The best beach reads are a perfect summer treat
Beach reading takes on a different meaning when you have little ones to chase after at the beach. The days of completely losing yourself in your favorite beach read won’t be recreated for another couple of years — unless you have someone with you to watch the kids. Moms need books that move quickly, make you smile, and are easy to pick up and put down without losing your place in the plot. Toss one of our best beach reads in your bag this summer and grab it in between snack sessions and sandcastle building.
The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke explores what would happen if you could literally use your Facebook statuses to change your life (Barnes & Noble, $11). The night of her rehearsal dinner, Kate’s fiancé, Max, breaks the news that he’s leaving her to be with her friend and co-worker. As Kate takes to her favorite social media platform to cope, she notices her world starts to mirror what she posts online. While trying to show her friends what’s happening, Kate notices changes, but every attempt to get back together with Max is foiled. Soon, she begins to ask herself if she truly wants the life she’s trying to shape one Facebook status at a time.
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave follows Georgia Ford, the daughter of California winemakers, as her perfect life begins to unravel in front of her eyes (Barnes & Noble, $17). Georgia’s life is filled with almost as many secrets as there are grapes in a bottle of wine — 800, as referenced by the title of the novel — and each of them threaten the relationships surrounding her. From a blistering truth about her fiancé to the inner workings of her parents’ marriage, Georgia is faced with how to move forward without sacrificing everything that’s been important to her in the past. This is the perfect read with a glass of wine — plastic if you’re actually at the beach while reading.
Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin generated considerable buzz for the jaw-dropping details revealed in Martin’s memoir about life on the Upper East Side (Barnes & Noble, $16). Tales of “wife bonuses” and cutthroat social maneuverings were fantastic enough to be true and entertaining enough to be fiction. Using a sociologist’s perspective, Martin, a Ph.D. “studied” the women living in one of America’s most prestigious neighborhoods. Later, the buzz turned to curiosity as fact-checking revealed some of the holes in Martin’s memoir seemed to be stitched with thread from her imagination. Either way, this is a part of society you’ll love to goggle over while digging your feet in the sand.
Oh! You Pretty Things by Shanna Mahin chronicles Jess Dunne’s climb toward fame in America’s west coast city of dreams — Hollywood (Barnes & Noble, $19). Jess thought she had no use for her estranged mother, but the failed actress might hold the key to a career upgrade for Jess. She bounces from barista to personal assistant for a film composer, where her cooking catches the eye of an almost-A-list actress. Climbing up another rung in the Hollywood status ladder is the only thing on Jess’s mind, until her mother’s secrets threaten to unseat everything she’s gained.
The Summer of Good Intentions by Wendy Francis shows how the chips in family traditions can threaten to splinter relationships (Barnes & Noble, $12). The Herington sisters are looking forward to a relaxing summer at their family’s Cape Cod beach house, and each of them has her own reasons for needing to recharge and reconnect with her family. Nothing’s the same as it was in the past, and when their mother decides to make a surprise visit with her new boyfriend, tension rises. Their father’s never gotten over their divorce, and old and new heartbreaks lurk on the shores of Cape Cod for the whole family.
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume blends nostalgia and unparalleled storytelling into this highly anticipated novel (Barnes & Noble, $17). The queen of coming-of-age young adult novels, Blume crafts a tale spanning three generations. The story begins in 1987, when Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown and begins to remember the worst year of her life. In 1952, air travel was new, exotic and filled with promise — until planes started dropping out of the sky. With her deft touch for poignant reality, Blume’s tale explores how each generation deals with technological change, how loss shapes families and how life, always, goes on.