The days are getting longer. The weather is—well, unpredictable, but trending warm. The children are becoming restless. Summer is nearly upon us, and you probably need something to read. (You signed those children up for camp in time, right? Right?) To that end, here are a few the novels coming out this summer we on the Literary Hub staff have read and loved, and would like to recommend to you. NB: this is by no means an exhaustive list of all the great books coming out this season—just the personal favorites of a few human readers, as always. Have fun—and let us know what you’re reading and loving in the comments.Article continues after advertisement
Josh Weil, What Came West
Doubleday, June 2
What Came West opens with two murders, one of a young boy, amid the Gold Rush in the Sierra Nevadas. It is a great feat that the novel, told between third-person chapters depicting the nail-biting aftermath of the violence and epistolary confessions from the perpetrator, Silas, to his estranged son, manages to reckon with the brutality and still allow Silas his full, heartbreaking humanity. Silas writes to his son of his life before the murders, his upbringing as a boy whose traits baffle and terrify his family (but which read fairly clearly to contemporary readers as characteristics of autism). Other people are a constant source of fear and confusion for Silas, but he finds solace and wonder in the natural world.
