Before its release on August 25, 2026, Edwidge Danticat’s Dèy: A Novel (Penguin Random House) has appeared on many lists of recommended books for this summer. To mention two of these outlets, which are directed at varied audiences, Danticat’s latest is featured in “August 2026 Reads for the Rest of Us,” by Karla J. Strand (MS Magazine, 31 July 2026) and NPR’s “13 new books in August will get you through the dog days of summer,” by Colin Dwyer. Dwyer’s list includes Claudia Rankine’s Triage (published on August 4). Read Dwyer and Strand’s reviews below.

C. Dwyer says, “More than 12 years have passed since the publication of Claire of the Sea Light, the last novel the versatile Haitian American author wrote with an adult audience in mind. That’s not to say she hasn’t been working; in that span, she has produced several collections of essays and short stories — one of which won a National Book Critics Circle Award — as well as works of memoir, criticism and children’s literature. Still, it’s hard not to celebrate Dèy as a return of sorts for Danticat, who first burst onto the literary scene as a 20-something wunderkind with the 1994 novel Breath, Eyes, Memory. Her latest features a Haitian American immigrant like herself, who survives terrible trauma only to realize it’s unlikely ever to leave her.”

K. Strand writes: “Edwidge Danticat is back (after a decade!) with this powerful narrative of trauma, family and home. I was hooked from the first page, and while the story slows down, it flows beautifully and thoughtfully. With Haitian language and diaspora woven throughout, Dèy is an evocative reflection on contemporary violence and grief.”

For full articles, see https://msmagazine.com/2026/07/31/best-new-feminist-books-august-2026-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-lgbtq-women-writers/ and https://www.npr.org/2026/08/04/nx-s1-5905346/new-books-august-2026

For more on the novel, see https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/768725/dey-by-edwidge-danticat/