s spent his whole life following the word of Allah, his parents, and his imam. His parents immigrated from Pakistan, sacrificing everything for him and his little brother, and expect Ramin to be halal in all things, meet a nice Muslim girl, and settle into devout family life. However, Ramin’s heart wishes for something—or someone—else: the strong, athletic captain of the soccer team. But at school, being gay is definitely haram, not allowed, so Ramin limits himself to dreams of moving away to New York City.

Then Ramin learns his graduation is in jeopardy, and the only chance he’s given to get the needed physical education credits quickly is to join the school’s soccer team…and train one-on-one with Fahad, a.k.a. Captain Handsome. It’s a nightmare of temptation and resistance, compounded by threats from a longtime bully who is blackmailing Ramin, threatening to reveal a secret that could ruin him. Ramin’s only ray of light is Omar, a sweet and caring new friend whose family believes in a different, kinder Allah. He gently prods Ramin to consider his faith more deeply, challenging Ramin’s long held belief of Allah as merciless and unforgiving by introducing him to one who is instead merciful and loving.

With graduation, a championship soccer match, and the blackmail looming, the pressure on Ramin is too much to keep buried. He must decide between the consequences of speaking his truth and living a lie. He must decide which Allah lives in the little mosque in his heart.

Ahmad Saber is a medical doctor specializing in rheumatology and internal medicine. Born and raised in Pakistan, Ahmad and his family moved to Canada while he was in high school. RAMIN ABBAS HAS MAJOR QUESTIONS is his debut novel and based in part on his own life.

I EAT THE STARS de Sarah Wilson

From New York Times bestselling author Sarah Wilson comes a deeply moving, wise guide to finding joy and meaning in a world that seems to be falling apart.

I EAT THE STARS:
How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World
by Sarah Wilson
Penguin Life, June 2026
(via Writers House)

It’s hard to escape the feeling that something is deeply wrong . . . that life has become precariously off-balance. We are hit hourly with headlines about catastrophic wildfires, unprecedented flooding, record heat waves, collapsing democracies, AI and nuclear threat, rising economic inequality, widespread unrest, and more. In I EAT THE STARS, Sarah Wilson argues we are undergoing what every complex civilization before us has—systemic collapse.

So how do we continue to live as sensitive humans amidst such a tumultuous shift? What does life look like when the systems we rely on deteriorate? Should we be having kids? How do we make financial decisions? Should we be prepping? And, most importantly, how do we avoid succumbing to doom and despair?

In I EAT THE STARS, Sarah Wilson delves into these pressing questions. Drawing on many years of research and wisdom gained from more than 200 conversations with philosophers, poets, game theorists, and spiritual leaders, Wilson takes readers on an intimate journey as she lays out a path for living fully, meaningfully, and beautifully through these troubled times. Our predicament, she argues, is ultimately an urgent call to us all to relish what is valuable to us—to eat the stars—and to return to our humanity once again.

I EAT THE STARS empowers readers to move beyond panic, doom, and despair. With her warm, incisively intelligent, wise, and down-to-earth voice, Wilson creates a space for readers to confront their fears and anxieties about an uncertain future, guiding them toward one rooted in truth, hope, justice, creativity, community, and to step up as “warriors” and meet the moment.

We are in what we were warned about for decades. But from a crisis comes stunning possibility.

Sarah Wilson is a multi-New York Times bestselling author, journalist, social philosopher, international keynote speaker and philanthropist. Sarah leads dynamic, global conversations about modern philosophy, creativity, existential risk, and climate change via her keynote speaking, Wild podcast, and her Substack and social communities. She lives nomadically, but is based between Paris and Sydney, and is a compulsive hiker and adventurer.

I AM AGATHA de Nancy Foley

For readers of Elizabeth Strout and Sigrid Nunez, a darkly funny and moving debut novel about the unforgettable Agatha, whose devotion to a widow with dementia (and an inconvenient attachment to her daughter’s grave) sparks a radical reckoning with life, loss, and love’s aftermath.

I AM AGATHA
by Nancy Foley
Avid Reader Press, March 2026
(via Writers House)

Agatha, a bristly painter fleeing her own darkness, decamps to rural New Mexico to live the reclusive life of a small-town curmudgeon. It is there she meets Alice, a mild widow with a deepening case of dementia who keeps steady vigil at her daughter’s backyard grave. Despite Agatha’s rough edges and fierce aversion to sentimentality, she surprises herself by falling in love, and her well-worn convictions begin to upend.

As Alice’s condition worsens, Agatha hatches a plan for them to live together at her remote residence at Mesa Portales. But when Alice’s wayward son comes along with different ideas—and Alice suddenly goes missing—Agatha takes matters into her own hands with the help of a faithful thirteen-year-old-neighbor, a pair of shovels, and her trusty pickup, embarking on an unusual mission that calls into question whether some secrets are better kept buried.

Sharp, watchful, at once thrillingly perceptive and hidden from herself, Agatha is as imposing as the vast landscape her rustic adobe home overlooks. Loosely inspired by the life of Agnes Martin, I AM AGATHA introduces us to this irascible, indelible character who learns—over a stretch of strange, singular days—new ways to fathom life, death, and her own heart.

Nancy Foley grew up in New Mexico. She has been a writer in residence at Hedgebrook, and divides her time between New Mexico and Oregon. I AM AGATHA is her first novel.

WHERE LOST GIRLS GO de Kody Keplinger

From New York Times bestselling author Kody Keplinger comes an addicting read that’s The Girls by Emma Cline meets The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson.

WHERE LOST GIRLS GO
by Kody Keplinger
Scholastic Press, July 2026
(via Writers House)

There are many reasons why six girls have ended up living with Sol in a cabin deep in the Kentucky woods. But the girls don’t talk about what has brought them each here or who they were before. They have become sisters and are grateful to have a place to call home.Iris knows she owes everything to Sol. He has promised to keep them safe from their pasts. All he asks in return is for their loyalty, which Iris freely gives. With her sisters and Sol as her family, she feels happier than she has in a long time.

Until a new girl arrives and everything changes.

Sol dubs her Rose and the sisters are quick to welcome her. Iris is drawn to Rose, but as they grow closer, Rose has Iris questioning things about this life in the woods. When Sol notices, he challenges Iris to prove her commitment to their family. Her sisters tell her that she should be willing to do anything for the man who saved her. But with each new ask, Iris realizes there is more to Sol-and her sisters-than she knows and some secrets should stay buried deep.

New York Times bestselling author Kody Keplinger weaves a stunning story about girlhood, power, and desperation that asks just how far we’ll go to save ourselves-and those we love.

Kody Keplinger grew up in a small Kentucky town. During her senior year of high school, she wrote her debut novel, The DUFF, which is a New York Times bestseller, a USA Today bestseller, a YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and a Romantic Times Top Pick. It has since been adapted into a major motion picture. Kody is also the author of Lying Out Loud, a companion to The DUFFThat’s Not What HappenedRunShut Out; and A Midsummer’s Nightmare, as well as the middle-grade novels Lila and Hadley and The Swift Boys & Me. Kody lives in New York City, where she teaches writing workshops and continues to write books for kids and teens. You can find more about her and her books at kodykeplinger.com.

FORBIDDEN MOUTAIN de Brandon Mull

Choose your guardian. Choose your destiny. From the #1 bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series comes an epic new fantasy set in a world where children bond with a spiritual guide—some promising greatness and glory, while others, destruction and death.

FORBIDDEN MOUTAIN
by Brandon Mull
Labyrinth Road/Random House, April 2026
(via Writers House)

Every Anoran child dreams of the day they will enter the sacred bonding hut and match with a guardian—a spiritual guide who grants magically enhanced abilities. A lucky few will bond with Advocates, who promise greatness and glory. Others will be tempted by forbidden offers from the Accursed—dangerous spirits who bring nothing but destruction and a penalty of death to any Anoran who chooses them. But when Mako discovers that the worst of these agents of chaos has returned to spread an ancient evil through the empire, he faces an unthinkable choice: Will he bond with one of the Accursed to gain the power to stop another?

Halfway across the empire, Arden has no guardian and no prospects of adventure…until she infiltrates an underground criminal network to find her missing friend. Relying on her knack for sensing the truth through even the smoothest lies, Arden finds herself at the center of a sinister conspiracy that runs much deeper than she ever imagined.

Soon Mako’s and Arden’s fates collide, and together they must face bandit armies, dark secrets, and untold dangers to fight an enemy who could destroy all they’ve ever known.

Brandon Mull no longer lives on the side of a mountain above a prison. He now resides in a happy little valley near the mouth of a canyon with his wife and three children. Since the arrival of his new daughter, he is more the golem of the household than ever, following whatever orders trickle down the chain of command. Brandon is the author of the New York Times bestselling Fablehaven books and The Candy Shop War.