The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description.
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Two books I want to read arrived last week, but I’m only covering the first of those today because I already included the other in a post I have in progress. Hopefully that will be going up soon!
Habila by Wayétu Moore
Wayétu Moore’s second novel will be published on January 12, 2027 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).
I was especially intrigued by Habila after reading about the type of character Wayétu Moore said she wanted to write in the cover reveal in People:
“For my sophomore novel, I asked myself: What happens when a heroine does not want to be good? What wars would she wage, and against whom, when she taps into the wholeness of her being?”
Its description also mentioned other elements that sounded interesting to me, such as its inspiration from the legend of Mami Wata, its inclusion of power that comes with a cost, and its exploration of themes related to womanhood and identity.
From the acclaimed author of She Would Be King, a dazzling and daring work of magical realism that weaves through the lives of a Liberian immigrant family and the water goddess who haunts them
In this ambitious new novel, the bestselling and prize-winning writer Wayétu Moore delivers us into the lives of a young girl, Melanctha, and her family amid the loss of their patriarch, Tokpa. They relocate from Liberia to the backwater town of Hunt, Texas, a land that proves hostile to them—until one day, a school bully pushes Melanctha into a lake, and she finds that she can breathe underwater. Melanctha discovers that her newfound ability comes from Habila, a gorgeous, beguiling half woman, half sea deity who bestows on her a gift: a comb that, if touched, can lure people into the water and make them disappear for good.
But Melanctha’s power has not come without a price. Habila has languished alone for millennia, blaming men for her loneliness. She harbors a hatred so potent that she has committed her existence to ridding the world of them. As Melanctha’s ties to Habila deepen, a family mystery unravels, and Melanctha learns that the siren may have secrets, too.
Inspired by the African legend of Mami Wata, Habila is a kaleidoscopic tale tracing a family and a woman through the years as they navigate supernatural forces and long-buried truths. In lush, lyrical prose, Moore crafts an elegant story that probes the corners of womanhood and motherhood, immigrant identity, and the legacies wrought by men who take but never give back.
