“The Last Picture Show,” by Larry McMurtry
“Two Nights in Lisbon,” by Chris Pavone
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “This is one of the finest mysteries I've ever read. If you want to hang out by the pool with a page-turner that will keep you guessing until the end, this is your book.”
“Counterfeit,” by Kristin Chen
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “When Ava Wong is contacted by her old college roommate, she gets involved in her old friend's counterfeit luxury handbag scheme. Is she left holding the bag? You'll have to read this highly entertaining novel to find out.”
RECOMMENDED BY JESSICA PALACIOS, MANAGER AND BUYER, ONCE UPON A TIME, 2207 HONOLULU AVE., MONTROSE. 818-248-9668, SHOPONCEUPONATIME.COM. “The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 1: Egypt's Fire,” by Tom Phillips
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “This is definitely one of our big books right now. He's a local author, and it's just this really fun mystery about this boy who's an orphan, and he lives in a museum. All these curious things come along and he wants to become a detective and solve mysteries.”
“Swim Team,” by Johnnie Christmas
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “Another one that we are doing for our graphic novel book club for the summer. It's about a young Black girl who has never swum before and she's overcoming that fear.”
RECOMMENDED BY SHERRI GALLENTINE, HEAD BOOK BUYER, VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE, 695 E. COLORADO BLVD., PASADENA, 626-449-5320, VROMANSBOOKSTORE.COM. “Horse,” by Geraldine Brooks
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “So far, the best book I've read in 2022. Brooks is a master storyteller and historian and this book is a pure pleasure to read.”
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “The semiautobiographical novel focuses on a group of teenagers coming of age in a small Texas town. It is just a really modern book and it's incredible that it was written so long ago.”
RECOMMENDED BY DANNY TATE, STAFF, GATSBY BOOKS, 5535 E. SPRING ST., LONG BEACH. 562-208-5862, GATSBYBOOKS.COM. “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” by Mark Haddon
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “The novel is a murder mystery in the eyes of a teenager who has autism similar to the way Sherlock Holmes is described.”
RECOMMENDED BY KARINA BASS, STAFF, SANDPIPER BOOKS, 4665 TORRANCE BLVD., TORRANCE. 310-371-2002. “This Time Tomorrow,” by Emma Straub
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “The story is centered on time travel and the relationship between the main character's father, who is on his deathbed. She travels back in time and meets him as his younger self, which provides her with a different perspective of him.”
RECOMMENDED BY GENE BERKMAN, OWNER, RENAISSANCE BOOK SHOP, 3772 ELIZABETH ST., RIVERSIDE. 951-369-8843, RENBOOK.COM. “Now Wait for Last Year,” by Philip K. Dick
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “It's speculative fiction about an interstellar war, but it soon becomes clear that we've aligned with the wrong alien race.”
“The Door Into Summer,” by Robert A. Heinlein
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> time travel and a cat.”
“Its plot has a mystery,
“The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “It's based on a scientific issue but also interstellar contact with an alien race. It's the first part of a trilogy, so I recommend starting with this one first.”
RECOMMENDED BY ERIN RIVERA, OWNER, WITH STAFFER MORGAN'S HELP, THE FRUGAL FRIGATE, A CHILDREN'S BOOKSTORE, 9 N. SIXTH ST., REDLANDS. 909-7930740, FRUGALFRIGATE.COM. “A Mouthful of Minnows,” by John Hare
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “`Minnows' is just lovely because it's funny but also teaches empathy and how things can change quickly just with one new twist at a time.”
“Drifters,” by Kevin Emerson
WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT >> “What would you do if your best friend went missing and you were the only person who even remembered she existed? After a bizarre storm hits their small coastal town, Jovie and her pal Sylvan are confronted with the fact that their town might be the home of many, many more people who have been cast adrift through time and space. A middle-grade sci-fi epic for all ages.”