All The Books You Need To Read This Summer

In an upcoming episode of our new podcast, Group Chat, we discussed whether there’s really such a thing as a “summer book.” The consensus? Any book can be a summer book—as long as it’s compulsively readable.

For me, it’s not officially summer until I’ve read a book outdoors in a single sitting—and these books were chosen with that criteria in mind.

Layaway Child by Chanel Sutherland

These perfectly crafted and occasionally heartbreaking stories focus on Caribbean women and the children they leave behind to build better futures for their families in Canada. Sutherland draws on her own experience as the daughter of a domestic worker; she and her younger sister were raised by their grandparents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines until their mom could afford for them to join her in Montreal. Out now.

Motherclown by Harriet Alida Lye 

After Elise moves to Paris to attend theatre school, her mother—who’s contending with widowhood, an empty nest and lapsed creative ambitions—soon follows her. Out now.

Whistler by Ann Patchett

Daphne hasn’t seen her beloved former stepfather, Eddie, in more than 40 years. After a chance encounter in New York City, they become enmeshed in one another’s lives and unpack the circumstances around Eddie's marriage and divorce from Daphne's mother. Out now.

Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi  

Simran’s new boyfriend Leo makes the hasty decision to stop by her cousin’s engagement party—uninvited—and a Bollywood-style plot unfurls. June 16.

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell

In her 20s, Jane—a character who first appears in Jewell's excellent 2025 thriller, Don't Let Him In—escapes a scary situation with a seemingly dangerous man. In her 50s, a lost dog leads her back to the same London house, and she becomes ensnared in a mystery involving a missing girl. June 23.

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

Twenty-something writer Caroline moves from NYC to small-town Massachusetts. There, she falls in love with an older guy whose insular group of hard-partying friends—and their secrets—unknowingly inspire her work. June 30. 

Dèy by Edwidge Danticat  

After surviving a deadly mall shooting, Magnolia re-examines her past and her bonds with her partner, daughter and parents—while coming to terms with the trauma of the tragedy. (Dèy is the Creole word for mourning.) August 25.

Want more great reads? Here are the best books we read in spring 2026.