Ah, summer. Days full of sunshine, the ground warm under your feet, fireflies dancing at night and the time of year when list after list of the best books to read during these beautiful days comes out.
I love these lists. My Want to Read list grows with each one I read. But often the books are given out of context, or they’re all so new that I know the library list will be a mile long and I may well be reading this year’s top beach read in December against a backdrop of snow.
This conundrum has led me to create a new kind of summer reading recommendation list, one that includes older books, newer books, and context so you’ll know if searching out the title and reading descriptions and reviews is worth it. These are all titles I’ve personally read and recommend.
Happy reading!
Summer Reading Recommendations
If you liked Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty:
- The Sinful lives of Trophy Wives by Kristin Miller (new release July 20, 2021)
- Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
- Commonality: Female friendships and the secrets within them
If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens:
- The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
- Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
- Commonality: Young women forging their own path amidst a mystery
If you liked The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger:
- The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
- How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
- Commonality: Time travel and its effect on love
If you liked The Hunger Games:
- Flawed and Perfect, a two part series by Cecelia Ahern
- Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
- Commonality: Dystopian novels with a strong female lead
If you liked To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before:
- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
- Paper Towns by John Green
- Something In Between by Melissa De La Cruz
- Commonality: Coming of age stories with great voice and high stakes
Book Recommendations by Genre
Twisty suspense:
- The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard
Light mystery:
- Sorry I Missed You by Suzy Krause
- When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal
Light and fun:
- I Owe You One and My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
- Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
- The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms
Beach reads:
- The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews
- The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
- The Shark Club by Ann Taylor Kidd
Historical fiction:
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
- A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg
- When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown
- DreamLand Burning by Jennifer Latham
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
Young adult:
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Books to make you cry:
- The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
- You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley
- Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
- And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
- The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
- My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
Laugh out loud funny:
- The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
- Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series
- How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
- The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
Non-fiction fun:
- The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae
- Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Middle grade books to read with your kids:
- The Last Bear by Hannah Gold
- The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
- The Elephant’s Girl by Celesta Remington
- Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Reliable authors: I’ve read all or most of these author’s backlists, and they consistently put out wonderful books.
- Jenny Colgan
- Mary Kay Andrews
- Nicola Yoon
- Sophie Kinsella
- Colleen Oakley
- Abbi Waxman
- Joshilyn Jackson
- Barbara O’Neal
- Jean Kwok
- Sarah Addison Allen
- Cecelia Ahern
- Liane Moriarty
- Celeste Ng
- Kristin Hannah
- Karen White
- Jodi Picoult
- Kelly Harms
What’s your favorite summer read?
