Frisbees cutting through the warm air, intricately built sandcastles soon to be washed away by waves and volleyball games reminiscent of “Top Gun“ abound on beaches in the summertime — and just as vital to the beach experience is having a great novel to lay in the sand and read.
A quintessential beach novel is a book entertaining enough to get completely absorbed in, so much so you might not notice the striped beach ball bouncing over your head but at the same time light and escapist so one can still enjoy soaking in the sun. Here are The Hatchet staff’s picks for the best reads while in the sand this summer.
“Mary Jane” by Jessica Anya Blau
Annie O’Brien | Culture Podcast Host
If an alien learned about American summer from the media, they may think we all jet off to Europe, have summer romances at sleepaway camp or work long shifts at beach towns. Though that may be the reality some of the time, lackadaisical days working a summer job in our hometown define June, July and August for a lot of us.
In “Mary Jane,” author Jessica Anya Blau’s titular protagonist — teenaged Baltimore native Mary Jane — shares this reality. A historical fiction novel set in 1970s Baltimore and the beaches of Delaware, Mary Jane spends her summer babysitting for a psychiatrist and his wife’s young daughter while the adults spend the summer treating a top-secret, famous rockstar for addiction and entertaining his movie star wife. Clutter covers every surface of the house, and expired food items rot in the fridge. Mary Jane — a quiet girl who sings in the church choir, listens to show tunes and wears crisply ironed shirts — slowly falls in love with their messy household and the equally chaotic people who inhabit it.
Through an impromptu oceanside group therapy session, neighborhood affairs and an abundance of ‘70s music, Mary Jane, the psychiatrist’s family and their famous guests find clarity within the chaos of drugs and rock and roll. All enter September with redefined, more independent expectations for their life. “Mary Jane” is a nostalgic novel designed for reading in the shadow of sand dunes or with the cooling breeze of air conditioning.
“The Firm” by John Grisham
Nick Perkins | Culture Editor
Released in 1991 to widespread acclaim, John Grisham’s second novel “The Firm” stands the test of time as a heart-racing though sometimes ridiculous thriller. The book follows young lawyer Mitch McDeere as he gets a job with Memphis-based law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke, which seems to offer him all he could ever want, from a high salary to his own Mercedes, until the firm — perhaps not shockingly — turns out to not be what it seems.
“The Firm” isn’t necessarily a perfect novel. The first half of the book spends a while delving into the intricacies of Memphis tax law and Mitch’s time studying for the bar exam, a topic many college-age readers may not immediately connect with.
But the tension Grisham weaves into every page as Mitch slowly uncovers the secrets behind his employer make “The Firm” a gripping, action-packed novel, and the last hundred pages or so offer a thrilling conclusion which will be hard to put down — especially if the alternative is going inside away from the warm sun. The audience can’t help but root for Mitch, as his bountiful charm which helped him succeed as a lawyer comes off the page. Plus, much of the book takes place on the gorgeous shores of the Cayman Islands, ensuring readers will feel the sand between their toes even if they aren’t reading the book at the beach.
“Beach Read” by Emily Henry
Lydie Lake | Staff Writer
Need I explain further? Though I was drawn toward the book purely because of its sunny cover colored with towels and classic beach attire — and the upcoming cruise vacation I would soon embark on — Emily Henry illustrates a story for you to easily dive into. Henry, the author of “People We Meet on Vacation,” “Book Lovers” and the newly released “Happy Place,” invokes relatable qualities, from a yearning for travel to a desire to just sit at home and read, within her romantic characters in past books, making her novels quick and easy reads.
Spark an inspiration for your own summer fling as you join January Andrews and Augustus “Gus” Everett for their summer in the fictional beach town of North Bear Shores, where scandalous family secrets are unveiled and a nostalgic romance is rekindled. Both authors in their late 20s, January is a hopeless romantic and Gus a mysterious skeptic.
The former college rivals reunite when they realize their beach houses neighbor each other. Both facing cases of writer’s block, the uninspired millennials strike up a deal to trade genres for the summer, where January will take on Gus’ literary fiction and write the “next Great American Novel,” while Gus will author a romantic novel with a happy ending, for once. They educate each other through dreamy date nights and interviews with cultish characters. Despite their polarizing natures — Gus, the grumpy literary fictionist, and January, the hot-mess, yet optimistic author — they may discover they’re not so different.
If you’re looking to get lost in a relaxing read in the sand, pack this one in your beach bag next to some sunscreen, for you may lose track of time with this summertime story.
“Bad Summer People” By Emma Rosenblum
Jenna Baer | Contributing Culture Editor
For those who found themselves enraptured by the spoiled, out-of-touch and frequently unhinged characters of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” “Bad Summer People” is an ideal novel for getting back into the groove of reading this summer. Beware, the characters are not likable, but they are endlessly entertaining to follow, as lifelong friends stab each other in the back and their deep-seated insecurities constantly crop up.
Our story begins with a killer prologue as young Danny Leavitt discovers a dead body while biking along the beach in Salcombe, a quaint fictional vacation town on Fire Island. The novel then slows down, rewinding several months to the beginning of summer when the Manhattan elite descended upon the town hoping for fresh air and to flex their tennis skills.
Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, revealing the internal struggles they hide behind fake smiles and banter about their neighbors’ marital strife. Told from the perspective of too many characters to count, it’s best to let the details Rosenblum provides wash over you rather than trying to memorize every name.
A true thriller, at each and every turn of the page you’ll be left wondering who was murdered? Does anyone mean what they say? And more importantly, which Lululemon-clad 40-something-year-old is responsible? Fancy yourself a detective? Snag a copy of “Bad Summer People” and put your deductive skills to the test to keep your mind sharp as you mindlessly soak up the sun’s rays.
