Jodi Picoult’s 30th novel is coming later this year.
Ballantine will publish the author’s Hollow Bones in the fall, the press announced in a news release. It calls the book “a riveting novel about the risks we take to protect the ones we love in a world where crisis is always just around the corner.”
Picoult published her first novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale, in 1992 and went on to write Harvesting the Heart, Mercy, Keeping Faith, My Sister’s Keeper, and other titles.
Her 2007 novel about a school shooting, Nineteen Minutes, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and remains one of her most popular titles; the book has also been a frequent target of book bans and challenges. Picoult’s most recent novel, By Any Other Name, was published in 2024.
Hollow Bones will follow Molly Fitzgerald, a woman whose mother was killed in the 9/11 attacks; Molly now works as Rhode Island’s director of emergency preparedness. She and her husband are expecting their first child when a disaster strikes, throwing their lives into disarray.
Picoult announced the novel on her popular TikTok account, saying, “It’s about mothers and daughters, second chances, and how we manage to keep the people we love safe, even when it means lying to ourselves. It also brings back a character many of you all will remember from My Sister’s Keeper, so you’re welcome. And, like all my books, it’s going to get people talking.”
Hollow Bones is slated for publication on Sept. 15.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
