If Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin got you thinking, you'll likely enjoy Audrain's dark yet poetic exploration of motherhood. What happens if it's not all it's cracked up to be? What happens when it's everything you feared? It's a compulsive read; expect to race through in a few days, and for it to linger in your mind for many more afterwards.

In the time between adolescence and menopause, many decisions a woman makes - be it work, our weekends, our postcode, partner - are hurried by our biological clock. This honest, laugh-out-loud memoir of Nell (who was photographed wild swimming in Vol. 30 Health) asks us to start a more candid conversation around the "panic" years because, spoiler, they don't just affect women.

What does it mean to be human? So asks Ishiguro's first novel since he won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. In it, an "Artificial Friend" named Klara reflects on the world from inside a shop, where she watches passersby and hopes that a customer will take her home.

Dismantling racism doesn't happen by reading alone, but it can be a good start. From the author of Don't Touch My Hair, this book serves as a clear and practical guide for white people who want to act on their allyship. No denial, no guilt, just real and meaningful change.

Laila has had several miscarriages before she turns to the Melancons, a Harlem family known for its protective magic. Her baby is stillborn but little does she know that, not long after, her niece, Amara, delivers a child which the Melancons raise as one of their own. It's a story about power, tradition, revenge and, above all, our search for connection.

Stacey Abrams served in the Georgia House of Representatives for 11 years, became the first African-American woman nominated for governor by a major party and was influential in flipping her state in the 2020 US election. Oh, and she's written books too. Nine of them. Her first eight (under the pen name Selena Montgomery) are romances, but her latest title is one of mystery. A young legal clerk becomes the power of attorney for her boss who has fallen into a coma.

This debut fiction from the author behind the bestselling Three Women revolves around Joan. She's a rather depraved narrator who, between New York and Los Angeles, finds her killer streak after enduring a lifetime of suffering the cruelties of men.

The transgender activist and model made headlines in summer 2020 when, after a bidding war, her "gender manifesto" secured a six-figure deal. Drawing on her own experiences, she explores themes such as identity, relationships and race, and reflects on change as a part of every human experience. Differences, she writes, can be a tool to build a better community.