Every time summer rolls around, kids flock to the pools in roves; parents search for ways to keep them entertained. And nearly everyone starts to prepare their summer reading list. And how could they not? When that hot and humid temperatures rise, there’s nothing better than stretching out on a beach towel or hammock, blasting AC indoors, and settling down with a page-turner. Plus, if you have a tall glass of lemonade too, you’ll definitely make the most of the warmer weather.
No matter what you’re looking to sink your teeth into, there’s plenty of juicy stories out there. We compiled them all, and we can guarantee most will add a little extra spice to your favorite time of year. Whether you’re hankering for a dose of romance, a rabbit hole-worthy true crime, or even an uplifting graphic novel, there’s a summer reading list book for every preference.
So put down your phone and grab your biggest beach bag. You’re going to haul these page-turners everywhere you go.
1. City of Girls By Elizabeth Gilbert
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This is all about a “good girl” who discovers that she doesn’t need to be squeaky clean.
If you’re weighed down by the current state of the world, cancel culture, and wrestling with your own sense of self, Elizabeth Gilbert’s New York Times bestselling novel might be for you. According to NPR’s Jean Zimmerman, “Gilbert pulls off a breezy, entertaining read — and really, something better: a lively, effervescent, and sexy portrait of a woman living in a golden time.”
2. Besharam By Priya Alika Elias
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A selection of essays from this Twitter sensation is your best bet for a juicy slice of sex, dating, and belly laughs.
According to an interview with Scroll.in, this book covers Elias’s time in the US. She studied and worked before moving back to India. The book breaks down taboos Indian women face, evolving Indian culture in a Western world, and social media representation. The author’s work also tackles the weirdest euphemisms for periods. Indeed, it brims with advice for every woman on this planet from someone who’s almost done it all. Besharam stands as an empowering manual that helps you live in your truth.
3. City of Omens: A Search for the Missing Women of the Borderlands By Dan Werb
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The award-winning journalist Dan Werb follows the tales of women living in Tijuana.
After meeting a camp of 40 people, Dan Werb and his team, who study the spread of HIV in the city discover a lot more than they ever imagined. City of Omens provides an eye-opening, detailed look into the lives of women in Mexico’s borderlands. In fact, it details drugs, sex work, and day-to-day survival. Criminal Element describes the book as “an investigation of the root causes of the high rate of death among the women of Tijuana.”
4. Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language By Amanda Montell
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Women often reckon with reclaiming derogatory words, and Amanda Montell expertly traces that journey.
The linguistics graduate who made a career in digital media, tackles feminism, modern living, and what it means to be a woman today in her new book. “We take language for granted,” Amanda Montell told Paste Magazine. “We wield it so naturally every day that we don’t stop to analyze why we say the things we do.” This book stands as an unequivocal guide to navigating the modern world as a woman looking to reclaim control over their language and their agency.
5. Bunny: A Novel By Mona Awad
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Bunny is the follow-up to Mona Awad’s 2016 debut novel, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.
LA Times reviewer, Michael Schaub describes Bunny as a “dark academic satire and a creepy horror novel” that makes the reader “laugh out loud in one paragraph, and cringe with fear in the next.” It follows the story of Samantha, a creative writing graduate student who finds her classmates impossible to tolerate. The Bunnies, a friendship group that is strangely and performatively affectionate becomes the focus of the novel. Consequently, readers learn all about Samantha’s complaints, dislikes, and issues with the clique. It’s like Mean Girls all grown up.
6. Trick Mirror: Reflections On Self-Delusion By Jia Tolentino
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This is the debut collection of essays from a new literary voice.
In this work, Jia Tolentino details her life, from the advent of the internet to her appearance on the reality television show, Girls v. Boys on TeenNick. Now a New Yorker contributor, Tolentino muses about capitalism, personal identity, literature, Donald Trump, and the world’s newfound obsession with scamming. Publisher’s Weekly praises the book’s “candid self-awareness and well-formulated prose.” And we’re super excited to get lost in these pages.
7. Normal People: A Novel By Sally Rooney
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This is a 21st-century look at insecurity, growing up, and coming of age in a digital era.
Sally Rooney’s latest novel, Normal People is, according to NPR, “an exciting will-they-or-won’t-they love story.” And some people applaud Sally Rooney as the voice of a generation. If you long for a rom-com that is sympathetic, nuanced, and exciting, Normal People is essential summer reading. The book’s star-crossed lovers meet in school. And the story unfolds from there…
8. Like a Love Story By Abdi Nazemian
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It’s a tear-jerker about love, passion, and survival.
Based at the tail-end of the ’80s, in New York City, NY, Like a Love Story follows three teenagers while the world hangs on the brink of major change. Reza is an Iranian boy who just moved to the city. Judy is an aspiring fashion designer in awe of her uncle, a gay man with AIDS. And Art is Judy’s sexually liberated best friend. An impassioned story entangles all of the characters. According to Utopia State of Mind, this book is “difficult to explain because of how emotional and how expansive the story is… [and] it’s heart-wrenching.”
9. NORCO ’80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History By Peter Houlahan
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Calling all true crime-obsessed readers — this is the book for you.
What happened in Norco, a small town in Riverside County on May 9, 1980? Just the biggest bank robbery in American history. Peter Houlahan writes about the alleged criminals involved. He claimed, “They were not drug addicts desperate for their next fix, [or] a ring of thieves looking to pull a string of heists… The two men behind the Norco bank robbery believed that America was on the verge of a catastrophe of biblical proportions, one in which only the well armed and well prepared would survive.”
10. The Right Swipe By Alisha Rai
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You probably can’t describe modern dating without using the word “swipe.”
And Alisha Rai’s tale of romance is all about swiping and what happens when it goes right — and wrong. According to Publisher’s Weekly, this story follows Rhiannon “Rhi” Hunter and Samson Lima. She works as a dating app entrepreneur, and he’s a former football star who finds himself competing with Rhi in the dating business. The twist? They used to date, but someone got ghosted.
11. My Sister, the Serial Killer By Oyinkan Braithwaite
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One sister is a nurse, and the other is a murderer.
This isn’t your typical murder mystery novel. Oyinkan Braithwaite tackles the lengths someone would go to protect their family. Told against the backdrop of Lagos, Nigeria, the story follows sisters Korede and Ayoola. And they’re completely tangled in each other’s lives. According to The Guardian, the story opens with Korede cleaning blood in the shower after Ayoola killed her third boyfriend in “self-defense.”
12. There There By Tommy Orange
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This is the Cheyenne and Arapaho Native American author’s debut novel.
Set in present-day Oakland, the story relays the actions of 12 interconnected Native American characters. The novel delves into issues including depression, unemployment, alcoholism and the challenges of being Native American in a modern America. A finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and awarded the Gold Medal for First Fiction by the California Book Awards, There There is an unmissable tale.
13. Whisper Network By Chandler Baker
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Known for her young adult fiction, Chandler Baker finally explores adult literature with this piece.
If you like humor but also crave the intensity of a thriller, Whisper Network is your next big read. This story follows a group of women who are afraid of “career suicide.” Consequently, they strive to keep the sexually predatory behavior of their company’s general counsel hidden. Publisher’s Weekly describes this novel as a triumphant celebration of women who find a way to reclaim their agency and advance in their respective careers.
14. And Now We Have Everything By Meaghan O’Connell
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Many women struggle with the nuances of pregnancy, and Meaghan O’Connell details the process in her new book.
“I didn’t realize how little I knew about it until I read Meaghan O’Connell’s wry, brutal And Now We Have Everything,” NPR’s Annalisa Quinn wrote. O’Connell discusses the anxiety of pregnancy, c-section scars, sore nipples, and the pain of birth in an honest way that isn’t just for those considering pregnant. It has something for everyone.
15. Home Remedies By Xuan Juliana Wang
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Home Remedies is the nuanced story of a second-generation immigrant and her journey as an American citizen
Xuan Juliana Wang’s debut collection gives voice to the disconnect many second-generation kids feel. Most noticeably, she focuses on Chinese youth. An array of short stories about characters struggling to find their place in the world, Home Remedies is like an act of solidarity from a writer whose anxieties and experiences are reflected on the pages of this wonderful and painful read.
16. Tears of the Trufflepig By Fernando A. Flores
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Fernando A. Flores really broke the mold with this one.
The dystopian and futuristic novel, Tears of the Trufflepig, is a scintillating read for anyone fascinated by the twisted imaginings of fate. Set in Texas and Mexico at some point in the future, this world is encumbered by diseases and wealthy collectors who buy the shrunken heads of indigenous Americans. According to Kirkus Reviews, Flores offers a surreal look at an underground Illuminati-like community obsessed with reviving extinct creatures. It may you leave you wanting more.
17. Daisy Jones & The Six By Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll inspire this 1970s-inspired tale.
This is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s sixth novel. Everyone is singing its praises. Daisy Jones & The Six follows a fictional ’70s rock band. And according to The Guardian, “Amazon… commissioned a 13-part series based on the book, which will be co-produced with Reese Witherspoon.” You have a mission now. Speed-read this book before the show comes out!
18. Hot Comb By Ebony Flowers
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Created by an award-winning cartoonist, Hot Comb unravels tales about the culture of hair.
In fact, the graphic novel is about a Black girl’s first tryst with a perm. Ebony Flowers expertly examines the social complexities surrounding hair in Black culture. It can be seen as a source of power or a source of pain. And Publisher’s Weekly describes the book as a “sorrowful” but ultimately warm celebration of Black womanhood and family ties. If you like a light read brimming with passion, you can’t look past Hot Comb.
19. I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution By Emily Nussbaum
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, Emily Nussbaum, reckons with our connection to television through a collection of essays.
If you’re a fan of reality TV and soap operas and wonder why they don’t get the critical acclaim of serious dramas, then pick this book up immediately. Emily Nussbaum expertly discusses how shows like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos devalue other television shows that some consider guilty pleasures. Not only does she champion the importance of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But Nussbaum also attempts to untangle why we can’t appreciate television as an art form of its own merit.
We did all the leg work for you. Now it’s time to relax and get lost in a story or two.