New local books — and bookstores — to check out this fall

There are some newcomers in town this fall. (No, I’m not talking about students.) Please welcome the incoming class of independent bookstores to the area: Now open in Somerville’s Davis Square, Narrative Bookshop is one of the few Desi-owned bookstores in the country. Mila Hossain’s collection highlights BIPOC and marginalized voices. Over in Union Square, former popup Side Quest Books & Games found a permanent home for its fantasy-inspired books and role-playing games. Parkside Bookshop opened its doors earlier this month in Boston’s South End. Coming soon to Dorchester’s Fields Corner is justBook-ish, co-founded by Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and Bing Broderick, former Haley House executive director. Olayiwola and Broderick hope to foster a warm community gathering space for creatives alongside its social justice-themed books. Also on deck are Lovestruck Books, a romance-themed shop in Cambridge’s Harvard Square and The Next Chapter Books and More in Quincy.

The best housewarming gift for these new local bookstores is buying your next read from their shelves. Here are some upcoming releases written by authors with New England ties for your consideration.

Between living with his mortician mom and reconciling his father’s death, teenager Jaxon Santiago-Noble likes to think he has a healthy relationship with his home sweet funeral home. But when his best friend and first crush Christian dies in a car crash, Jaxon unwittingly discovers that necromancy is one of several family secrets lurking in the shadows. Now Jaxon must wrangle dark magic and supernatural stakes — or he might just lose Christian all over again. Author Louangie Bou-Montes grew up in Northampton and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Told through experimental poetic prose from an unnamed narrator, “Body's a Bad Monster” explores queer identity, body dysmorphia and mental health. Author Rowan Perez weaves in epistolary elements like memos from her dissociative voice “Mouse” regarding “While you were out,” and a month-to-month lease agreement where Mouse can occupy her “Single Hispanic female” body, a.k.a. “A residential dwelling and: a bag, a sack, a holder.” The novel is a visceral experience of a young person navigating life and relationships when overwhelming trauma is ravaging the body. Blackout poetry and well-placed lowercase letters provide respite as the narrator reclaims her own home — herself. Perez is based in New England and received her MFA at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Narrative Bookshop in Somerville will host a book launch celebration for Rowan Perez on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Tickets are $5.

What if you could glimpse into the future just as easily as the past? “The Midnight Club” is a moody yet thrilling mystery befitting of the “dark academia” subgenre. A group of estranged friends (The Midnight Club, as they used to call themselves) reunite in their college town to reminisce over their bygone days with the school literary magazine and to honor their friend Jennet, who died during their junior year. Or so they think. Their host has another motive — using the secret substance that allows the user to both peer into the future and relive the past. Suddenly, everyone has something to hide. Is The Midnight Club willing to uncover what really happened to Jennet 25 years ago? Author Margot Harrison’s debut adult novel is set in Vermont where she lives.

Getting a jumpstart on the festive cheer, “The Most Wonderful Time” is a delightful romp for fans of “The Holiday.” Ramona Tucker and Chelsea Flint are eager to get away, and a house swap seems like the perfect fix. In Chicago, Ramona is pretending she’s still marrying her ex-fiancé (oops) and in Malibu, Chelsea is struggling to afford the beachside cottage full of cherished memories of her deceased parents. But Ramona’s plans for a sexy beach fling are interrupted by questioning who she can trust. Chelsea is keeping secrets that might ruin her burgeoning romance with Carlos, also jeopardizing her last chance for her waning art career. This romance is equal parts charming and poignant. Author Jayne Allen attended Harvard Law School and calls herself a “recovering lawyer.”

What does it mean to be Native American when that term encompasses hundreds of unique Indigenous cultures across the continent? To the U.S. federal government, it means that you meet specific ​​membership or "enrollment" criteria based on “shared customs, traditions, language and tribal blood,” applied to a federally-recognized tribe, and that tribe confirmed enrollment eligibility. (For context, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe was among the first to encounter English colonizers in the 17th century, yet weren’t granted federal recognition until 2007.) If that sounds like an unnecessarily bureaucratic process to claim a cultural and communal identity, you’re not alone. Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz, former Obama Administration policy advisor and Harvard Kennedy School of Government graduate, conducted in-depth interviews, groundbreaking research, and personal soul-searching to write “The Indian Card.” This book is all at once an intimate portrait, a sweeping history and a thoughtful examination of tribal identity, Native sovereignty and the quest for belonging. Schuettpelz is a member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina.

Just months after author Nikkya Hargrove’s baby brother Jonathan is born, their mother dies, having struggled with substance use disorder. Despite facing societal prejudices and personal hurdles as a young Black queer woman and recent college graduate, Hargrove is determined to adopt her brother. This tender memoir delves into the challenges of navigating family court and the stigma of government assistance balanced with the joy and affection Hargrove feels for Jonathan and the woman who will become her wife. ”Mama” is a tribute to Hargrove’s tenacity and love to keep her family together. The author lives in Connecticut with her family.

Nikkya Hargrove will discuss “Mama” with Sarah Prager at the Harvard Book Store on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. This event is free and no tickets are required. Hargrove will also speak at the Boston Book Festival on Saturday, Oct. 26.

A new school year is a chance to become a new version of yourself. For Perley, that means a diabetes diagnosis; for Amadine, that means turning into a vampire. Blood runs hot when the pair meet in this delicate graphic novel. As a solution to Perley’s steep medical expenses, Amandine offers to help him test his blood sugar. But when the arrangement and their budding romance become too codependent, they must confront what life with chronic illness looks like with sustainable coping mechanisms that won’t suck them dry. The graphic novel takes place in Maine and author Sarah Winifred Searle is from New England.

Sink your teeth into the sumptuous gristle of this poetry collection about the Filipino diaspora. As a Filipinx American poet, Albert Abonado meditates on the isolating experience of being a third-culture kid, not entirely fitting in with his peers in the U.S. or with his parents in the Philippines. Abonado captures that paradox in surreal imagery of domestic life with exhausted immigrant parents. Infused with love and grief, memories and folklore, metaphor and poignant truths, “Field Guide for Accidents” speaks to a ravenous hunger for belonging. Abonado holds an MFA from the Bennington College Writing Seminars.

Previous generations believed in the divine right of kings, and today, society is putting big tech up on a similar altar. In “Tech Agnostic,” author Greg Epstein draws on historical research, sociological studies and interviews to explain how technology is permeating the threshold between secular practice and near-religious ideology. Epstein points out the various parallels between tech and organized religion (e.g. doctrines, rituals, congregations, and more) from his perspective as a “humanist chaplain” at Harvard University and MIT, where he advises on ethical and existential concerns. This provocative book addresses why tech inspires zealous devotion and discusses the movements that are challenging the uncritical adoptions of technologies that may have far more consequences than benefits. Ultimately, Epstein argues for a balanced approach for tech to serve human lives — not the reverse.

Greg Epstein will discuss “Tech Agnostic” with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein at the Cambridge Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. This event is free with RSVP or $31.82 with book purchase included.

"My Fairy God Somebody” is a contemporary novel of familial and self-discovery. Growing up in Gloucester, it’s always been just Clae and her mom as one of the few Black families in town. When Clae starts a journalism program in New York City — where her parents used to live — she investigates leads to learn more about the mysterious “fairy god somebody” in her life. Throughout a summer of friendship, romance, and coming of age heightened by the playground of one of the world’s major cities, Clae puts her journalist skills to the test and learns how to write her own story. Author Charlene Allen earned her law degree from Northeastern University and her bachelor’s from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.