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14 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOUR NEXT SUMMER VACATION

Does anyone else enjoy reading books based on their season setting?

For instance, in the summer-or when summer’s approaching- I love to read about books set in the summer time. If you’re the same way, then this list will be right up your alley!



1. LIGHTNING BUG by Donald Harington

Set in the summer in an Ozark Arkansas town with all the heat and humidity one could ask for, this is a great read about small town folks and the history of one couple in particular.


2. THE BEACH by Alex Garland

Oh man, this was one of the best books I’ve ever read. A man traveling finds a beautiful beach in Thailand, where he must incorporate himself into a community of people who have already secretly established themselves there.


3. A PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham

Another wonderful novel set in Arkansas about a family on a farm and all the events that go down over one summer.


4. THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston

Set in Florida, this amazing novel follows a black woman in the 1930’s making her way in life. This is the best classic American novel I’ve ever read, hands down.


5. THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FIN by Mark Twain

Huck and Jim share wild adventures along the Mighty Miss’. That’s all I’m going to put here, because Mark Twain is amazing.


6. THE HOUSE ON THE STRAND by Daphne du Maurier

A man experiments with a drug that takes him back in time to a different place in Cornwall, England, while on vacation with his family.


7. CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER by Tom Franklin

Set in Mississippi, a man is accused of murder, and his old childhood friend is investigating the case.


8. WHERE THINGS COME BACK by John Corey Whaley

A boy in Arkansas goes missing one summer while his family struggles in his absence to find him.


9. LOVE WITH A CHANCE OF DROWNING by Torre DeRoche

Torre sets sail with new boyfriend Ivan, island hopping on the Pacific Ocean while simultaneously overcoming several of her fears.


10. SWEET FILTHY BOY by Christina Lauren

After a Las Vegas elopement, Mia follows her new husband to Paris to spend the summer there.


11. THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger

Three boys escape a hellish school and the trouble they got into there at the beginning of summer, following the Mississippi River down to St. Louis.


12. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens

A young girl grows up and alone on the coast of North Carolina, but without ever becoming part of society.


13. THE REST OF THE STORY by Sarah Dessen

A teenaged girl spends the summer with her late mother’s family on a lake resort, and learns more about them and her mother’s past than she thought she would ever come to know.


14. BEACH READ by Emily Henry

Two authors who are lake house neighbors on Lake Michigan try writing in each other’s very different writing styles for their next novels.



I promise these books will give you alllll the best summer vibes! ❤

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