These samplers always help me add to books I plan to read next or books I am going to look for in my local bookstore. I love the short stories and getting to know new to me authors.

I’m really excited to check out some of these books! I appreciate having samples all in one spot to read through!

This collection of short stories lives true to its name. It is a debut fiction sampler. There are a variety of stories, with authors that possess skills vastly different from each other. Yet the stories do have the raw quality of a debut. I was looking to discover new voices that enthrall me, but none of these stories quiet did that, despite many of them being well-written. For a light read, and to get a view into the new and emerging voices, I recommend this book to short story lovers.

How did I miss this sampler, and its potpourri of new fiction from Penguin Random House? Well, it’s never too late to catch up on great reads like these. So glad I did!

5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 11 Aug 2020
#Fall2020DebutFictionSampler #NetGalley

Thanks to the authors, Penguin Random House Samplers, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Did not go through............................................................just want this off my shelf

I always enjoy these. I like to read about the new books coming out so this is a helpful guide. But I don't like needing to review it. I suppose they want me to write up which ones look interesting but if they look interesting, I request them and then review them.

Great way to find out about upcoming titles. I love reading about the new tittles and adding them to my radar. It was nice to have a little preview of each title as well.

Thank you so much, these samplers are my favorite way to read bits of the titles I might be interested in, and find titles I didn't know anything about before this! Excited to add some of these to my want to read list!

This is a Book Sampler that is ideal for libraries and their acquisition department. There are some great ideas for collection development.

First of all, I’m so excited with the level of diversity of Authors and genre in this sampler. Having said that, I had to guess the book genres myself because the sampler didn’t specifically list them. It would probably help if samplers like this could list the intended genre alongside each title to help set the right expectation.

My reviews below:

== The Push == 4 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Self-assessed genre: Thriller
Intriguing. This book used second person POV in the style of ‘You’ (Caroline Kepnes), which always added an element of creepiness to me.
I liked the back-and-forth switching between events, and I definitely wanted to know more. It was engaging.
Cover review: the cover doesn’t look like ‘standard’ thriller, which can be good or bad. Good as it differentiates the book from the rest, bad as readers might not be sure if this is thriller (I’m still not fully sure myself if this is a thriller or a hard-hitting drama).

== No Heaven for Good Boys == 3.5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Self-assessed genre: Literary Fiction
I was personally unfamiliar with the setting, although I googled it and found out that the book was set in Senegal. I had never seen a book set in Senegal before, so this was a great addition to the fiction world.
The book itself had a good setup for a great heartbreaking story. It triggered something in me personally, as I grew up in Indonesia and organised beggars like the kids in this book weren’t uncommon.
Cover review: great art, definitely eye catching and different.

== Bestiary == 5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Self-assessed genre: Literary Fiction
What an opening. I was gobsmacked with the eloquence. The book unashamedly used harsher words which made the storytelling felt vulgar in some places. I loved it! It was also a pleasant surprise to see how young the Author was - such a promising young debut Author.
Cover review: Another great art which represented the writing style well. Loved the font.

== The Mermaid from Jeju == 2.5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️💫
Self-assessed genre: Historical Fiction
I’m getting historical fiction vibe from the sampler, but unfortunately what was there wasn’t intriguing enough for me. It could be because of the slower pace in the storytelling, which could make it hard to engage audience just within a few chapters. The Jeju setting was unique and appreciated.
Cover review: great striking photograph, although it looked a bit like Catherine McKenzie’s book covers to me.

== Nights When Nothing Happened == 2.5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️💫
Self-assessed genre: Literary Fiction
I suppose this would be one of the stories where ‘nothing’ grand happened, but little things instigated bigger things and resulted in an epic event? The sampler didn’t give me too much, and I couldn’t even be sure of the genre of the book. I guess the writing style was quite good and I didn’t mind it, but the book itself wasn’t for me.
Cover review: the cover didn’t tell me much. The monochromatic choice reminded me of a non-fiction, rather than fiction.

== The Space Between Worlds == 5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Self-assessed genre: Sci-fi
Ok this one engaged me the most. Great premise, great world design, interesting main protagonist, intriguing supporting characters.
Cover review: Awesome cover design.
*** Not much to say aside from that I’ll be picking this one for my TBR.
*** Extra note: just before posting this review, I realised that this book was nominated for 2020 Goodreads Choice award! So my instinct was right after all!

== Night in Tehran == 2 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️
Self-assessed genre: Action
This was a classic action story, similar to the likes of Bond and Bourne’s. I would expect espionage, murder, politics, money, power, and a bunch of men swapping grand tales and inhaling cigarettes while the meek women gossiped in the next room. It could be a good one depending on the twists and turns later in the book, but so far I wasn’t interested just from the sampler. It seemed too predictable for me, and I’m personally not a fan of grand machismo.
Cover review: I think the cover art was a good representation of the book. It gave me a bit of Dean Koontz/James Patterson vibe.

== Fifty Words for Rain == 2.5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️💫
Self-assessed genre: Historical Fiction
The chapters were intriguing enough, but more because of the Japanese setting rather than the story itself. The plot was still unclear, so I didn’t really get too much from the sampler aside from a potentially heartbreaking story about coming-of-age and finding self identity (did I guess right?)
Cover review: to be honest, the cover didn’t give me any historical fiction vibe, but it did resonate with my interpretation of ‘Japanese’ style, given the vertical positioning of the text ‘a novel’.

== Fortune Favors the Dead == 5 sampler stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Self-assessed genre: Crime (noir)
Great opening chapter, I was captivated (pun intended) immediately. Loved the female characters, and the hint of action. I really wanted to know more!
Cover review: I definitely got a noir vibe from the cover art.

So out of all the books, I will definitely pick up 'The Space Between Worlds', and most likely 'Bestiary' and 'Fortune Favors the Dead' next.

Thank you so much to the publishers and NetGalley for the sampler. I love getting a chance to preview a few selections at one time and then deciding which ones to request a full galley of or even to buy the actual selection once it's published.

One of the feelings I enjoy the most as a reader, is the joy when I discover a new voice that's really worth reading.
That's why debuts are so appealing to me.

A sampler like this one is the perfect way to see if the writing style of the newcomers can convince me to read the whole book.
As science-fiction and fantasy are my favourite genres, the most intriguing sample for me was the one of 'The Space Between Worlds' from Micaiah Johnson. Although it was already on my TBR-list, it was nice to be able to read the beginning and it piqued my curiosity even more 😉

This was great! I love debuts and it was nice to get a little taste of so many. Looking forward to reading many of the titles mentioned in this sampler.

I love getting these samplers! It makes me so excited to read more of the included titles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the early look.

This is a great look at what's to come from debut authors being published by Penguin Random House. I'm excited to read more of these titles. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early look.

After reading these spoilers I added each book to my to be read list. I'm looking forward to reading more and was pleasently surprised to see books that were coming out soon but I hadn't heard about yet. Always great to find new books to be interested in.

This is a sampler of eleven novels, which makes a review harder than if this were a single title. As is the case with most samplers, some titles may interest a reader while others don't. I'm giving one star not because the sampler falls flat but because I can't rate the pages as a whole.

This sampler was hard for me to enjoy as the stories really confused me as to what they were about. For example, I am not really sure what the first story, The Push is about other than one lady's rambling thoughts on family.
In No Heaven for Good Boys, two cousins are taken from their rural West African homes to become beggars for some guy that they serve. If they don't come back with enough money, they are beaten and sexually abused. One boy was promised that he only had to work for a year.
Bestiary is about an Oriental family searching for a gold block that the Grandfather buried in the back yard.
The Mermaid from Jeju is the story of a lady who dies from an embolism who said that she was a mermaid when she was younger.
Nights When Nothing Happened opens with a young boy living in Japan with his grandparents and when they cannot deal with him any more they ship him to his parents in America where he has to watch over his little sister who sleepwalks.
The Space Between Worlds deals with the idea of there being multiverses. In fact, it says that 380 Earths exists at one time, but you can only visits those that you are not alive on.
A Night in Tehran opens with a CIA agent in Paris meeting with the French Foreign Minister and some other people to try and find a replacement for the Shah.
In Fifty Words for Rain, a mother drops off her 8yo daughter to live with the mother's parents. The child is forced to live in the attic and take painful daily baths in some solution to lighten her skin color.
Fortune Favors the Dead- A young, female carny worker takes on a second job as a night watchman at a construction site. One night an older lady sneaks onto the property and asks about the main security guy whom she then confronts about him stealing from and killing some guy. The carny girl winds up killing the guy and she and the other lady go to the nearest police station to report it.
I am glad that I got to read a free sample of each of these books because I would have been upset if I had bought them and then hated them all.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The title is perfect. This is a SAMPLER of several debut authors from diverse backgrounds. I would say that these stories are literary fiction.

Wonderful introduction to debut authors.

As if I need more authors to love... This sampler was great! The stories are varied in genre but very well written and absorbing. I will be following up on the authors.

"The Push" by Ashley Audrain
The opening scene was arresting and creative. I am normally uncomfortable with the second person narration but it works in this instance. I was immediately hooked. The saga about her family was a little bit difficult to follow but I would definitely read this book! I have so many questions I need answers to! Who is she? Why did she give up her child? What secrets would drive a person to do that? How will his family react when they find out about her?
Oooooh!

"No Heaven for Good Boys" by Keisha Bush
Oh! This one hit me hard! I was immediately drawn into the life of this young boy begging in the slums. By the end of this sample, my heart was in pieces. It is devastating but beautifully written. The narrator is limited to Ibrahimah who is about 8, I think. The voice feels authentic to an 8-year old's understanding of the world. The shaming and brutality are hard to read and yet the story is engrossing.
The part about the zoo seemed a little too convenient. However, I suspect it will be important to the story later. The zoo-keeper makes the chimpanzees dance. It's heartbreaking. It seems like a mirror of themselves.
There are moments of comedic relief which is truly a relief in this painful story.
There is a lot that the reader needs to know; where is this happening, why are these boys under Marabout's "care", what happened to their families? However, the author does not speak down to the reader. She allows us to wonder and discover the answers to our questions as Ibrahimah moves through his life. Ibrahimah does not accept his lot as unchangeable. I would love to know how the story unfolds.

"Bestiary" by K-Ming Chang
Also written from a child's perspective, this story is told in the first person present, an unusual choice. It feels like a diary; immediate and unfiltered. As an adult she dedicates this chapter to her daughter and seems to address her in the second person.
I think this complexity, as well as the unfamiliar feeling of the Asian ex-pat culture, made it a bit difficult to follow. However, I think that says more about me as a reader than it does about the story.
This story has so much richness and depth. I am very keen to find out what happens next. Between the other kids left behind, the father's war PTSD, the mother's many languages and the narrator's dislike for her own child... I am curious to see what happens.
The missing gold has held back the mother's grief. What happens when they find it?
A bestiary is a descriptive treatise on various kinds of animals with a moralising tone. Oh! What a word! What a title...

The Mermaid from Jeju" by Sumi Hahn
I assumed this was a fantasy novel, however, it is based on true events. It seems like a magical world. I would be interested to see how the fantasy element plays out. I feel that the sampler was only enough to confuse me, not enough to hook me.

"Nights when nothing happened" by Simon Han
Like Bestiary, this story is also about an Asian family that immigrates to the USA. However, we see some of Jack's life before he and his sister leave to join their parents. The culture shock is stark but believable; "That feeling of being in a cartoon". There is something about his mother disappearing in the night and not being there when they wake up. They have come to experience the American Dream, somehow I expect their sacrifices will be heavier than they predicted.

"The space between worlds" by Micaiah Johnson
I am, personally, not partial to space adventures or sci-fi in general. However, this story is character-driven and intriguing. The author built the world smoothly and believably. I was captivated by the story without really noticing the mechanisms of world-building happening. It lacked a sense of urgency, though. Cara steals information and wants the weekend to dig through it but there isn't a why or a deadline, however, I think this kind of story can hold a mirror up to our society with its double standards and cheap labour.
Saeed seems like an interesting character. I would like to know how her firing plays into the story.

"Night in Tehran" by Philip Kaplan
This story seems equal parts political drama and spy action. It takes place in Paris but concerns the Iranian military and other middle eastern groups. I tried to get into it but this is a specific genre that doesn't appeal to me. Let my review not be held against the author though, I am just not his intended audience.

"Fifty Words for Rain" by Asha Lemmie
In Japan, 1948, young Nori is abandoned by her mother outside her grandparent's house. Two years later she is bathing in skin bleaching solution, avoiding her grandparents and staring out the window. The title intrigues me however there is not enough driving the story forward at this point.

"Fortune Favors the Dead" by Stephan Spotswood
The "carny" elements mixed with Will's penchant for whodunnits makes some of the references a bit cheesy, however, I think that was on purpose. In spite of the cover, I fell for the ruse that the author plays on the reader. But let's not spoil it.
This story reads like a TV series. I could feel the dirt and hear the sounds of New York city sleeping. I could feel the action happening. The laboured way that Lillian speaks feels a bit heavy-handed. I'm sure once I know what is wrong with her, it will make sense.