39 Best Summer Books 2023

First up, we have New York Magazine writer Tembe Denton-Hurst’s debut novel Homebodies. The protagonist, a young Black writer named Mickey, returns to her hometown after being fired from her New York City media job. Things begin to take an interesting turn when she publicly calls out the racism that she experienced at her former workplace. —Juliana Ukiomogbe

Out on May 2.

Set in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i, Jasmin Iolani Hakes’ debut is a proud, vibrant coming-of-age tale, in which a young woman competes to win the Miss Aloha Hula competition. But as she whittles this generations-old craft, so she gets a sharper, unflinching view into her own family history and the tensions eating at her island community. —Lauren Puckett-Pope

Out on May 2.

Look at this gorgeous cover. If that doesn’t immediately entice you, perhaps the premise might: In a small town, a popular shopping mall—once home to bustling businesses—is scheduled to be shut down. You Are Here brings together a diverse group of friends and strangers as they reckon with their ever-changing environment. —JO

Out on May 2.

A new Deborah Levy novel is cause for celebration. August Blue takes place in picturesque Athens, Greece, and follows a pianist named Elsa as she travels around Europe in search of herself. —JO

Out on May 4.

In Chinese, the expression oh my god is translated to wo de ma ya, which literally means, oh my mother. In this part-memoir, part-essay collection, the journalist Connie Wang immortalizes the…