2021 Team Best Books of Summer

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

by Becky Chambers

Members of the Modern Mrs Darcy team rejoiced over this brand new novella from one of our favorite sci-fi authors. With her knack for combining quirky characters with surprising science fiction plots, Chambers helps us step outside the “real world” to examine modern society with fresh eyes. In the first installment of her next series, a tea monk dedicates their life to comforting humans in times of need, until they meet a robot friend with an important question. Endearing and delightful, this novella isn’t just for sci-fi lovers. In fact, Chambers dedicates it to “anybody who could use a break.”

God Spare the Girls

by Kelsey McKinney

McKinney's debut novel is set in the insular small town of Hope, Texas where evangelical megachurch pastor Luke Nolan is both revered pastor and local celebrity. But this is really the story of his daughters, Abigail and Caroline, who find themselves at a crossroads when information about their father comes to light and throws their core beliefs into question. Part coming of age story, part family drama, this modern story of community and identity completely drew me in.

Olympus, Texas: A Novel

by Stacey Swann

This spellbinding dysfunctional family saga set in small-town Texas puts a modern spin on Greek tragedy, full of fistfights and firearms. Everyone knows everyone else’s business in the fictional town of Olympus, especially when it comes to the notorious Briscoe family. The clan is “a walking collection of deadly sins,” and due to patriarch Peter’s philandering, his children populate several households in town. When prodigal son March returns home after a years-long exile imposed after sleeping with his sister-in- law, he sets a devastating chain of events in motion. Though the story spans a mere six days, several lifetimes’ worth of secrets are revealed in that time, and the ensuing consequences to the family and their town are irrevocable. Ovid’s Greek myths are relentlessly violent, and while Swann’s are less so, they do contain depictions of domestic abuse and violent scenes.

Sing Anyway

by Anita Kelly

From Leigh: You ever start a debut and think to yourself, “where has this been all my life” and then you get real excited to see where an author’s career goes from there? That is exactly how I felt from the start of this contemporary romance novella. Sam’s first line made me chuckle and then I was swept away into their karaoke experience when their friends don’t show up for their usual night out. But this turns out to be Sam’s gain because it means their only focus is on Lily, another regular who knows how to rock a song and can make a killer dress that suits her fat body perfectly. The way the chemistry built between these two! It’s the perfect lead in for a one night stand and more.

Keeper of the Lost Cities

by Shannon Messenger

From the publisher: "In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first."

Crow Lake

by Mary Lawson

From the publisher: Crow Lake is that rare find, a first novel so quietly assured, so emotionally pitch perfect, you know from the opening page that this is the real thing—a literary experience in which to lose yourself, by an author of immense talent.

The Summer Book

by Tove Jansson

Thanks so much for your comments in this space, particularly those on our recent post 15 backlist books that feel like summer, which reminded me this book was lingering on my TBR. This 1972 novel by Finnish author Jansson (originally written in Swedish, translated by Thomas Teal) reads almost as a series of short stories about a grandmother and her 6-year-old granddaughter spending the summer together on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. The pacing is gentle, the descriptions of the natural world lush and beautiful, and both the heavy and light are handled with gentleness. If you enjoy the works of L.M. Montgomery or Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, this short, contemplative novel could be a good fit for your reading list.

My Side of the Mountain

by Jean Craighead George

From the publisher: Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process.

2021 Team Best Books of Summer

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summer reading starts May 16th