Enter for a Chance to Win 15 Vacation Reads and Summer Essentials to Kick Off the Season!

Charleston

If you're planning a trip to the beach or just heading south for the summer, throw this delightful novel in your bag. When Cara Rutledge rents her quaint beach house to Heather Wyatt for the entire summer, it's a win-win situation. Cara's generating income to keep her husband's ecotourism boat business afloat, and Heather has a quiet space in which to work on her art. They start out as strangers, though as everything around the women starts to fall apart, they learn that the only thing they can really rely on is each other.

India

Have you ever been on a trip that didn't turn out as you expected? In MONSOON SUMMER, Kit Smallwood's life in India—after secretly marrying a young Indian doctor and moving to South India to run a maternity hospital—isn't what she imagined. With top-notch writing, rich historical facts, engaging romance, and vivid details that take readers to another time and place, this novel has all the elements of the perfect summer read.

Bermuda

Anyone up for a cruise this summer? In THE SUMMER SAIL, a trio of college friends reunite for a cruise to balmy Bermuda. Everyone is looking forward to lounging by the pool, sipping tropical cocktails, and reminiscing. But as the pink shores of Bermuda come into view, tensions simmer, old jealousies flare, and the three friends find themselves on a vacation they won't soon forget—but not for the reasons they expect.

Cuba

Visit the American community in Cuba during the years before Castro's revolution—when Cuba was a paradise for a time and for a few—through the eyes of two American children on the cusp of adolescence. Everly and K.C. have keen eyes for the indulgences and betrayals of the grown-ups around them—the mordant drinking and illicit loves, the race hierarchies and political violence. Rachel Kushner's first novel is a tour de force, haunting and compelling, with the urgency of a telegram from a forgotten time and place.

Paris

Ah, Paris. It wouldn't be destination summer reading without a trip to the City of Light. THE ROOM ON RUE AMÉLIE is the story of an American woman, a British RAF pilot, and a Jewish teenager whose lives intersect in World War II occupied Paris. Rich with historical drama and emotional depth, this is an unforgettable story that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. If you liked THE NIGHTINGALE or LILAC GIRLS, this would be a great next read.

Chile

From beloved author Isabel Allende comes THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, a luminous portrait of four generations of the Trueba family, beginning with patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife. Their daughter's love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates him, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and the entire country into a revolutionary future. It's a summer for revolution!

Read the full review of THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS.

Prague and Los Angeles

Looking for a magical summer read? Sweeping between World War I Prague and modern-day Los Angeles, THE TRICK follows a young boy seeking out a cynical, old magician in the hopes that his spells might keep his family together. With gentle wisdom and heartbreaking humor, this is an inventive, deeply moving story about a young boy who needs a miracle and a disillusioned old man who needs redemption.

Canada

Anyone who has seen the ocean understands its pull. When Otto wakes up to find a note from his 83-year-old wife that says she's gone to see the water-walking the 3,232 kilometers from rural Saskatchewan, to the sea—he understands the impulse. But with Etta gone, Otto struggles with his demons, while their friend Russell pursues the woman he has loved from afar. And James—well, James you have to meet on the page. This quiet novel is an astounding literary debut of unlikely heroes, lifelong promises, and last great adventures.

Brooklyn

In this mesmerizing novel, you'll meet Anna Kerrigan, an indomitable and unforgettable heroine who becomes the first female diver at the Brooklyn Naval Yard—the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations—and navigates a world populated by gangsters, sailors, divers, bankers, and union men. This is novel we promise you'll want to dive right into.

Read the full review of MANHATTAN BEACH.

Cape Cod

Whether you're traveling to the Cape for a weekend away or you're seeing the sandy shores in spirit only, you should read THE BIG HOUSE. Faced with the sale of the century-old family summer house where he had spent 42 summers, George Howe Colt returned for one last stay with his wife and children. This poignant tribute to the 11-bedroom jumble of gables, bays, and dormers that watched over weddings, divorces, deaths, anniversaries, birthdays, breakdowns, and love affairs for five generations interweaves Colt's final visit with memories of a lifetime of summers.

Syria

If you're longing to discover a new world and you loved Khaled Hosseini's THE KITE RUNNER, THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS should be your next read. This rich, moving, and lyrical debut novel is the story of two girls living 800 years apart—a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and a medieval adventurer apprenticed to a legendary mapmaker. Placing today's headlines in the sweep of history, where the pain of exile and the triumph of courage echo again and again, THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS is an epic story of one girl telling herself the legend of another and learning that, if you listen to your own voice, some things can never be lost.

China

Bestselling author Lisa See writes a powerful story about a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been adopted by an American couple. See paints an unforgettable portrait of a little-known region in China and, as with all her novels, delivers intricate relationships between women, with a special focus on those between mothers and daughters. After reading this book, you'll feel like you experienced China first hand.

Read the full review of THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE.

Italy

For fans of Elena Ferrante comes the international sensation about the friendship between two young Italian boys from different backgrounds and how their connection evolves and challenges them throughout their lives. Trust us, this one pairs well with a cup of nice gelato.

Nigeria

Little Bee is a young Nigerian refugee seeking asylum in Great Britain after a violent and courageous journey from a Nigerian beach. She tries to make a life for herself in a totally alien land, while Sarah—an Englishwoman Little Bee met on a day that horribly changed both of their lives—must come to terms with her choices in London. This is a story of uncertainty, courage, and profound humanity that puts a stunning face on the worldwide refugee crisis with brutal yet gorgeous prose.

Read the full review of LITTLE BEE.

Australia

Head to the land down under in this insightful, bighearted story about the seemingly trivial decisions and invisible moments that come to make a life. When Elsie Gormley leaves the house in which she's lived for 62 years, Lucy Kiss and her family move in, eager to establish their new life. But the house has a secret life as well, and the rooms seem to share Elsie's memories with Lucy. Over the course of one hot, wet Brisbane summer, two families emerge from two different slices of time and intersect in unexpected ways.