Summer Must List: 10 books for your beach bag
This summer, take some time to relax by the pool, in a hammock, or at the beach with these ten must-reads. From thrillers to tearjerkers to the undefinable Crazy Rich Asians, this list has it all. So if you’re stuck trying to decide what to download on your Kindle or buy at the local bookstore, click on for our must list of great summer reads.
The Woman Upstairs
by: Claire Messud
You probably won’t fall in love with single, lonely, and seemingly harmless Nora Eldridge—but you won’t forget her, either. Messud’s psychological thriller plunges you into Nora’s private fury as she becomes entangled with a charismatic family. (Out now)
The Bone Season
By: Samantha Shannon
Control your jealousy as you read this: Shannon, a student at Oxford, was only 20 when she signed a six-figure deal for a planned seven-book series. Her debut—about a young clairvoyant in the year 2059—has British papers likening her to J.K. Rowling. (Aug. 20)
Crazy Rich Asians
By: Kevin Kwan
Rachel has no idea what she’s in for when she meets her boyfriend’s family in their hyper-exclusive Singapore enclave, where she encounters outré fashion, private jets, and a set of aristocratic values so antiquated they’d make the Dowager Countess proud. (June 11)
The Returned
By: Jason Mott
All around the world, long-dead loved ones mysteriously return from the beyond—not in zombie form, but as they were in life. Mott’s white-hot debut novel is already being made into a mid-season ABC series called Resurrection, starring Omar Epps. (Aug. 27)
The Engagements
By: J. Courtney Sullivan
The best-selling author of Commencement and Maine has written her most ambitious novel yet. Presented in vignettes, The Engagements tells the story of four couples from different decades who have one thing in common:
a diamond ring. (June 11)
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
By: Neil Gaiman
For certain sci-fi and fantasy fans, Gaiman’s first adult novel since 2005 is bigger than Harry Potter. This brief, haunting tale follows a man as he returns to his childhood home, where -spirits force him to confront his troubled past. (June 18)
The Interestings
By: Meg Wolitzer
Not everyone gets to be special. Wolitzer probes that simple yet painful truth in her epic novel, which trails a group of artsy teens into middle age. Some characters flame out and others find towering -success, but all of their stories are extraordinary. (Out now)
Reconstructing Amelia
By: Kimberly McCreight
Gossip Girl meets Gone Girl in this novel about a mom who pieces together details leading up to her teen daughter’s supposed suicide—uncovering a hotbed of drugs, sex, corruption, and cyberbullying at an elite Brooklyn prep school. (Out now)
Sisterland
By: Curtis Sittenfeld
Whether writing about boarding school or the First Lady, Sittenfeld finds depth in what could otherwise be a gimmicky premise. She ventures into the paranormal in her latest novel, about twin psychics, but she’s more interested in sisterly bonds than in any premonitions. (June 25)
Night Film
By: Marisha Pessl
Pessl caused waves with her debut, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, but that was child’s play compared with this disturbing mystery that delves into the underground world of cult film. We can’t say much without ruining the experience—but get ready to talk about this book. (Aug. 20)