Can’t Wait Wednesday: April 2021 Book Releases

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Can’t Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings. I get to show off the interesting new books that are coming out soon. Here are the April book releases I’m excited to get in my hot little hands.

April 2021 Book Releases

 

 

 

 

BROKEN (IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY) BY JENNY LAWSON

 

Adult Essays

April 6, 2021

 

As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, she explores her experimental treatment of transcranial magnetic stimulation with brutal honesty. But also with brutal humor. Jenny discusses the frustration of dealing with her insurance company in “An Open Letter to My Insurance Company,” which should be an anthem for anyone who has ever had to call their insurance company to try and get a claim covered. She tackles such timelessly debated questions as “How do dogs know they have penises?” We see how her vacuum cleaner almost set her house on fire, how she was attacked by three bears, business ideas she wants to pitch to Shark Tank, and why she can never go back to the post office. Of course, Jenny’s long-suffering husband Victor―the Ricky to Jenny’s Lucille Ball―is present throughout.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: I love Jenny Lawson! We both have depression and a similar sense of humor. The lessons in her other memoir—Furiously Happy—have helped me survive many stressful work situations. Working with the public is challenging, people! You can’t let them drag you down and steal your happiness. Her new memoir sounds just as hilarious as her previous books.

 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GILDED GIRL BY ALYSSA COLMAN

 

Middlegrade Historical Fantasy

April 6, 2021

 

Miss Posterity’s Academy for Practical Magic is the best kindling school in New York City—and wealthy twelve-year-old Emma Harris is accustomed to the best. But when her father dies, leaving her penniless, Emma is reduced to working off her debts to Miss Posterity alongside Izzy, a daring servant girl who refuses to let her magic be snuffed out, even if society dictates she must. Emma and Izzy reluctantly form a pact: If Izzy teaches Emma how to survive as a servant, Emma will reveal to Izzy what she knows about magic.

Along the way, they encounter quizzes that literally pop, shy libraries, and talking cats (that is, house dragons). But when another student’s kindling goes horribly wrong, revealing the fiery dangers of magic, Emma and Izzy must set aside their differences or risk their magic being snuffed out forever.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: I like the premise: magic is only for those who can afford it. If magic was real, that’s probably how it would work in our world. There’s potential for some interesting social commentary. The plot sounds fun, too. According to Goodreads, this novel is “Heartfelt, fast-paced, and utterly absorbing.” I hope so.

 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE OF HOLLOW BY KRYSTAL SUTHERLAND

 

Young Adult Fantasy / Horror

April 6, 2021

 

Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.

Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.

As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous—and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: This is probably Twitter’s most-anticipated horror book of 2021. I’ve seen this book constantly for months. Or, maybe Twitter is just obsessed with the cover. It’s delightfully creepy. Anyway, I’m interested in the mystery and the horned men and the corpse that falls out of the ceiling. WHY IS THERE A CEILING CORPSE? I hope this book is scary enough to live up to the hype.

 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEAR THE BONE BY CHRISTINA HENRY

 

Adult Horror

April 13, 2021

 

Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they're not alone after all.

There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.

When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: That cover! I’m always on the lookout for great horror. This one has a lot of elements I search for in spooky stories. It has a small cast of characters in an isolated setting. There are mysterious strangers and (potentially) a monster. Goodreads calls it “dread-inducing.”

 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVERYONE DIES FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN BY BONNIE-SUE HITCHCOCK

 

Young Adult Short Stories

April 20, 2021

 

In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.

On the surface, it seems that nothing ever happens in these towns. But Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock shows that underneath that surface, teenagers' lives blaze with fury, with secrets, and with love so strong it burns a path to the future.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: This is my most-anticipated young adult book of 2021. The author’s novel, The Smell Of Other People’s Houses, is one of my favorite books ever. It’s a beautifully written story about teens who get themselves into deep trouble in small-town Alaska. The author is brilliant at developing setting. Her new short story collection appears to have similar themes to her novel. Goodreads calls the new book “A lyrical and heartfelt collection.”

 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

 

 

 

KATE IN WAITING BY BECKY ALBERTALLI

 

Young Adult Contemporary Romance

April 20, 2021

 

Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theater rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.

But when Kate and Andy’s latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.

Turns out, communal crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: Becky Albertalli writes the most realistic teenagers. They’re not always likeable, and they don’t always make great decisions, but their behavior is believable. I read her novel—Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda—years ago, and I still think about it. It’s a sweet, hilarious story. I’m hoping for more of the same with the new book.

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUSTBORN BY ERIN BOWMAN

 

Young Adult Science Fiction / Dystopia

April 20, 2021

 

Delta of Dead River has always been told to hide her back, where a map is branded on her skin to a rumored paradise called the Verdant. In a wasteland plagued by dust squalls, geomagnetic storms, and solar flares, many would kill for it—even if no one can read it. So when raiders sent by a man known as the General attack her village, Delta suspects he is searching for her. 

Delta sets out to rescue her family but quickly learns that in the Wastes no one can be trusted—perhaps not even her childhood friend, Asher, who has been missing for nearly a decade. If Delta can trust Asher, she just might decode the map and trade evidence of the Verdant to the General for her family. What Delta doesn’t count on is what waits at the Verdant: a long-forgotten secret that will shake the foundation of her entire world.

 

Why I’m excited to read it: I started Erin Bowman’s series of westerns, but they weren’t unique enough for me, so I never finished them. I enjoyed the setting and the badass characters, though. I’m hoping for more strong ladies and cactus-filled places with this new standalone dystopia. I love dystopias and have been consuming unhealthy amounts of them during the past year. I need more! Supposedly, this book has a revenge plotline and a weird wannabe dictator character. I’m intrigued. It’s being recommended for fans of the Mad Max movies, which I haven’t seen, but if Mad Max is your jam, check out this book.

 

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on Book Depository

 

 

 

Are you looking forward to any April 2021 book releases?