Books
29 New Books To Read This Summer
Everyone knows the best part of June through August is summer beach reading. Seriously, is anything better than flopping out in the sun with a book you can't put down? (Answer: no, nothing even comes close.) And this summer, there are tons of fantastic fiction books coming out that you're going to want to devour ASAP.
No one can resist a good mystery, and this summer is bringing some killer suspense novels our way. These intense reads will have you turning the pages until you've soaked ten every last drop of the action.
And who can resist a little mischief? You'll find plenty of characters in these books whose penchant for trouble will lead them down some (delightfully) wild paths.
Plus, get ready to feel ~all the feels~ with this summer's reading. From love stories to stories about family, you'll be pulled into worlds that you won't want to let go of, with characters that will make your heart swell.
I don't know about you, but I've spent all winter itching to put on my swimsuit, lay out my towel, and go to town on my massive TBR list. Perfect for the poolside or the seaside, these books are exactly the summer read you've been craving.
'Into the Water' by Paula Hawkins (May 2; Riverhead)
Paula Hawkins, the author of The Girl on the Train, delivers another shocking mystery with Into The Water. When a single mother's body is found in the river that run through town, dark secrets emerge that threaten to shake the community to its very core.
'Salt Houses' by Hala Alyan (May 2; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
This beautiful book captures the lives of a single Palestenian family over six generations. As you move forward through time and follow the family through the years, you'll find yourself connected to each character in a special way.
'The Leavers' by Lisa Ko (May 2; Algonquin Books)
After a young Chinese-American boy is abandoned by his mother, he is adopted by a white family and grows up to question his past. The winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, this book will take you on an emotional journey you won't forget.
'Sycamore' by Bryn Chancellor (May 9; Harper)
A newcomer to town discovers a body on a hike in Sycamore, Arizona, throwing the tight-knit community into chaos. Bryn Chancellor's masterful writing will keep you guessing until the very end.
'Isadora' by Amelia Gray (May 23; Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
Amelia Gray's newest novel follows iconic dancer Isadora Duncan in the spring of 1913, just after the devastating death of her two children. (Tragically, that event did happen: Duncan's two children drowned when their runaway car crashed into the Seine River.)
'Chemistry' by Weike Wang (May 23; Knopf)
The unnamed narrator of this novel decides, three years into her graduate studies, that she doesn't like chemistry anymore. Then, to make things even more complicated, her boyfriend proposes. For the first time in her life, she has to figure out the answer to a question she's been avoiding her whole life: What do I really want?
'Touch' by Courtney Maum (May 30; G.P. Putnam's Sons)
From the author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, comes another addictive read. Sloane Jacobsen is the most powerful trend forecaster in the world. But when she predicts that people are moving away from technology, she finds herself putting everything on the line.
'Beren and Lúthien' by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien (June 1; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Get excited, Lord of the Rings fans, because a brand new story from J.R.R. Tolkien is coming this summer. Recovered from the author's manuscripts, Beren and Lúthien is the story of a forbidden love between a mortal man and an immortal Elf.
'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' by Arundhati Roy (June 6; Knopf)
Arundhati Roy, the author of Booker Prize-winning book The God of Small Things, returns to fiction after 20 years this summer with another stunning read, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. In a braided narrative of two people — Anjum and Tilo — this novel speaks to the most pressing issues of mankind: love, hope, and, of course, happiness.
'The Gypsy Moth Summer' by Julia Fierro (June 6; St. Martin's Press)
It's summer on Avalon Island when Leslie Jones Marshall, the daughter of a prominent family, returns with her African-American husband and biracial children to live in the island's grandest estate, "The Castle." When a teen queen from the wrong side of the tracks falls in love with Leslie's son, tensions on the island reach a boiling point.
'Magpie Murders' by Anthony Horowitz (June 6; Harper)
A literary mystery within a mystery, this riveting book is coming stateside after hooking readers across the pond. When an editor receives the latest manuscript from her bestselling mystery author, she has no reason to think it's any different from all the other books he's written. But as she reads, she begins to wonder if there's some real life basis for the mysteries on the page...
'The Answers' by Catherine Lacey (June 6; Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Mary has begun undergoing intense and expensive treatments in an attempt to treat her chronic pain. In an attempt to pay for these treatments, she takes part in "The Girlfriend Experiment." All she has to do is play the role of the "Emotional Girlfriend" in a man's life — while other women fill other roles, such as the "Maternal Girlfriend" or the "Anger Girlfriend." Easy — right?
'Do Not Become Alarmed' by Maile Meloy (June 6; Riverhead)
When two families decide to go on a tropical cruise together, it seems as though nothing could go wrong. But then they all go ashore in Central America, and, after a series of misfortunes, the children all go missing. This is a book you won't be able to resist finishing in one sitting.
'She Rides Shotgun' by Jordan Harper (June 6; Ecco)
When her father is released from prison and becomes the target of the Aryan Brotherhood, 11-year-old Polly suddenly has to learn the ins-and-outs of surviving the kill-or-be-killed world of gang life.
'Mad' by Chloé Esposito (June 13; Dutton Books)
In this book (the first of a trilogy!), self-described trainwreck Alvie Knightly jumps at the chance to take over her perfect twin sister's life. But when her sister winds up dead at the bottom of a pool, Alvie keeps the charade going, and finds herself in a world filled with Mafia connections, secret lovers, attractive hitmen, and one extremely corrupt priest.
'Marriage of a Thousand Lies' by S.J. Sindu (June 13; Soho Press)
Lucky and her husband, Krishna, are both gay, but they keep up their marriage charade to please their conservative Sri Lankan parents, all the while dating on the side. But when they return to Sri Lanka, and Lucky learns that her first love is about to enter an arranged marriage, she finds herself questioning the life she has built.
'What We Lose' by Zinzi Clemmons (July 1; Viking)
Told in vignettes, What We Lose is the story of a mixed-race woman, Thandi, must confront her grief and learn what she has inherited from her South African roots after the death of her mother.
'The Witches of New York' by Ami McKay (July 11; Harper Perennial)
Set in 1880, this gripping book transports readers to a world in which witchcraft has become a quotidian part of life. Eleanor and Adelaide open a tea shop that caters to high-society ladies with potions, palmistry, and more. All is well.... 17-year-old Beatrice Dunn walks in, seeking employment. It's clear that Beatrice has magic powers of her own, and she quickly becomes an indispensable part of the business. But then she disappears — and in their search for the missing girl, Eleanor and Adelaide must confront some horrifying truths.
'Fierce Kingdom' by Gin Phillips (July 11; Viking)
Joan and her son in a zoo are trapped in the zoo. There's a gunman on the loose, and Joan must do everything in her power of the course of the next three hours — the entire span of the novel! — to keep her son safe.
'Goodbye, Vitamin' by Rachel Khong (July 11; Henry Holt)
When history professor Howard Young is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his daughter, Ruth, returns home and throws herself into caretaking for her father — with a little help from one his handsome former students.
'The Lying Game' by Ruth Ware (July 25; Gallery/Scout Press)
From the author of the hit novel, The Woman in Cabin 10, comes another edge-of-your-seat thriller you don't want to miss. Upon receiving a text message that just says, "I need you." Isa drops everything, packs up her infant daughter, and makes her way to Salten, a small town that contains a terrible secret that she and three friends have been hiding for decades.
'The Lost Ones' by Sheena Kamal (July 25; William Morrow)
When Nora Watts receives a phone call informing her that the child she gave up for adoption 15 years ago, now a teenager, has gone missing, she goes on a search that leads her down a puzzling road.
'Sour Heart' by Jenny Zhang (August 1; Lenny)
This fantastic short story collection is the first publication from Lena Dunham's Lenny imprint. Narrated by the daughters of Chinese immigrants, these stories examine girlhood, the immigrant experience, family, love, and home.
'New People' by Danzy Senna (August 1; Riverhead)
Maria and Khalil are the perfect "racially nebulous" couple, and they have big plans for married life together. They've even scored a part in a documentary about people whose identities are "blurring the lines." But when Maria finds herself fixated on another man, the perfect life – and persona — she built begins to unravel.
'The Amber Shadows' by Lucy Ribchester (August 8; Pegasus Books)
Set during World War II, this novel unlocks a vivid and mysterious world when Honey Deschamps, a typist, receives a mysterious package, and finds herself wrapped up in a world of secrets and code-breaking.
'Things That Happened Before the Earthquake' by Chiara Barzini (August 15; Doubleday)
Set in 1992, just after the Los Angeles riots, this book follows Italian teenager Eugenia, who is yanked from her privileged life in Rome and transported to the world of suburban LA, where she must navigate a whole new world and rethink her own future.
'A Stranger in the House' by Shari Lapena (August 15; Pamela Dorman Books)
From the author of the hit book, The Couple Next Door, this electric thriller tells the story of a woman who wakes up to find herself in a hospital, with no memory of the supposed accident that brought her there.
'Stay With Me' by Ayobami Adebayo (August 22; Knopf)
Set in 1980s Nigeria, this book tells the story of a woman, Yejide, whose inability to have kids leads her husband's family to get him a second wife. Filled with anger over this decision, Yejide will go to any lengths to get pregnant.
'Young Jane Young' by Gabrielle Zevin (August 22; Algonquin Books)
When Congressional intern Aviva Grossman, has an affair with her boss, and the affair comes to light, she finds herself suddenly thrown into a sea of slut-shaming and cruel infamy. So she changes her name, and tries to start over. But when she tries to run for office herself, she must confront the past and everything it brings with it.
