One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Mȧrquez
“One Hundred Years of Solitude” is a multi-generational novel following the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo. With a blend of historical fiction and magical realism, the story traces a hundred years of turbulence with strange scientific endeavors, traveling magicians, war-torn politics and inappropriate relationships. Marquez explores various themes of psychological and geographical solitude, familial relationships and traits passed along, and the way our surroundings shape who we become. This novel can be confusing at times, and it may cause you to question your cultural perceptions, but if you stick with it, you’re sure to enjoy this surrealistic journey. Netflix has a series adaptation of the novel coming soon, so for those who prefer to read it before you see it, now is the time.
Writers & Lovers – Lily King
Writers & Lovers follows 31-year-old Casey Peabody who is grappling with the sudden loss of her mother and overcoming a recent love affair. We follow her in the summer of 1997 as she moves to Massachusetts on a whim, conflicted about her ambitions and her wishes to pursue them. She finds herself amid a whirlwind relationship, waiting tables at a local restaurant and renting a small, dingy apartment. All the while, she is also trying to finish a novel she’s been writing for six years and dealing with all the punches life throws at her. King’s novel tells of the difficulty we often face between choosing our passions over our securities and how we attempt to navigate the transitional phases in our lives.
Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer
For those who prefer nonfiction, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants presents a series of essays perfect to pick up throughout those long summer hours. Potawatomi Professor and Scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer creates an understanding of our reciprocal relationship with the natural world around us as she provides insightful connections between the plants we eat, grow or use and the nature of human beings. Each essay focuses on a different species as they relate to both Indigenous and Western cultures; Kimmerer makes connections to our philosophies, economies and behaviors. While remaining informative, the book reads like a fairytale, as Kimmerer shares the stories she has been told and the lessons she has learned, both from the plants themselves and the people of her community. Braiding Sweetgrass is an insightful read into the ways we connect and relate to the world around us, as well as the lessons we can glean from nature and each other.
The Ruins – Scott Smith
Happy endings aren’t everyone’s cup of tea– sometimes you want to read something with a little more tension, horro, and gore to ring in summer vacation. The Ruins is a grueling survival-horror that follows a group of friends as they venture into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. After one of them goes missing, they set out to search for him. After encountering a Mayan village and wandering into some forbidden territory, their previously sun-soaked and easy-going summer vacation takes a sinister turn. Stranded in the wilderness, the group must do whatever they can to survive while a foreboding threat lingers nearby. At times harsh and claustrophobic, and other times slow and suspenseful, The Ruins makes your worst vacation stories seem like a dream come true.
Anxious People – Fredrik Bakman
A light-hearted, but sometimes emotional, novel, Anxious People is a story that follows a bank robbery gone wrong. After the robber fumbles over the job, they find themselves at an apartment viewing across the street. With law enforcement on their tail and feeling desperate, the eight hopeful apartment buyers find themselves held hostage. Despite the tense situation, the hostages find themselves slowly unraveling the story that unfolded, opening up about their hidden truths. Anxious People is a relatable and heartfelt novel about the bizarre situations that life throws at us and a reminder to be compassionate to those around us. With an eccentric plot and equally eccentric cast of characters, this novel offers an easy way to unwind after a long semester.
The Last Unicorn – Peter S. Beagle
The Last Unicorn is a fantasy novel that follows a unicorn who believes she is the last of her kind as she sets out to discover the fate of the others. You may remember the animated movie of the same name as a childhood classic, but don’t write this off as just a kids’ book. The story offers nothing short of a fantastical and sincere exploration of loneliness and the search for belonging. After two hunters pass through the forest she lives in, which is kept in an eternal springtime state, the unicorn overhears that there are no others of her kind. Accompanied by a nonsensical magician and a strong-willed spinster, the unicorn leaves her safe and wondrous home only to encounter a world infiltrated by a mad king’s curse and people who have forgotten her existence.
Daisy Jones and The Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid (Review by Janelle Carter)
Daisy Jones and The Six is a historical fiction novel that takes you on an immersive journey of the 1970s rock band culture. The main character, Daisy Jones, and the band, The Six, were signed to the same record label. When they crossed paths, Daisy became an added member, which led to the band’s name, Daisy Jones and the Six. The novel gives readers an inside scoop through a series of individual interviews with the group members about their past, their rise to fame and the problems that ensued, leading to the downfall and breakup of the band. If you’re looking for a fun page-turner and don’t know where to start, Daisy Jones and the Six is the right summertime book to get you to jump back into reading.
