The Names of the New World

by Kawai Strong Washburn

Named a Most-Anticpated Book by Los Angeles Times, Town & Country, Kirkus, BiblioLifestyle, St. Paul Pioneer Press, and Minneapolis Star Tribune

"An epic account of the fight for human dignity and an intimate, unforgettable story of love, ambition, and resilience." ―Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Wayfinder

The highly anticipated second novel from the award-winning author Kawai Strong an extraordinary saga of resilience and ambition in the face of a chaotic world.

A ferocious superstorm strikes Minneapolis, leveling large swaths of the city in a matter of minutes. In the storm’s wake, three people forge an unlikely bond that will shape their lives for the next twenty five Naomi, a disillusioned lawyer by day and amateur MMA fighter by night, searching for the meaning she’s lost after migrating from Hawai‘i; Amaré, an up-by-the-bootstraps investment banker with grand designs for all the money he’s about to make; and Raheem, a diesel mechanic nearly paralyzed by the storm and struggling to save his business.

When Naomi realizes that energy companies are responsible for the climate-induced superstorm―and the many more to come, potentially dooming her island homeland―she initiates a bitter legal battle, one that culminates in her ascension to a political office in D.C. with the power to prevent future tragedies. Yet her rise puts at risk a burgeoning romance with Amaré, whose own ambitions test Naomi’s ethical limits, while Raheem’s fate as a blue-collar business owner becomes dependent on the couple’s growing power.

Following his acclaimed debut, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Kawai Strong Washburn again turns his remarkable gift of mythic sight to the oceans and landscapes we so often overlook in the name of progress. Spanning two decades and ranging from the American Midwest to the nation’s halls of power to islands across the Pacific, The Names of the New World is a startling, energetic, and optimistic vision of how to live in this era of overwhelming change.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Climate Change Fiction, Adult, Adult Fiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2026

Reviews

[Heidi Zuva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Climate fiction hits different in 2026, when we’re already seeing the horrible effects of greed on our planet.

Premise: a superstorm devastates Minnesota and three unlikely friends forge a bond in its wake: Naomi, a lawyer by day and MMA fighter by night; Amaré, a scrappy investment banker (I know that’s a weird sequence of words); and Raheem, a diesel mechanic struggling to put his life back together after the storm.

Naomi, a Hawaii native, is furious when she learns energy companies are responsible for the disaster, and that it won’t be the last of its kind. To protect her island (and the planet) she initiated a bitter legal battle that carries her all the way to Capitol Hill. Complicating her political ascent is a budding romance with Amaré, whose ambitions conflict with her beliefs, and Raheem’s dependence on the powerful couple’s decisions.

Oof. Reading this now, with climate anxiety pretty much unavoidable, is tough but worthwhile. The characters are really well rendered and they all feel so human and real. Naomi was the most compelling for me, and I (a deeply unromantic person) was even sucked in by the early days of her relationship with Amaré. I felt it all reading this, everything from squee to ahhh.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Barrie Kealoha, Charles Everett, and William DeMeritt. All three delivered really strong, textured reads of an incredibly emotional story. I recommend! It's not easy listening, exactly, but it's powerful and worth the listen.

Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Angie Miale · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars

The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn is an ambitious work of climate science fiction that imagines what life might look like as climate change reshapes not only the physical world, but where and how people are able to live within it.

Set largely in Minneapolis, the novel uses multiple points of view to explore displacement, adaptation, and what it means to become a refugee in a world where the places we once considered home may no longer be sustainable. I appreciated the creativity behind Washburn’s vision of this future and the questions the book raises about what humanity might be capable of accomplishing—and what we may have to sacrifice—as we adjust to a new normal.

Amari was easily my favorite character, and I also found Naomi compelling. Unfortunately, the novel as a whole fell a little flat for me. There was quite a bit of repetition, and despite really liking the setup, I never felt as invested in the larger plot as I wanted to be.

I listened to the audiobook, which features multiple narrators to match the book’s multiple perspectives. While I generally enjoy a full cast, the rhythm and cadence of Naomi’s narration didn’t quite work for me, and that affected my connection to her sections of the story.

Ultimately, this was a case where I appreciated the imagination and ideas more than I enjoyed the execution. Climate fiction feels increasingly relevant as writers grapple with what our changing planet could mean for migration, community, and the way we live. I suspect we’re going to see much more of it in the years ahead, and I’m glad authors like Washburn are imagining those possible futures—even when this particular version didn’t completely land for me.

The Names of the New World is expected to be published October 6, 2026.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced listening copy.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, thought-provoking, and beautifully written, #TheNamesoftheNewWorld starts with a superstorm in Minneapolis' near future that also hints at the city's unresolved racial issues. Three strangers meet in the chaos following a power outage from the storm, connecting them for decades to come. Each character is strong in their own way. Naomi is of mixed descent, notably Hawaiian. She's an MMA fighter at night and a lawyer by day, filing paperwork and hating her job. Amaré is a black man climbing his way up in the world as an investment banker, and Raheem is a small business owner servicing diesel engines in a struggling economy. The storm radicalizes Naomi as a climate activist, often moving her in opposition to Rahim whose clients work to increase revenue rather than reverse climate change. We follow the three of them over 25 years into the future with job changes, increasing climate pressures, and shifting political priorities. The book is insightful, likely prescient, and engaging in the way all good novels are. Order or reserve now this well-narrated and well-recommended audiobook!
My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. Publication date: 6 October 2026.

[Ronnica Fatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exploration of the human toll of climate change and its potential mitigation, while recognizing the broken systems that encourage actions that perpetuate harm.

[Sarah · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

💚 Thank you to Little Charity Book Truck for the ARC opportunity! 💚
Immersive exploration of resilience that follows three strangers whose lives become inextricably linked after a devastating climate-induced ultra-storm strikes Minneapolis. Having the story unfold in the Twin Cities immediately drew me in. I found myself connecting with the complex characters as they navigated their vastly different ambitions and emotional journeys in a rapidly changing world. It is a powerful, thought-provoking read that balances the high stakes of climate disaster with a hopeful, human-centered vision for the future.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great premise, poorly written.

The novel opens with three strangers, whose lives are intertwined by a climate-induced superstorm in Minneapolis. Throughout the next 400+ pages, they stick together and pull apart. 25 years elapses, the world almost ends, and then humanity finds a way forward. Droughts, migrations, firestorms, politics, romance...sounds like it should have worked.

But it doesn't, primarily because of Strong Washburn's poor writing. He has a strange attraction to the passive voice and gargantuan sentences piled high with clauses and phrases. It would work if he only relied on strange sentence construction every now and again to draw your attention to something. But he does it over and over, on every page. Consider just these two examples, and then imagine stumbling across these every minute or so:

"The tea's warmth felt like he was holding the sly smile she'd given while she made the tea, listening to her favorite album on repeat and dipping through the kitchen to the rhythm in her earbuds, capping the go-mug for him while the steam slipped through the lid like a snake."

"If the models proved anything, it was that some problems couldn't be reduced to binary functions, meaning what it feels like to abandon whole neighborhoods, meaning how to improve flexibility of food systems during chaotic temperature swings, meaning flood famine storm, meaning this new now, meaning everything."

In short, it's torturous to read. Consider skipping it.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well done novel about three people whose lives become intertwined one night in the aftermath of an insanely strong storm in Minneapolis (yay climate change), how they try to effect change and continue to try to exist in the hellscape that unfolds over several years, and what exactly they're willing to compromise on to get what they want personally. This comes out in October, and you're gonna want to preorder it now.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent work of climate fiction. I enjoyed how Kawai Strong Washburn balanced the three different character voices to show the variety of perspectives around climate change disasters and consequences. Naomi was a fascinating character motivated by rage and desire to fight the status quo. Her journey from MMA fighter and lawyer to political representative was interesting to follow. I appreciated the insight offered by her experience as a minority working in Washington D.C. Amare's story was powerful in how his relationship with Naomi shaped his future decisions. Finally, Raheem offered a great foil of experience as a victim of climate disaster and economically tied to the current fossil fuel industry as a diesel mechanic. I really enjoyed this story, and how these characters expressed the range of emotions brought up in our current environmental situation. The pacing at the end felt a little rushed, but overall I definitely would recommend this. The different narrators did a great job of giving the characters and story life in the audiobook.

Thank you the NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC in return for my honest thoughts.

[Amanda · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

This was really good. A very good author, great with words and concepts and characters. Finally a book that treats climate change in an interesting and what feels like realistic way. Being from the same general area as the main characters, I felt like this discussion was super relevant to our lives and lifestyles in the Midwest.

Read as audiobook. (#98 2026)

[Bretnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am mixed. I loved the characters, was very interested in the climate change theme, but I struggled with the climate change intensity, which he didn't get wrong. It was just a lot at a time when my real world brain already thinks too much about these topics. And there were some plot holes that distracted me. But I'll still read any future book Kawai puts out since I'll love Sharks in the Time of Saviors forever.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel! Full review soon!
Thank you to the publisher for my ARC!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

You guys, the author lives in my city! Do you think I have a shot?? 😍 (I love youuuuu!)

Five stars: a chance to replace a little bit of our collective climate anxiety with a bit of climate hope.

[Stephanie Peterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly? this book was on track for 3 stars until ~60% in where it gets significantly more interesting… the stakes are higher for naomi and amaré and their alternating POVs begin to get more descriptive and less expository. a don’t know why i had trouble finding the hook with these characters, but i’m glad i stuck with it. a solid political cli-fi story with a happy glimpse of what the future could look like if only our leaders put people before profit.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Catherine · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

I really enjoyed "The Names of the New World", although it never quite reached that level where I felt completely compelled to keep listening. It was a very good book, just not quite a five-star read for me.

First, all three narrators did an excellent job. I love when audiobooks make the effort to use different narrators for different characters, and it worked especially well here because each of the three main characters has such a distinct story and perspective. The narrators were polished enough that they could convincingly voice characters of different genders within their sections without it becoming distracting. The multiple narrators added a lot to the experience and helped give each character an individual voice.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was the opportunity to experience the world through perspectives very different from my own. That's one of the reasons I love fiction in the first place. It can take me into lives, communities, and experiences I would never encounter in my everyday life. I especially appreciated seeing parts of this story through the eyes of Raheem and Amaré, two Black men whose experiences and perspectives are central to the novel. Books that allow readers to spend time inside lives different from their own can build empathy and understanding, and I think this novel does that particularly well.

And then there is Naomi. I loved her. She's a formidable woman, literally, since she's an MMA fighter, but she's also intelligent, ambitious, and incredibly driven. She's a woman of color who is also deaf in one ear and wears hearing aids. She feels like a complete person, not a stereotype or caricature . I thought she was a fantastic character and a wonderful role model, and I give Kawai Strong Washburn bonus points for writing such a convincing and complex female character.

The climate change elements were harder to read, not because of poor writing, but because the writing was so well done. Strong Washburn accurately described extreme weather and environmental conditions I've actually experienced, including a tornado, dangerous air quality from wildfire smoke, and a heat dome. It put me right back at the event.

The book ultimately left me with hope rather than despair, and I loved that about it. The last part of the story really shows that if we can get our s**t together we can still fix this mess before it is too late. For a story dealing with climate change, disaster, inequality, and some genuinely frightening possibilities for the future, that mattered a lot to me. There were a lot of creative ideas that showed Strong Washburn is thinking about ways to solve the global warming crisis.

So this is one of those books that lands somewhere above four stars for me, but not quite high enough to round up to five. It didn't completely hold me in thrall, but I admired what it was doing, loved its characters, appreciated the perspectives it gave me, and thought the ending made the difficult journey worthwhile.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

[JessicaMHR · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

This is a look at how climate change affects us humans and the land we live in scientifically, politically, economically, socially, and even humanely.

The struggles we face to get change to happen politically, is strongly represented in the first half of the book. How hard it is to get policy changes done. And how it's looked at not in a what's best for the people way but what is best for the pockets way.

The effects of climate change on the planet and on our cities, and our islands and our shores is talked about in very dramatic extreme ways in this book. However, it doesn't come off as unrealistic. I could still see all of these things happening. Even if it takes a while, it could very much happen to all of these places. The struggles that they face in the beginning part of the book, them dealing with getting action to help with all the climate change effects is a big struggle in the beginning part of the book. Whereas the second part of the book it covers more of now it's later and they've initiated a lot of these changes. There's like no cars anymore. People live in smaller areas. Whole states have been unoccupied because of the weather, or the heat and the effects on those places is very dramatically represented in this book. But like I said, none of it came across as unrealistic.

I think Kawai was trying to almost portray this in such a dramatic way to wake up people to the fact that all of this can happen if we continue to do nothing.

There is also an underlying plot point to this story where it's the struggle of one of the main characters trying to figure out where they belong culturally in the world. They feel most at peace in the Islands. However, they don't live there and then they had a hard time growing up there as well because they still felt like an outsider. I feel a lot of people, especially mixed race people, go through that emotional struggle of trying to figure out where you belong.

[Jessica Bright · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!!

I loved this author's debut novel and I was SO excited to get approved for an advanced copy. I started reading this physically a few months ago and I quickly realized that I wasn't interested in this story. It was missing the elements that I loved so much about his first book, particularly the gorgeous writing/setting. The book kicks off with a storm and three strangers who meet during it. We follow their lives for the next 25 years, but it mainly focuses on Naomi and her fight for saving the climate. Typically these are some of my favorite books but this felt too heavy handed and filled with too much jargon. I prefer books with the same message but in a more subtle and beautifully descriptive way, such as Wild Dark Shore. I was so disconnected from the characters and I didn't like all the talk about politics since Naomi gets involved in the political world. Honestly I'm so sad I didn't really enjoy this one but it's a 2.5 star because I still appreciate the story being told.

[Mario Mirabelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intimate portrait of climate disasters thru the eyes of three random characters who "accidentally" meet. A ferocious tornado hits Minneapolis causing major damage throughout the area including an apartment building where Naomi lives and Amare is visiting a friend. The building partially collapses sending everyone scrambling for a place to stay. The two meet while waiting for the storm to pass in the basement and Amari offers to take Naomi to his parents house which is sort of within walking distance. On the way they notice a man gravely injured man named Raheem who they carry to a makeshift medical station and probably save his life. The table is set to watch for the ensuing collapse of the world as through their eyes as weather conditions worsen everywhere. Well written with many interconnected layers but does the world and are three friends survive? Well worth it to read and find out.

[star · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

an intertwined story about three people who meet during a superstorm and how they navigate life in the next 25 years with extreme climate change.

i appreciate the book's focus on the climate crisis. i think there is a lot of value in what the story reminds us of, how much work we have to do together and systematically to fight the ongoing climate crisis in real life. much of the natural disasters that occur in the story are ones we are already beginning to see today.

however, i think this book is just not entirely for me. maybe it has something to do with the writing, but i found it incredibly tedious to read. there were many points where i dreaded it and considered DNF-ing. it's not to say that i think this is a bad book by any means; just that the style doesn't work for me.

thank you to farrar, straus and giroux and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Carolyn Linehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening and powerful look at what we could be facing in the not-so-distant future as climate change reshapes our world (and the future this book imagines is frightening!).

But this isn’t just a story about a changing planet. It’s also a love story, a story about friendship, and a story about family—all woven into a story about a changing planet. I didn’t want this book to end. ❤️

Thank you to Kawai Strong Washburn and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy.

Note: I’ve added Sharks in the Time of Saviors—another book by Kawai Strong Washburn—to my TBR.

[Tyler Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s some really striking, interesting prose here and some strong character work, but for whatever reason, I just didn’t find myself eager to pick this up. The opening chapters were so strong, but I found myself less invested through long stretches in the middle. I appreciated the complexity of Naomi’s relationship with Hawai’i and the Marshall Islands, but wanted a better sense of what those places meant to her beyond their political utility. Despite the uneven pacing, there are some compelling ideas, and the writing alone has me wanting to pick up Sharks in the Time of Saviors.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn.

I worry that my lack of interest in this book might be a failing on my part. I just couldn't stay with it. It began strongly and had a promising premise, but I lost the literal plot about halfway through. I faded in and out as I finished this book, but it just never launched.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick take: The Names of the New World is a smart, practical guide that doesn't talk down to you. What worked: real-life examples, plain language, and a few ideas I started using that same day. What didn't: the last third gets repetitive, like it's padding for length. Recommend for readers new to the topic, skip for anybody who already has a few books on the shelf about it.

[Debbie Gorham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed much of the character development but the plot wasn't drawn quickly enough. It simply went on and on without enough credibility or thrill. Writing style is engaging. Want more to a plot, however. Needs more detail in plot development. Title of novel isn't compelling.

[Paul Edlund · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

A powerful book. Gorgeous prose and interesting narrative with three, separate protagonists. This book was hard to read at times because it’s near future speculation felt prescient, and oh so scary. I didn’t love this book as much as his debut novel but this book is remarkable in its own right.

[Alyson Giordano · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Kinda slogged through this also bc it felt very Real and stressed me out. I expected to be more moved honestly considering this is a topic I care about lot about. It was still good though and I thought it was well paced

[Nina]

When I tell you that I have been WAITING for KSW's new novel... I am so excited for this, Sharks in the Time of Saviors remains one of my absolute favorite books. I cannot wait.

[Maggie · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

DNF @ 67%. Too stressful. I can’t right now.

[Adam Kynaston]

This novel mistakenly uses a climate crisis as a plot, rather than a setting. Everything seems checkbox - race, SES, physical disabilities…. the result is not good.

[Nancy (Colorado) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 2/3of the book was pretty engaging but the last 1/3 fell apart.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn is absolutely fabulous! It's an amazing, compelling piece of literary fiction set in a dystopian future where climate change has reached devastating heights. Definitely frightening, but not without hope. Masterful!