This is possibly my favorite reading season. Give me a lakeside hammock, a cold glass of lemonade, and a book, and I will be content for hours. And this kind of atmosphere requires a certain type of book, one with a little quirky humor, delightful characters who won’t bug you when the humidity rises, and a summery atmosphere.
After I collected all of these titles, I realized that nearly all of my picks in this very specific micro-genre are historical fiction, take place in small towns, include coming-of-age themes, and have young narrators with vivid personalities. So I guess you have my recipe for a perfect summertime book right there!
If you need a title to bring to the hammock with you, here are my top 9 picks for books to read this summer.
(Heads up that the links below are affiliate – and that if you shop at Bookshop.org, a percentage of your purchase goes to support independent bookstores! Ultimate win-win. You can find the link to my shop here!)
P.S. In a different reading mood? For more exciting plot, 10 Books to Escape Into. For a little more cozy, check out 10 Cozy Books.
10 Books to Read This Summer
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
I have a hazy memory of being twelve, sitting lakeside and cracking this classic open for the first time. Many of TKaM’s most memorable scenes happen during the humid, slow days of a Southern summer, and it just begs to be read in the exact same environment.
Moon Over Manifest – Clare Vanderpool
This YA book is one of my very favorites. In the midst of the Depression, Abilene Tucker’s father sends her to Manifest, Kansas, a dried-up mining town, to stay with one of his friends. While missing her father and waiting for him to come join her, Abilene gets wrapped up in an old mystery and discovers the town as her father knew it. The cast of characters is incredible in this one, and the ending is absolute perfection. If you have any inclination to YA or middle grade and you enjoy historical fiction, you must read this.
Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson writes the most beautiful novels in verse, and this story of her childhood is no exception. She shares the difficulties and joys of life as a Black child in the 60s and 70s with eloquence. You could read this one in an afternoon, but you might want to let it linger even longer than that.
The Bean Trees – Barbara Kingsolver
This is one of my comfort rereads, a book I turn to when I need something beautiful, tender, and a little bit cheeky. Taylor Greer sets out from her home in Kentucky to find herself and ends up stranded in Tulsa as the reluctant caretaker for an abandoned little girl. This surprising story of motherhood and identity has just enough grit to keep it from being too sweet, and the characters will capture your heart.
One Crazy Summer – Rita Garcia-Williams
I just finished this one, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Three sisters are sent to California to spend the summer with their mother, who left them when they were young. Their mother would rather spend her days working on her poetry than taking care of kids, so she sends them to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. While dealing with serious issues, this one maintains a light feel. (The narrator is eleven, after all.) If you’re a fast reader, you could breeze through this one in an afternoon.
The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
I’m due for a reread of this book. It’s such a good one. Lily and her “stand-in mother” Rosaleen flee from a racist mob that Rosaleen has insulted (and Lily’s uncaring father). They are taken in by three Black beekeeping sisters, and Lily learns about honey, her mother, and what it means to be a woman. The atmosphere is palpable in this one, and it’s beautifully written.
A Long Way from Chicago – Richard Peck
Joey and Mary Alice head to their Grandma Dowdle’s house in the boondocks for the summer. While they anticipate that that life in the country will be boring, it’s anything but with their gun-slinging, hard-nosed grandmother around. I still laugh out loud when I read this one and its sequel, A Year Down Yonder.
Crossing to Safety – Wallace Stegner
This is an utterly beautiful story about friendship. Two couples’ lives and work become closely intertwined, and this book explores the intricacies and nuance of their friendship. If you’re looking for a dramatic plot, save this one for later. But if you’d looking for a quiet book with an intimate window into characters’ relationships to reflect on while you read lakeside? This one would be perfect. (It also has one of the most realistic portrayals of marriage that I’ve read.)
Ordinary Grace – William Kent Kruger
I love a good small-town Minnesota book, and this one absolutely fits the bill. As a middle-aged man, Frank looks back on the summer he was 13. It began with the ordinary events you’d expect to feature in the life of a teenager in 1961 – but it also holds tragedy, murder, and mystery. This book somehow sustains a beautiful, sepia-toned feel while still holding a good amount of suspense.
The Truth According to Us – Annie Barrows
From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, this is a great summer mystery. Privileged Layla Beck is forced to take on a job and becomes a writer with the Federal Writer’s Project. She heads to a small town in West Virginia, where she finds herself in the middle of a quirky family and embroiled in a town mystery. This is a fun one.
By the way, 3 of these titles landed on my list of favorite books ever. Want to check out the others? Click here.
I didn’t know that Annie Barrows has written anything besides Potato Peel Pie. I’ll check that one first. Do you own it?
I actually do! Do you want me to bring it when we come to MN?