Real Simple's Most Anticipated Books of 2020

Almost 26-year-old full-time babysitter Emira is confronted by a security guard who accuses her of stealing the toddler she’s watching. Though the two get out of the situation (mostly) unscathed, Alix, Emira’s employer, starts to overstep in her wish to “help” Emira, which will have unintended consequences for them both. This piercing social commentary on race and class manages to be, well, such a fun book to read.

To pre-order: $26; amazon.com.

Out December 31, 2019.

Expanding on her viral essay for O, the Oprah Magazine, Calhoun investigates the dissatisfaction many Gen X women are feeling, pulling from data and interviews with women going through their own midlife crises.

To pre-order: $26; amazon.com.

Out January 7. 

After 16 of their family members are killed by a cartel at a backyard quinceañera, Lydia Quixano Perez and her son Luca must flee their home in Acapulco as fast as possible. Packing only what they can carry and grab in a mad dash, Lydia and Luca head for the United States, trailed by the cartel every step of their journey. This is a book that’s both hard to read and hard to put down and will no doubt spark a lot of conversation. 

To pre-order: $23; amazon.com.

Out January 21.

A young pregnant widow and her brother-in-law, a doctor, flee Spain in the aftermath of the country’s civil war and start their lives over in Chile in this new novel from the beloved literary and historical fiction author.

To pre-order: $19; amazon.com.

Out January 21. 

A young woman grapples with the relationship she had with her middle-aged teacher, beginning when she was 15. As other women start speaking out how he groomed and groped them as underage girls, Vanessa begins to view her past in a new light.

To pre-order: $28; amazon.com.

Out January 28.

In the second novel from the bestselling author of Dept. of Speculation, Lizzie Benson moonlights as a fake shrink outside of her day job as a librarian. When she’s hired by a famous podcaster to read and answer listener mail, Lizzie will have to confront what she doesn’t know.

To pre-order: $24; amazon.com.

Out February 11. 

In the Euphoria author’s new novel, Casey Peabody has just moved to Boston, where she’s waiting tables and working on the same novel she started six years ago. As she falls in love with two different men, Casey will struggle between the pulls of love, creativity, and ambition. 

To pre-order: $27; amazon.com.

Out March 3.

As middle-aged mom Judy’s life begins to unravel, she starts doing some, um, strange things—like putting her dog in her son’s old baby sling—in an attempt to right her ship. Separation Anxiety is a novel about insecurities and aging that early reviews are already calling sharp, but happy cry-inducing. 

To pre-order: $27; amazon.com.

Out March 3. 

In this much anticipated new novel, a multi-layered mystery from the author of Station Eleven, St. John Mandel connects the collapse of a Ponzi scheme and a woman’s disappearance—two events that seem to have absolutely no connections at all.

To pre-order: $27; amazon.com.

Out March 24. 

In the latest from the author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Loretha Curry, a successful almost 68-year-old woman with a thriving company, devoted husband, and great group of friends, is rocked by an unexpected loss.

To pre-order: $28; amazon.com.

Out March 31.

As an active shooter walks the hallways of a school for Muslim girls outside of Chicago, the principal, Afaf, wrestles with her memories of family, Palestine, and life in America before she comes face-to-face with the man.

To pre-order: $27; amazon.com.

Out April 7. 

Marie is the daughter of a rockstar dad (who passed away suddenly) and a lapsed musician mother, Laura, who gave up her career to raise Marie. Though Laura has been silent whenever Marie has asked questions about her father, she’ll suddenly have to face her past when Marie runs away to find his family.

To pre-order: $26; amazon.com.

Out April 14.

The author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers returns with a new novel about family and memory. After Astrid witnesses a school bus accident, she suddenly recalls a long-repressed memory that makes her start to question how she raised her three now-grown children.

To pre-order: $27; amazon.com.

Out May 5.

We don’t yet have a lot of details on this new title from the author of the excellent Homegoing, but a press release from the publisher confirmed it would be about a Ghanaian family that moves to America and struggles to assimilate to life in a small Southern town. It will touch on the opioid epidemic, religion, and race, and will no doubt be as gorgeously written as Gyasi’s debut.

Pre-ordering not yet available.

Out in July.