Back again with another seasonal faves post :) These are the best books I’ve read, movies I’ve watched, music I’ve listened to, and other great things I’ve found so far this summer!
Books
Reminder: ALWAYS check trigger warnings before reading! I have many listed in each book’s individual section, but you can look here to find a more comprehensive list.
All summaries are shortened from the synopses on Goodreads.
Fantasy
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (16+)
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected. When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate. After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.
A reimagining of Chinese history pitched as Mulan meets The Song of Achilles
Such a captivating story with morally grey characters, war, and political intrigue
Thank you to Tor/Forge for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
CW: ableism, amputation, castration (non-consensual, pre-existing), death, dysphoria, homophobia (internalized), misgendering murder, starvation, torture (non-graphic), violence
Contemporary
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (18+)
Poppy and Alex have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
This book basically takes you on a trip around the world and takes place during various summer vacations
I spent this entire book projecting onto Poppy. It’s safe to say that I did a lot of crying
CW: death of a parent (in the past, off-page)
Beach Read by Emily Henry (18+)
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. They're polar opposites. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block. Until, one evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
Perfect summer vibes and such a cute romance
See quote: "let me prove i can love you forever"
CW: death of a parent, adultery, loved one with cancer, abusive parent
A Pho Love Story by Loan Le (12+)
If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams of pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant. For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition. But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?
Forbidden romance (Romeo and Juliet style), opposites attract
Super cute read and loved the incorporation of Vietnamese culture!
CW: death of a loved one, racism, grief, Vietnam War (referenced)
Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales (13+)
Darcy Phillips can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes―for a fee. She uses her power for good (most of the time), really cannot stand Alexander Brougham, and has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else. However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89―out of which she’s been running her anonymous relationship advice service―Darcy gets blackmailed. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach―at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back. To keep her identity a secret, all Darcy has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once. What could go wrong?
Leah on the Offbeat meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; for lovers of The Half of It
Amazing read w/ great LGBTQ+ rep (some of the best bi rep I’ve ever read)
Enemies to lovers vibes
CW: biphobia (including internalized), toxic parents, drugs, alcohol, vomiting
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag (12+)
Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can't wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn't seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they're each trying to hide will find its way to the surface...whether Morgan is ready or not.
Beautiful and sapphic!
CW: forced outing, near-drowning
Where It All Lands by Jennie Wexler (13+)
Stevie is the new girl in town, and Drew and Shane have been best friends for years. After Drew and Shane meet Stevie, both guys want to ask her out. So, the boys do what they've done for the past ten years when they've had a disagreement: flip a coin. If the coin lands on heads, Drew gets to ask Stevie out. If the coin lands on tails, Shane does.
Told in dual timelines via three parts: part 1 is what would've happened if Drew won the coin toss, part 2 is what would've happened if Shane won, and part 3 alternates between the two timelines
Blew all my expectations out of the water and made me lose my mind in the best way
CW: mentions of anti-Semitic experiences, death of loved one (off-page), grief, bullying, divorce/parental abandonment (due to infidelity), car accident, vomit, choking, insomnia
Mystery/Thriller
The Ivies by Alexa Donne (14+)
Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly.
This book was so good and kind of eerie to read as someone currently working on college apps
CW: murder, alcohol, bullying, blackmail, cheating, mentions of disordered eating
They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman (14+)
Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Mila was the top runner on her team back home and at first, Ellie and Stella view her as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. In a moment of weakness, she even shares her darkest secret with Mila. For her part, Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.
A super engaging murder mystery that I would def recommend!
CW: alcoholism, abortion, cheating, murder, mentions of disordered eating
Historical
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (14+)
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
Sapphic!!
CW: homophobia, lesbophobia, miscarriage, misogyny, racial slurs, racism
Movies/TV Shows
Love Island USA (CBS/Paramount+ Show): yes my Love Island obsession is back
Young Royals (Netflix Show): think Red, White, and Royal Blue but Swedish and the prince/commoner trope :D
Music
“Airplane Mode” - Hayd
“Fever Dream” - Jillian Rossi
“The King” - Sarah Kinsley
“Emergency Contact” - Haley Joelle
“Starting to Get to You” - Jensen McRae
“Moon” - Jonah Kagen
“Fine Apple” - Nic D
“ken&barbie” - kate gill
“Meet My Shadow” - Jake Scott
“everything/nothing” - Simone
“Heartbreak Hotel” - Abigail Barlow
“People Watching” - Conan Gray
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