Lists

29 of Your Favorite End-of-Summer Reads

María Cristina García lives in New York with her favorite spouse, her favorite toddler, her favorite cat, and her second-favorite cat. When not ranking members of her household, she's catching up on Supergirl, strumming her mandolin, or trying to beat the clock on her library loans. Twitter: @MeowyCristina Blog: MeowyCristina.com

This Riot Recommendation asking for your favorite end-of-summer read is sponsored by Graydon House Books, bringing you The Summer List.

Named a Best Book of Summer 2018 by PopSugar, Coastal Living, Family Circle, and The Globe & Mail

In the tradition of Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters, The Summer List is a tender yet tantalizing novel about two friends, the summer night they fell apart, and the scavenger hunt that reunites them decades later—until the clues expose a breathtaking secret that just might shatter them once and for all.


The kids may be back in school and the Halloween candy may be tempting shoppers, but it’s not fall until the plane of Earth’s equator passes through the center of the Sun. So we asked you to come to the comments section and tell us what books we should use to close out our summer of reading. And here are your fellow readers’ picks for the best end-of-summer read!

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon

Perennials by Mandy Berman

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Skios by Michael Frayn

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Chiggers by Hope Larson

Light in August by William Faulkner

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Red House by Mark Haddon

Frog Music by Emma Donaghue

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Outline by Rachel Cusk

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brashares

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki

Trouble by Kate Christensen

The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams

On Blackberry Hill by Rachel Mann