Grab These Beach Reads and Relax
By M. Clare Haefner
With the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, hopefully, I’m looking forward to summer vacation and a little down time at the beach.
It’s so relaxing to lounge on the sand listening to the waves, soaking up sunshine and breathing fresh air while reading a great book.
I never travel anywhere without a novel or two or 20 — I’m a fast reader and my phone’s Kindle app is much easier to carry than a bag full of books — and there are quite a few fun reads I’m looking forward to this summer.
While I often read nonfiction and love a good history, biography or memoir, my beach/vacation reads are almost always fiction — I want fantasy, entertainment, and fast-paced storytelling, with a little romance, mystery and/or suspense thrown in. They also need to be easy to put down and pick up between my real-life adventures with family and friends.
The books below are on my must-read list this summer — I’ve already read the first three and started the fourth, but I’ll probably read them again once I’ve finished the rest.
Outlawed by Anna North (Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2021) is a fresh take on the Wild West, following women who become outlaws and try to make their own way after failing to conform to societal expectations. It’s 1894, but in a United States torn apart by Civil War and a Great Flu that claimed many lives and led survivors to value children. In this alternate reality of city-states where people pray to Baby Jesus and the Holy Mother Mary, and tribal regions are still controlled and inhabited by Native Americans, women can be divorced and even accused of witchcraft if they fail to become pregnant. Barren after nearly two years of marriage, Ava leaves her family behind, first for a safe haven in a convent, but later among a band of mysterious outlaws led by The Kid as she aims to discover what causes fertility issues. Outlawed, which is a Reese Witherspoon book club selection, is a cross between The Crucible, True Grit and Brave New World. At times jarring and graphic, it’s a riveting read as Ava learns to be comfortable in her own skin and strives to make her part of the world a better place.
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan (Anchor, June 2020) had me laughing out loud. As with his Crazy Rich Asians series, Kwan’s latest novel is a guilty pleasure. The daughter of an American-born Chinese mother and a blue-blooded Knickerbocker father with ancestry dating back to the Mayflower, Lucie Churchill finds herself torn between two men and the cultures they represent. Sex and Vanity is witty and indulgent, transporting readers from the luxurious Italian island of Capri to New York. The pages are filled with vibrant descriptions of food and high fashion with Kwan’s trademark banter and lots of romance. It’s a modern love story and a tale of a young woman growing into herself.
The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, January 2021) is a darker kind of Cinderella story, examining what happens when ”happily ever after“ doesn’t come true. Thirteen and a half years after she marries her Prince Charming, Cinderella goes looking for the Witch to procure a spell to kill her husband. This story is dark, magical, and filled with surprises. Like Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, the twists and turns in The Charmed Wife are unexpected and inventive. It quickly drew me in and kept me guessing until the end.
I’ve only read the first few chapters of The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press, February 2021), but it’s already the best book I’ve read this year. Set amid the Great Depression, this epic American story of love, heroism and hope is a perfect reminder as we come out of the pandemic of how resilient we are. Nearly an old maid, Elsa Wolcott’s life seems bleak until she meets Rafe Martinelli. Taking her chance to build a better life, she’ll need all the strength and courage she can muster as she faces drought on the Great Plains and decides what matters most.
My deep Southern roots are probably why Joshilyn Jackson is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Her stories are usually set in small Alabama and Georgia towns that remind me of visits with family and my college years in Mississippi. I’ve read every other book she’s written and can’t wait to start Mother May I (William Morrow, April 2021). Described as suspenseful, thought-provoking and haunting, it delves into how far a mother is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves.
Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly (Ballentine Books, March 2021) is inspired by true accounts and examines the Civil War through the eyes of a Union nurse, a slave woman sold and conscripted into the Army and a Southern belle left to manage the plantation after her husband enlists. Sunflower Sisters is the third book in a series about members of the Woolsey-Ferriday family. I loved Lilac Girls, set in World War II, and Lost Roses, which delves into World War I, and am looking forward to reading about another remarkable woman in their family tree.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins (St. Martin’s Press, January 2021) has been in my queue for a while after a friend recommended it. This one’s set in my mom’s hometown, Birmingham, Alabama, and is a modern twist on Jane Eyre. I’ve always enjoyed new takes on classics, and this one sounds promising, with forbidden romance and a wife who won’t stay buried. I wonder if either Mrs. Rochester will get a happy ending.
In A Book Club Far Away by Tif Marcelo (Gallery Books, April 2021) is on the list because like the Army wives in this book, I’ve lived in lots of places and have old friends I’d drop anything for if they needed my help — even though I haven’t seen them in years. The jacket says this book honors “the immense power of female friendship and how love can defy time, distance, and all old wounds.” This one will probably bring tears — from joy and sadness — but I’m ready to pour the wine, grab the tissues and dive in.
I preordered That Summer by Jennifer Weiner (Atria Books, May 2021) as soon as I learned it was in the works. I’ve been a fan of Weiner’s since her debut, Good in Bed (Atria Books, April 2002). Her witty writing draws me in every time and leaves me wanting more. The premise of That Summer is intriguing: restless housewife Daisy starts getting emails meant for another woman, whose address is only one punctuation mark away from hers. An apology leads to an invitation, and the women become friends, then Daisy learns her meeting with Diana may not have been as accidental as it seemed. Just like Weiner’s Big Summer in 2020, That Summer seems like the perfect beach or poolside read.
I’m saving What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing — Oprah’s collaboration with Bruce D. Perry (Flatiron Books, April 2021) — for when I get home. While I’m certain the best-seller will send me on a voyage of self-discovery, it can definitely wait until I’ve had my fill of sun and fun.
