The Greatest Summer Novels of All Time

A list that's a work in progress.

I write summer novels so it’s no wonder that I’ve been inspired over the years by many other writers who set their books in the warm weather months. To me, a summer novel doesn’t mean a book is fluff; sometimes these books are written off as “beach reads,” even if they tackle serious subjects and are as well-written as most novels released in Fall. This is when publishers tend to publish the books they’re hoping will win awards and earn critical acclaim.

Photo by Wren Meinberg on Unsplash

A summer novel can be literary, like Emma Cline’s The Guest, or it can offer a page-turning plot, like Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley and Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, both are def on my list. Sometimes a book is called a summer novel simply because it’s set in the warmer months, like most of the Nantucket authors’ Elin Hilderbrand’s and Nancy Thayer’s books. Sometimes it’s called as much because the story might appeal to someone reading on the beach, like Zakiya Dalila Harris’ The Other Black Girl, R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface or Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow.

With the release of my next novel on June 4th, I began to think about the summer novels that have inspired me over the years. The books I love tend to be about characters who use summer as a springboard to overcome a challenge within themselves, their families or their life trajectory. In other words, summer helps them get their shit together. The setting is sparkly, the time period is vintage and the main character tends to choose self-fulfillment over love (but finding love is pretty great, too).

Don’t mistake the summer novel as a newish phenomenon. The summer publishing season grew popular in the mid-1800s. With growing numbers of middle class and upper middle class families traveling to beaches and lakes for the first time and steadily increasing at the turn of the century, publishers saw a reason to release books in a season that was typically thought of as lackluster. But with travel quickly become a status symbol, people wanted novels that were totable and best enjoyed, say, reading under a tree. Says a recent article in The New York Times: “Summer resorts provided women with an escape from the strictures of everyday Victorian life, free from the prying eyes of husbands or chaperones. And they also provided the setting for a new genre of novel, one specifically crafted about and for this season of escape.”

And so writers continue the tradition of writing novels that lure readers into glamorous seaside locales while exploring essential themes, everything from motherhood to marriage, disappointments to daydreams. Here are the summer novels that have inspired me over the years. Do any of these top your list as well?

Seaglass and The Stars Are Fire, two novels by Anita Shreve.
Shreve wrote over a dozen quiet yet powerful books set in New England. Seaglass follows Honora, a newly married woman in her early twenties in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, while The Stars Are Fire, set in Maine, tells the story of a woman who escapes her abusive husband (and one of the worst fires in the state) to start a new life. Both are tops for me. Shreve has passed away now, but many of us will never forget her books.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.
Home from college in my early twenties, I remember finishing this one and thinking: If I could write one sentence like this author, I would be happy. Kingsolver, of course, went on to write numerous bestsellers, including her latest masterpiece Demon Copperhead.

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams.
I read this one while sitting on a beach on eastern Long Island, and I will never forget this tale of friendship set in Newport in the summer of 1938.

The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand.
I’m a giant fan of most of Hilderbrand’s Nantucket summer novels but The Blue Bistro is my favorite. I’ll never forget that waterfront restaurant and the characters that inhabited it. Perfect mix of setting and story.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
I’ve read this book four or five times now, and growing up on Long Island, I always felt like I understood the novel more than others. But that’s just Fitzgerald’s magic. Everyone who reads this book finds a piece of themselves somewhere in these pages.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
I devoured The Great Alone at the beginning of summer a few years ago, and I was immediately lost in the young woman’s move to Alaska, the problems of her parents and how she found home in the unexpected place. I love all of Hannah’s books but this one holds a special place for me.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Reading about boarding school is somehow always appealing in the throes of summer. Tartt’s novel, which can probably be called a cult classic, is a shocking twist on the genre. In case you missed it, I won’t say more, but for those of you that have read it, you know what I’m talking about.

A Separation by Katie Kitamura
A divorce novel based in Greece that centers on a wife piecing together her missing husband’s final days. Yes, please. Kitamura is an incredible writer, and I tore through this one in summer while vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
This book has stuck with me years after I read it. Three generations of women. A beach house in Maine. Irish jokes. Heartbreak + sunshine + J. Courtney Sullivan’s deft plotting = perfection.

Searching For Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok.
A mystery that follows one sister hunting for her missing one, the novel is heartbreaking and tender and perfect for a day on the beach.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.
Set in the Cinque Terre mid-century, I ignored this one for a decade until last year when I uncovered it in a little free library. Brimming with heart and humor, Walter takes you into the heads and hearts of his quirky cast of Italian and American characters.

A Second Home by Christina Clancy.
Oh, Christina! How I love your book about siblings set on Cape Cod. There are a few parts of this book that truly tug on my heart strings, moments that I will never forget — if you haven’t read this one, plan to bring it to the beach or lake with you this summer.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Addiche went on to write several books I love, but this one captured my heart first. As soon as I was in the protagonist’s head as she was getting her braids done in Princeton, NJ, this novel had my attention. A classic in modern literature that I couldn't stop talking about while on a trip to France.

I’m sure that I’ve forgotten some of my favorites. Please add your favorite summer novel in the comments below.