Min Jin Lee’s Contemporary Epic American Hagwon Selected as Amazon’s Best Book of 2026

With hundreds of Editor favorites across categories — from Romance to new additions like Buzzworthy and Horror — Amazon's Best Books of 2026 list has something for every reader this holiday season

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today revealed its Best Books of 2026 list, naming Min Jin Lee's American Hagwon the No. 1 pick. Out of thousands of books the Amazon Editors read this year, Lee's multigenerational novel about ambition, sacrifice, the immigrant experience, and the bonds between families rose to the top. Rounding out the top five are Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel, The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia by Robert Kolker, Kin by Tayari Jones, and Fruit Fly by Josh Silver.

The Best Books of 2026 list features the Editors' top overall picks alongside favorites across categories, including Literature and Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers, Romance and Romantasy, History, Biographies and Memoirs, Book Clubs, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, and Children’s Books by age group. A new Horror category joins the list this year along with Buzzworthy, which celebrates the most talked-about titles among readers, from new releases like Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke to page-to-screen hits like Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and breakout favorites like The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower. For even more tailored recommendations, readers can follow specific Editors who match their reading tastes.

"From a buzzy novel about influencer tradwives to a scorching memoir of a marriage gone bad, this year's books penetrated culture far beyond book clubs. But the one that we can't stop talking about is Min Jin Lee's extraordinary and magnetic American Hagwon," said Sarah Gelman, editorial director, Amazon Books. “We had big expectations for the next installment in her planned quartet of novels exploring the Korean diaspora, and she exceeded them more than we could have ever hoped. American Hagwon is a powerful story about what families sacrifice in the name of their children's futures and whether the promise of formal education is worth the price. We couldn't put it down."

“I began writing American Hagwon to figure out why education is so important to a people, and in the decade that it took for me to finish, I ended up learning more about wisdom and why we need it to survive and flourish,” said Min Jin Lee, the best-selling author of American Hagwon, Pachinko, and Free Food for Millionaires. “Writing this novel taught me many lessons, and chief among them is that the constant of our lives is a steady stream of both trials and treasures. That Amazon’s Editors have selected American Hagwon as the No. 1 Book of the Year is an unexpected gift, and I am deeply grateful for this honor.”

Whether readers want to get lost in a novel over the holidays, send an eBook as a last-minute gift, or queue up an audiobook for winter travel, the Best Books of 2026 list makes it easy to find the right book for every reader at any price point. Print titles are available with fast, free delivery for Prime members, and eBooks and audiobooks offer instant access.

Explore the Editors' top 10 picks below and discover the full Best Books of 2026 list at www.amazon.com/bestbooks, including the top 100, category picks, and the Editors’ personal favorites. For Editor reviews and author interviews, visit the Amazon Book Review. Holiday shoppers will also find print deals on select titles from the list during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, including 60% off Strangers by Belle Burden; 55% off Kin by Tayari Jones; and 50% off Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune, Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser, and Beneath by Ariel Sullivan.

1. American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
   “An extraordinary Trojan horse of a novel that will make your heart sing and make you want to talk to everybody you know about it. Utterly magnetic, American Hagwon will change the way you think about family, sacrifice, and education. Min Jin Lee has written (another) once-in-a-lifetime read.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
2. Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
   “A sparkling, genre-busting gift of a novel, Emily St. John Mandel’s latest is dystopian fiction that shook me to my core. Spanning continents, timelines, and perhaps even universes, Exit Party makes for a glorious puzzle, one with pieces that fit together seamlessly.” —Annabel Gutterman, Amazon Editor
3. The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia by Robert Kolker
   “Robert Kolker’s enthralling medical mystery is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking—it asks big questions about chance and choice, what makes a full life, what we’re willing to run toward (or hide from), and how we care for each other. It’s a true story that will stick with you.” —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
4. Kin by Tayari Jones
   “This was our pick for the best book of the year so far, and our love for this novel about two motherless friends coming of age in the Jim Crow South endures. A nuanced portrait of friendship, family, and race—Jones's sentences sing.” —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
5. Fruit Fly by Josh Silver
   “Walking the line between hysterical and horrifying, this electric psychological thriller ruthlessly takes on cultural appropriation through a delicious cat-and-mouse game like no other. If you’re in a reading slump, Fruit Fly is the cure.” —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
6. Land by Maggie O’Farrell
   “Never before have a 19th-century mapmaker, a scruffy, loyal dog, and a mysterious copse of trees been more enchanting. O’Farrell delivers a soaring and bewitching tale of family, and how the remote Irish peninsula where they live defines and shapes them, generation after generation.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
7. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe
   “Illuminating and unforgettable, Patrick Radden Keefe’s latest delivers another knockout work of narrative nonfiction, this time telling the shocking story of how a young man got caught up in the dangerous and powerful world of Russian oligarchs and landed at the bottom of the Thames.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
8. Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty
   “The many fans of Big Little Lies will love this follow-up, but you don’t need to have read that book or seen the show to enjoy Big Little Truths. I’ve been a fan of Liane Moriarty since her early books, and this is simply one of her very best. The dialogue is so clever, and the storytelling so engrossing, you won’t be able to put this book down.” —Sarah Gelman, Editorial Director
9. This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story by Evan Gershkovich
   “This heart-pounding, reported memoir sucked me in from the first page; it’s a gripping account of resilience and perseverance that goes far beyond the headlines to reveal what really happened to Evan Gershkovich when he was snatched off the street and thrown into a Russian prison.” —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
10. Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead
    “Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead delivers another searing page-turner of heists, gangsters, criminals, and families in this mesmerizing portrait of 1980s New York City.” —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor

About the Amazon Editors

The Amazon Editors are a group of literary experts with extensive experience spanning publishing, journalism, and communications. They read thousands of books every year across genres to help customers discover their next favorite read, and put together Best Books of the Month, Best Books of the Year So Far, and Best Books of the Year lists on Amazon. To read Editor reviews, discover recommendations of new books in popular categories, and explore author interviews, visit the Amazon Book Review. You can also follow the Amazon Editors’ recommendations and conversations @amazonbooks on Instagram.

About Amazon

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