Summer! The perfect time for reading, on a beach, by a pool, or in a park!
And in this Book Break video, I'm going to tell you the five books that you must read
this summer.
Because these are the books that everyone is talking about.
And starting with one of the buzziest books, the New York Times chose this as one of their
seven books of the summer,
This is A Nearly Normal Family, by M.T. Edvardsson.
So this is the story of a seemingly normal family, until one day, their teenage daughter
is accused of a murder.
And it's a really unusual format.
The book is divided into three sections, each told by a different character, the mother,
the father, and the teenage daughter.
But instead of jumping back and forth between the perspectives like we see more normally
in other thrillers, this takes them one by one.
So each time you go into a new section, you're hearing the story through a different perspective,
and it rewrites what you think you know.
There is just surprise after surprise in this book, right up until the very last page.
This is one you will not be able to stop talking about.
Another book that I'm sure you've already seen everywhere is The Doll Factory by Elizabeth
Macneal.
And isn't it just a thing of beauty?
Can we just take a second to admire these gorgeous endpapers.
This is a historical fiction thriller, about an aspiring young artist named Iris, and the
man who's obsessed with her.
And it's this perfect blend of two quite different storylines.
So in one, we see Iris become involved with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and really
immerse herself in the art world.
So that is this really rich, beautiful, historical novel.
But at the same time, a taxidermist named Silas has met Iris very briefly and becomes
completely obsessed with her.
And sees her as something that he must have as part of his collection.
So that side of the novel is this very sinister thriller.
And the two halves come together just so perfectly, and it is action packed right up until the
very end.
Now The Man Who Didn't Call by Rosie Walsh has got all the ingredients of a perfect summer
read.
It's part love story, following a romance blossoming between Eddie and Sarah.
And it's part mystery.
Just as things are getting mega-serious between the two of them, Eddie leaves on a week long
holiday and then never calls her again.
And all of her friends are sympathetic but think she's been ghosted, so it's really relatable
watching Sarah stalk his social media, all the while while her friends are telling her
she has to move on.
But this time, it's about what if something really had happened?
And then, the final element of that perfect summer book.
This book has a major twist.
This is one of those proper sweep-you-off-your-feet books, in more ways than one!
Both in terms of the thriller aspect and the love story, this is being described as the
OMG love story of the year.
It is just such a perfect blend of two favourite summer genres.
Next, a book that has been absolutely huge across BookTube, Daisy Jones and the Six by
Taylor Jenkins Reid.
This book has managed to appeal to absolutely everyone, whether you usually read young adult,
or literary fiction, historical fiction or romance, everyone has fallen for Daisy Jones.
And again, can we just have a look at these beautiful endpapers?
So this is a really unusual book.
It's basically pretending to be a series of real transcripts of interviews, telling the
story of a 70s band called The Six, who rose to fame when they joined up with the singer
Daisy Jones.
But just at the height of their success, they broke up.
And this book explores why.
So it's very much inspired by Fleetwood Mac, really fun 70s vibes here, and Reese Witherspoon
is producing the TV show so this is just going to get bigger and bigger.
And finally, the book that won the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction, and so well deserved, An
American Marriage by Tayari Jones.
So this tells the story of a young married couple, Roy and Celestial, who are only about
a year into their marriage when Roy is imprisoned for a crime that they both know he didn't
commit.
And during his first few years in prison, they lose hold of their very young, very fragile
marriage.
And then suddenly, Roy's conviction is overturned, and he's allowed to return home.
So this is a really moving, really powerful book, that is, a lot of it is about the racism
inherent in the criminal justice system, but it's also a story of love and marriage and
identity.
Even, if you can read that blurb on the front, even Barack Obama has been talking about this
one, so it's definitely one you need to know about.
So I really think these are the five books that everyone is going to be talking about
this year, but do leave a comment below with your favourite books of the summer so far.
And of course, do give this video a thumbs up if you liked it, and hit that subscribe
button below for new videos every Thursday.
Coming up next week, Lauren and the Books is joining us, and we're going on a lovely
trip to the seaside.
And while you're waiting, do go and follow us over on Instagram @bookbreakuk.
See you next time!