It's officially summer in North America... a season that readers look forward to all year. Whether summer at your library means shifting into high gear or relishing a brief moment of cruise control, there will always be readers who want your up-to-date book recommendations. To help you keep those recommendations fresh and fun, we’ve rounded up 22 standout titles featured in this summer’s NextReads newsletters, broken into categories.
Literary Lights
- The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
- The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
- Flashlight by Susan Choi
Real Lives
- Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
- Marsha by Tourmaline
- It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger, illustrated by Harmony Becker
Thrills and Chills
- With a Vengeance by Riley Sager
- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
- The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (middle grade)
New from Newbery and Caldecott Medalists
- J vs. K by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft
- Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina
- Island Storm by Brian Floca
- The Day the Books Disappeared by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dan Santat
Steamy Summer Romances
- Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake
- Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria
- My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner
Familiar Authors, New Directions
- The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater (adult debut from young adult author)
- Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski (adult debut from young adult author)
- These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean (contemporary fiction debut from romance author)
- Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala (young adult debut from adult author)
- Another by Paul Tremblay (middle grade debut from adult author)
Rebecca Honeycutt is the Content Development Coordinator for NoveList. They are currently reading Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol.
