HAVING SPENT LIFE SEEKING By Kae Tempest (Jonathan Cape £18.99, 352pp)
This stand-out second novel from the award-winning poet, playwright and songwriter echoes Tempest's own journey, coming out first as non-binary, then as a trans man.
Growing up, Molly Taylor has never felt at home. Nicknamed Rothko for their crimson blushes, the emotion they're most familiar with is shame, especially for their own body. Their mother is lost to drugs, their father an uptight suburbanite. Only Dionne, their fearless friend, understands.
Rothko's teenage coming-of-age story is framed by a narrative set 15 years later, in which we see them released from prison.
Agile shifts in perspective allow Tempest to extend his 360-compassion as he brings marginalised lives into sharp focus; he writes brilliantly about addiction and desire, too.
Tough and lyrical, it's a tale of survival and becoming that earns the grace of its moving conclusion.
AMERICAN HAN By Lisa Lee (Algonquin Books £25, 288pp)
Set in the early years of the 21st-century, the protagonists of this Korean-American family drama take dysfunction to a new level.
Jane Kim is finishing law school in San Francisco when her sexagenarian mum shows up, intent on bagging some real estate after dumping her abusive husband. He, meanwhile, has embarked on a post-retirement odyssey as a trucker.
Kevin, Jane's brother, has likewise reinvented himself: a wannabe pro-tennis star; he's now a city cop. But his toxic upbringing has him primed to explode.
Lee rewinds to the pair's childhood; the casual racism to which they're subject and the wider experiences of the diaspora. There's occasional humour - the toddler who, unremarked, bangs out Rachmaninoff - but this is ultimately a serious, deeply felt novel about navigating with love beyond an irredeemable past.
FRUIT FLY By Josh Silver (Magpie £16.99, 416pp)
This adult fiction debut by award-nominated YA author Silver arrives with praise from, among others, screenwriter Russell T. Davies.
It's like the offspring of Trainspotting and Yellowface: a publishing-industry satire that wraps up questions of appropriation and authenticity in a not-for-the-faint-hearted plot.
Mallory was a star in her 20s when her debut novel became a bestseller, but in her 30s she's blocked.
Leo was a promising writer as a teenager but now he's a homeless addict selling sex to pay for drugs.
When their worlds collide, Mallory knows Leo's grim story could be a blockbuster. But she gets more than she bargains for when she starts to manipulate him.
With the pace and twists of a thriller, this is a clever and assured - if pitch black - first outing.