Community Corner

Summer Reading: New Books for Kids and Adults

A summer reading list for the whole family.

By Whitney Teal

You may be too old for a proper summer break, but you're never too old for a good, old-fashioned summer reading challenge. Right? Yes! 

Patch asked Politics and Prose, a locally owned bookstore in Chevy Chase, DC, for a list of books that everyone in the area might want to consider adding to their summer reading lists.

For Adult Readers:

Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club 
Benjamin Alire Sáenz

(Cinco Puntos, $16.95)

This year’s PEN/Faulkner Award-winning collection of short fiction focuses on the Hispanic community in the border-town of El Paso. Identity and allegiances to two cultures are at the heart of these seven warm and engaging stories. 

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Where’d You Go, Bernadette? 
Maria Semple

(Back Bay, $14.99)

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Where’d You Go, Bernadette? is the cleverest, most giddily absorbing satire you’ll inhale this summer. A mystery and mother-daughter story wrapped together, this novel is an astonishingly creative, ceaselessly inventive exercise in storytelling. It’s a joy to follow along as Maria Semple nimbly teases it out.

We Need New Names
NoViolet Bulawayo

(Reagan Arthur, $25)

The children in this novel are curious, bemused witnesses to a world gone mad where everyone is filled with impotent rage. We follow one child from a shantytown in Zimbabwe to her new home in Detroit, Michigan and witness how abandoning one reality, however full of violence and despair it is, will always bring its own sense of loss. 

Midnight in Peking 
Paul French

(Penguin, $16)

Midnight in Peking is everything a true-crime narrative should be. Set in China in 1937, the story centers on the gruesome death of a beautiful and privileged young Western woman. Always mystifying, never kitschy, this book leaves the reader equal parts mesmerized and horrified.

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls 
David Sedaris

(Little, Brown, $27)

In his eighth collection of humorous essays, David Sedaris celebrates all that is a little “off” in modern life. Favorite moments include Sedaris’s uncomfortable memories of buying condoms in bulk at Costco, and an essay when his voice morphs into that of a self-righteous suburbanite.

What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World 
Jon Young

(Mariner, $14.95)

This fascinating instructional guide is perfect for both the experienced birdwatcher and aspiring naturalist. Jon Young shares decades of experience and scores of anecdotes to explain how to see and appreciate the complex natural world, even in an urban environment like Washington, D.C. 

For Children and Teens:

Flight 1-2-3
Maria Van Lieshout
(Chronicle, $14.99)
This charming board book both teaches children how to count and acts as a guide for young first-time fliers. The bold and minimal use of colors reflects the style of typical airport signs; the book is even typeset in Frutiger, which is used on airport signage all over the world. Ages 2-5.

If You Want to See a Whale 
Julie Fogliano 
(Neal Porter, $16.99)

In this magical new picture book, one little boy with lofty ambitions, a paper hat on his head, and a trusty canine companion sets out on an epic journey and learns what it takes to catch sight of an elusive whale.Ages 4-7.

Out of Nowhere 
Maria Padian

(Knopf, $16.99)

Tom Bouchard, captain of his school’s previously mediocre soccer team, tries to befriend his new teammates, four Somali players. This friendship conflicts with his town’s growing resentment of its Somali population and the ensuing struggle forces Tom to make decisions that may alienate both friends and family. Ages 12-15. 

Openly Straight 
Bill Konigsberg

(Arthur A. Levine, $17.99)

Rafe, an openly gay teen since eighth grade, wants to be recognized for being himself and not just for being gay. He convinces his supportive family to let him transfer to an all-male boarding school for his junior year where, unbeknownst to anyone, he plans to drop his gay identity. This novel is peppered with humor while simultaneously addressing the fragility of identity. Ages 14-17.

Have you read any of the books listed? Do you plan to? Let us know what you'll be reading this summer!


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