Start the summer with a beach read, literally! Releasing on June 18th, Elin Hillenbrand brings us The Summer of ’69, set on Martha’s Vineyard. 
It about the ups and downs of the lives of four siblings set against the tumultuous events of this eventful year in American history. Also publishing on the same day, Jill Shalvis returns with The Lemon Sisters, a story of estranged sisters, Brooke and Mindy. When Mindy has a breakdown and needs time away from her children, Brooke agrees to come home to the coast of California and take care of them. But, can anyone really come home again? Lovely setting, engaging plot, a little romance – what more could you want in a summer read?
Are you more of a literary reader? Try My Life as a Rat by critically-acclaimed Joyce Carol Oates. It’s about Violet Rue Kerrigan, a young woman who looks back upon her life in exile from her family following her testimony, at age twelve, concerning the murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. Heavy stuff, but Oates writes beautifully. Colson Whitehead, of The Underground Railroad fame, returns in July with The Nickel Boys. It is about the brutal Arthur G. Dozier Reform School which operated in Florida until 2011. It closed after allegations of systemic long-term abuse became public.
Prefer nonfiction? Try 
Chasing the moon : the people, the politics, and the promise that launched America into the space age by Robert Stone and Alan Andres. 
This is a companion book to the upcoming PBS documentary series airing to celebrate the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Summer is a great time to read true crime and this year brings us several including Chaos : Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill and Dan Piepenbring. The authors did extensive research and posit new theories about Manson’s motivations, who was really involved in the Sharon Tate murders, and his involvement with the CIA’s LSD experiments. Like historical true crime? The trial of Lizzie Borden : a true story by Cara Robertson may be for you. Robertson uses the trial record, newspaper accounts, and recently discovered correspondence to offer a fresh account of this famous crime.
While making summer plans, don’t forget to put your holds on these warm weather releases!
