Summer always makes me want to read everything. I’ll start the season convinced I’m in my romance era, immediately get distracted by a sci-fi obsession, and somehow end up reading three completely different genres at the same time.
When I first started drafting this list, it looked a bit different. I’d originally included Red Rising and The Compound, but since I’ve already finished both, I figured it was time for an update. So these are the five books currently sitting at the top of my summer reading list.
golden son by pierce brown
I finished Red Rising and immediately understood why people become completely feral about this series. The ending left me with way too many questions, and I’ve heard Golden Son is where things really start spiraling in the best way possible.
I’m expecting betrayals, impossible choices, and the kind of story that makes you stay up way later than you planned because you need to know what happens next.
the grace year by kim liggett
This feels like one of those books that people either devour in a day or spend weeks thinking about afterward.
Everything I’ve heard about it sounds stressful in exactly the way I enjoy. Survival stories always pull me in, especially when the real danger isn’t just the environment, but the people inside it. I’m already expecting this one to make me angry, emotional, and completely unable to put it down.
girl’s girl by sonia feldman
This is probably the book on this list I’m most curious about.
The premise feels incredibly current, and from what I’ve seen, it’s the kind of story that captures all the weird contradictions of being online, navigating friendships, and trying to figure out who you are while everyone is performing some version of themselves.
I have a feeling this is going to be sharp, messy, and painfull relateable.
the body keeps score by bessel van der kolk
I’ve wanted to read this for years, but I’ve also been a little intimidated by it.
Everyone describes it as insightful and important, but also emotionally heavy. This is definitely not going to be a book I rush through. It’s the kind of read I expect to sit with for a while, highlighting passages and needing breaks between chapters to process everything.
girl on girl by sophie gilbert
If there’s one thing I love, it’s overanalyzing pop culture.
This book dives into the media, celeberty culture, and internet spaces that shaped so many of us growing up, and I’m fascinated by the conversations it’s already generating. I have a feeling I’ll spend most of this book alternating between “wow, I forgot about that” and “wait… that actually explains a lot.”
final thoughts
Honestly, this reading list is kind of all over the place, but that’s exactly how I like it. A little sci-fi, a little dystopian fiction, a little psychology, and a little cultural criticism feels like the perfect mix for summer.
let’s chat!
What does your summer reading list look like right now? Are you sticking to one specific genre, or are you chaotic-good ? Drop your recommendation below!
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