--- title: Best New Books to Read in July 2019 description: Here are the best new books to read this month, from Colson Whitehead's 'The Nickel Boys' to Courtney Maum's 'Costalegre.' canonical: https://time.com/5617084/best-books-july-2019/ author: Annabel Gutterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-28T15:57:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:56:53.207Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Here Are the 6 Fiction Books You Should Read in July og:description: Colson Whitehead's latest, a sister gone missing and more og:url: https://time.com/5617084/best-books-july-2019/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98031265201cc447/6989ff4c7cdbac791bd60e9b/july-books-feature.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: july-books-feature og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are the 6 Fiction Books You Should Read in July twitter:description: Colson Whitehead's latest, a sister gone missing and more twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98031265201cc447/6989ff4c7cdbac791bd60e9b/july-books-feature.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are the 6 New Fiction Books You Should Read in July  by [Annabel Gutterman](/author/annabel-gutterman/)  ## Annabel Gutterman Senior Editor Jun 28, 2019 3:57 PM CUT   by [Annabel Gutterman](/author/annabel-gutterman/)  ## Annabel Gutterman Senior Editor Jun 28, 2019 3:57 PM CUT A young mother faces her worst fears when an intruder breaks into her home. A Florida teen struggles under the unjust weight of Jim Crow. And a group of women band together to reclaim authority over their bodies. This month’s best new novels promise to keep readers absorbed in page-turning stories. From [acclaimed writer Colson Whitehead](https://time.com/5615610/colson-whitehead-the-nickel-boys-interview/ "undefined") to debut novelist Ruchika Tomar, here are six fiction books to read in July. ## _The Need_, Helen Phillips (7/9)  While home alone with her two young children, Molly is startled when she believes she hears an intruder. But she is immediately left guessing: is there a real person in her house or is it just a symptom of her worn out, anxiety-ridden mind? In _The Need_, Molly embarks on a complicated journey that tests everything she knew about being a mother, a wife and a woman. ## _A Prayer for Travelers_, Ruchika Tomar (7/9)  Before Cale Lambert reconnected with her old high school classmate Penny, she was a loner. But the two begin waitressing together and form a deep bond — until a violent incident disrupts their reality. Penny disappears and Cale decides to go searching for her, discovering secrets about their small desert town along the way. ## _Supper Club_, Lara Williams (7/9)  Roberta feels stuck. She’s not satisfied with her job, yet hesitates to pursue what she really wants to do: cook. But then Roberta meets Stevie, an artist, and the two set out to create a space where they can truly be themselves. As they embrace their appetites and recruit others to join them, Williams explores the complex relationship many women have with their deepest desires. ## _Costalegre_, Courtney Maum (7/16)  All 15-year-old Lara Calaway wants is for her mother Leonora, a wealthy art collector, to notice her. It’s 1937 and they’ve just left Europe on the brink of World War II, setting up residence in Costalegre, where Leonora has invited a group of surrealist artists to stay at her home. Drawing inspiration from the real-life relationship between Peggy Guggenheim and her daughter Pegeen, Maum reveals the power a mother holds over her daughter as Lara desperately vies for Leonora’s attention. ## _The Nickel Boys_, Colson Whitehead (7/16)  [Whitehead, a Pulitzer Prize winner,](https://time.com/5614905/colson-whitehead-books/ "undefined") sets his latest novel in Jim Crow-era Florida, where Elwood Curtis unexpectedly finds himself at the Nickel Academy, an abusive reform school. Inspired by the true story of a school in Florida, Whitehead has crafted a pressing narrative that, like his 2016 novel [_The Underground Railroad_](https://time.com/4447972/colson-whitehead-the-underground-railroad/ "undefined"), probes the country’s ugly racist past. ## _Speaking of Summer_, Kalisha Buckhanon (7/30)  After her twin sister mysteriously goes missing from their shared Harlem home, Autumn Summer begins to spiral out of control. Frustrated by the complacency of the authorities, who appear to be unconcerned by the disappearance of another black woman, Autumn sets out to find her sister herself. Buckhanon unravels a powerful story that examines violence, race and grief. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5617084/best-books-july-2019/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5617084/best-books-july-2019/"},"headline":"Here Are the 6 New Fiction Books You Should Read in July","datePublished":"2019-06-28T15:57:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:56:53.207Z","description":"Colson Whitehead's latest, a sister gone missing and more","url":"https://time.com/5617084/best-books-july-2019/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98031265201cc447/6989ff4c7cdbac791bd60e9b/july-books-feature.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Annabel Gutterman","jobTitle":"Senior Editor","url":"https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98031265201cc447/6989ff4c7cdbac791bd60e9b/july-books-feature.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"july-books-feature","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5617084/best-books-july-2019/","name":"Here Are the 6 New Fiction Books You Should Read in July"}}]}] ```