USA TODAY International Edition
Summer guide for new reading
With the coronavirus pandemic still raging across the country, this summer might not look a whole lot like summers past. There might not be any beach vacations, poolside cabanas, or barbecues in your socially- distanced future.
But there will still be plenty of great books to read.
This summer is looking to be a hot one, literally and literarily, with memoirs from Alex Trebek, Jane Fonda and Elijah Cummings; can’t- miss fiction, including David Mitchell’s “Utopia Avenue” Raven Leilani’s “Luster”; and, yes, even at long last a new “Twilight” book from Stephenie Meyer.
Here are 20 summer books we can’t wait to read, even if only on our own couch:
“The Girl from Widow Hills,” by Megan Miranda • Release date: June 23 • Arden Maynor became the famous “girl from Widow Hills” when a storm swept her away as a child and she was found alive days later, clinging to a storm drain. She grows up, leaves town and changes her name, but 20 years later she’s about to become the center of the story again in this tale of psychological suspense.
“A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of the All- Black High School Rowing Team,” by Arshay Cooper • Release date: June 30 • Cooper tells the moving true story of the first all- Black high school rowing team in the U. S., of which he was a part. This group of young Black men from Chicago’s West Side would face adversity to transform the sport – and their own lives. “This Is Major,” by Shayla Lawson • Release date: June 30 • Lawson makes no apologies about being major. In a
fierce and funny new voice comes a collection of essays, personal stories and pop- culture observations that asks questions like: Why are Black women invisible to AI? What is “Black girl magic”? Am I one viral tweet away from becoming Twitter famous?
“Mexican Gothic,” by Silvia Moreno- Garcia • Release date: June 30 • After she receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for help, Noemí Taboada heads to her distant house in the Mexican countryside. An isolated mansion. A charismatic aristocrat. A brave and glamorous debutante drawn to expose their secrets. This is gothic horror, with a twist. “Home Before Dark,” by Riley Sager • Release date: June 30 • Interior designer Maggie Holt inherits a spooky Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. She doesn’t believe in ghost stories – not even her own father’s – but that doesn’t mean the house isn’t haunted. “The Heir Affair,” by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan • Release date: July 7 • From the hilarious writers of celebrity fashion site Go Fug Yourself comes the follow- up to their winning “The Royal We.” After marrying the heir to the throne, Rebecca “Bex” Porter adjusts to life in the British royal family and must survive her own scandal. “Antkind,” by Charlie Kaufman • Release date: July 7 • The Oscar- winning screenwriter of the singular and wonderfully weird “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich” releases his first novel, a 700plus- page postmodern tome about a neurotic film critic who discovers what is possibly the greatest movie ever made. “A Very Punchable Face,” by Colin Jost • Release date: July 14 • The “Saturday Night Live” head writer and “Weekend Update” co- anchor tells his life story with a healthy dose of selfdeprecation and takes readers behind the scenes of “SNL.”
“Utopia Avenue,” by David Mitchell • Release date: July 14 • The “Cloud Atlas” author takes readers to the golden age of rock music to tell the story of fictional British band Utopia Avenue. “The Answer Is...” by Alex Trebek • Release date: July 21 • The beloved “Jeopardy!” host and game show icon, moved by the support and goodwill he received from fans all over the world following his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, finally tells his life story in this charming memoir.
“The Death of Vivek Oji,” by Akwaeke Emezi • Release date: Aug. 4 • The heart- wrenching story of a Nigerian family’s struggle to understand a gender- nonconforming child. “Wandering in Strange Lands,” by Morgan Jerkins • Release date: Aug. 4 • In this personal exploration of the Great Migration, in which 6 million Black Americans left their homes in the South between 1916 and 1970 for jobs elsewhere, Jerkins recreates her ancestors’ journeys across the country. “Luster,” by Raven Leilani • Release date: Aug. 4 • A young Black woman trying to make her way as an artist becomes infatuated with an older, white married man in an open marriage and becomes messily entangled in his family life.
“Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal,” by Sarah Maslin Nir • Release date: Aug. 4 • A journalist and avid equestrian explores why so many people are obsessed with horses in a funny, fascinating and ultimately moving love letter to one of the world’s most beloved animals. “Midnight Sun,” by Stephenie Meyer • Release date: Aug. 4 • The long- anticipated retelling of the original “Twilight” novel from vampire Edward Cullen’s perspective has been teased for over a decade. “It’s definitely darker, and I would say more desperate,” Meyer says of the new book.
“Superman's Not Coming: Our National Water Crisis and What We the People Can Do About It,” by Erin Brockovich • Release date: Aug. 25 • The renowned environmental activist and consumer advocate ( you might know her from the Oscar- winning Julia Roberts film) writes about the imminent threats to our most precious natural resource and how we can take action to protect it. “Winter Counts,” by David Heska Wanbli Weiden • Release date: Aug. 25 • When justice is denied, Virgil Wounded Horse turns vigilante on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota to track down the source of a heroin influx in this thrilling work of crime fiction.
“A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom,” by Brittany K. Barnett • Release date: Sept. 8 • In this riveting memoir, Barnett, an award- winning attorney dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system, shares her harrowing fight to free jailed victims of draconian drug- sentencing laws.
“What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action,” by Jane Fonda • Release date: Sept. 8 • The Oscar Award- winning actress and committed activist sounds the alarm on looming climate disaster, providing readers with actions they can take to create positive change in a world on the brink. “We're Better Than This,” by Elijah Cummings and James Dale • Release date: Sept. 22 • In this memoir and call to action, the late Baltimore congressman and civil rights advocate, who was known for saying “We’re better than this,” takes us behind the scenes of modern- day politics and shares the defining moments of his own life.