What to read this summer
MANY OF US MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RELAX ON A beach or gather around a pool with friends anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still escape to somewhere far away—or comfortingly close to an old reality. The best new books coming this summer offer respite from our immediate troubles, yet still ask urgent questions about the world that surrounds us. From romantic diversions to page-turning thrills to thought-provoking nonfiction, here are 44 new books to read this summer.
JUNE
THE VANISHING HALF
Brit Bennett
After moving to New Orleans as teenagers, twin sisters who shared a traumatic childhood in the Jim Crow South split ways—Desiree lives as black, while Stella passes as white. As the novel follows the estranged duo’s journey as adults, Bennett creates a striking portrait of racial identity in America.
THE BOOK OF ROSY
Rosayra Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo
After Pablo Cruz’s husband was murdered in Guatemala in 2018, she ventured north with her two sons. But when they arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, her children were seized and placed in detention centers, while she spent 81 days in a cell. Pablo Cruz’s memoir sheds light on the plight of the thousands of families who have been separated at the border.
EXCITING TIMES
Naoise Dolan
Ava, a 22-year-old Irish
