Top 5 young writers that made their debut in 2020

The year 2020 was exceptional and loaded with surprises. While everyone was at home doing something or nothing many writers made their debut and wrote most amazing books that are thought provoking,  thrilling and audaciously funny. Here are top 5 young writers that made their debut in 2020:

Top 5 young writers that made their debut in 2020

1. A Burning by Megha Mujumdar
2. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
3. Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar
4. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
5. If I had Your Face by Frances Cha

• A Burning by Megha Mujumdar:

Megha Mujumdar was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She moved to the United States of America to study at Harvard University. Her debut novel A Burning, which was published on 2 June 2020, was a New York Times bestseller. A Burning book is based in the contemporary India and is about three unforgettable characters – Jivan; A Muslim girl from the slums who is determined to move up in her life. A PT sir; who is an opportunistic gym teacher who has aspirations of joining a right wing political party and Lovely; a buoyant outcast who has dreams of glory. The lives of these three characters get entangled in the wake of a catastrophe when Jivan is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. Critics have compared Mujumdar’s writing style to that of Yaa Gyasi and Jhumpa Lahiri. The book tells readers what it feels like to be faced with profound obstacles and yet have big dreams in a country that is nurturing fanatical ideals and notions. A Burning was also one of Margaret Atwood’s quarantine reads!

• Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier:

Jean Kyoung is a writer living in Los Angeles. Her debut novel Pizza Girl was published on 9 June 2020. The book was named best book of the year by magazines Marie Claire and Teen Vogue. It was additionally in the rundown of most foreseen books of 2020 by Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Time, People, Buzzfeed, Bustle and many more.. The Pizza Girl is a coming-of-age story of an 18 year old pregnant pizza delivery girl who becomes obsessed with one of the customers. The story is narrated by an unnamed delightful but dysfunctional pizza delivery girl from suburban Los Angeles who is 12 weeks pregnant and is haunted by her alcoholic father’s death. She lives a routinely mundane life until one day it is interrupted by Jenny Hauser, a stay at home mother who orders pizza with pickles on it every Wednesday. As the story progresses two form a friendship; as one woman approaches motherhood and other middle age. Perhaps for the first time in the narrator’s life she feels she is needed. But soon this relationship starts to distort and the friendship transforms into a dangerous obsession equipped with reckless behavior and life altering choices. Pizza Girl has been praised for its undeniable humor and wit, but what is more impressive is that Frazier through humor explores complexities of a young woman who is crippled by childhood trauma, longing for something more but is unable to take action and how this suffering can follow a person in adulthood.

• Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar:

Sara Sligar teaches English and creative writing at the University of Southern California. Her debut book Take Me Apart a psychological thriller was published on 28 April 2020. The book has received rave reviews from Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and LA Review of Books calling it a juicy thriller, absorbing and sun soaked noir. This captivating novel follows a youthful annalist’s obsession with her subject’s strange death as it threatens to destroy her mental stability. Take Me Apart draws readers into the lives of two darkly alluring women. Miranda Brand a famed photographer who dies mysteriously at the height of her career and Kate Aitken an ex-journalist who is hired by Miranda’s son Theo to archive his mother’s work and personal effects. Both their lives are restrained by secrets and lies. Sara Silgar’s seductive, twisting tale of psychological suspense is a thought provoking take on art, illness and power from a new voice in suspense genre.

• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas:

Aiden Thomas is  from Oakland “California” and a New York Times Bestselling Author. As a queer, Trans and Latin, Aiden advocates strongly for representation on all media. Aiden’s debut book Cemetery Boys was published on 1 September 2020. Cemetery Boys is a young adult book which Entertainment Weekly described as groundbreaking. The book is about Yadriel a Trans boy. When he comes out his traditional Latin family has problems accepting his true gender. Because of this Yadriel becomes determined to prove to himself a real brujo (wizard). His cousin and his closest companion Maritza assist him with playing out a custom to discover the ghost of his killed cousin and set him free. However the ghost he summons turns out be Julian Diaz who is school’s bad boy and he is not yet ready to go quietly into death. He wants to discover what happened to him and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. With no other choice Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they both can get what they want. But as Yadriel spends longer time with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

• If I had Your Face by Frances Cha:

Frances Cha is a previous travel and culture journalist for CNN in Seoul. Her writing has showed up in The Atlantic, V Magazine, WWD and The Believer and many different publications. Her debut novel If I Had Your Face was  published on 21 April 2020. The spellbinding debut novel is set in contemporary Seoul, Korea and is about four young women. Kyuri is a beautiful woman who has hard-won job at an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Kyuri’s roommate, Miho; is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage. Ara; is a hairstylist who lives down the hall in their building. Wonna; who lives one floor below is a newly-wed trying to have a baby. If I Had Your Face tells their story that is seemingly unusual yet it is distinctly universal in a way that their indefinite friendship turns out to be the thing that ultimately saves them. It was named one of the best books of the year by Time, Esquire, Bustle, BBC, New York Post and InStyle magazine.