The Chosen and The Damned: Native Americans and the Making of Race in the United States

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2026 by Apple Books, The Skimm, and Debutiful, “a work of debut fiction that sparkles with honesty and emotion.” - Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Sisters. Through Books for Closed Black Girls, a “wise and witty, honest and insightful” novel (Maza Mengesti) delves into the secret lives of three women on the eve of Eritrea’s independence. 1991. Eritrea is on the verge of freedom from Ethiopian rule, and in Washington, D.C., where there is an atmosphere of change, the signs of a close-knit Eritrean community are on the horizon. Thirteen-year-old Lydia and her family grapple with the repercussions of peace that has followed decades of war on their future, as they welcome Berekit, their distant cousin who has recently arrived from Ethiopia to study at medical school in the United States. With it comes a torrent of new ideas that Lydia must confront for the first time, about the stories of national belonging and family she grew up with. At the same time, her mother Elsa, a former rebel fighter, and the family matriarch, Mama Zudi, face lingering regret during their country's war. Elsa's path from Eritrea to Washington, D.C., has been filled with courage and loss, and characters from her past on the front lines begin to resurface. Mama Zodi, who runs a successful injera business from her apartment, finds herself reconsidering her place within her young family for the first time, while Lydia, encouraged by Birkhet, becomes committed to uncovering the secrets of her and her mother's past, including the truth about her father, who was martyred in the war. I Hope You Find What You're Looking For is a love ode to an immigrant community on the cusp of a new era, boldly asking the question: How does our past define our present? What stories must we give up in order to be truly free?