BIPOC Beach Reads

If you’re new to manga or simply looking for new-to-you manga, One Piece is perfect for the beach for a few reasons. Apart from being one of the longest-running and most internationally loved manga series, it’s got pirates sailing the Seven Seas of a fantastical world, found family, and even a few heart-touching moments. At the head of it all is Monkey D. Luffy, who dreams of finding the One Piece treasure and becoming King of the Pirates. He just needs a loyal crew…and to deal with the curse of never being able to swim again that he accidentally exchanged for an extraordinary power.

Two Black authors reconnect in a story that feels as hot sticky sweet as its setting. As the past teenage love of supernatural romance writer Eva and literary darling Shane unfurls, so too does a history of trauma. When they found each other as teenagers, they spent one frenzied week together, wildly in love. Twenty years later, that week attempts to repeat itself, and the steam is there, but the trust may not be.

This will take you on a ride.

Book club books and beach reads have major crossover appeal, and this is certainly true for Kiley Reid’s breakout debut novel, a Reese’s Book Club pick, following a young Black babysitter and the affluent “girl-boss” mom who employs her. It is so cringey the way Alix performs allyship after a video of a racist security guard accusing babysitter Emira of kidnapping her daughter goes viral. Human train wrecks make for unputdownable books — you have to see the fail through to the end — and the critique of wealth, privilege, and entitlement in Such a Fun Age is as sharp as it is satisfying. The buzz around this book was huge and deserved. — S. Zainab Williams

Not all beach reads can be described as light-hearted and bubbly — you’ll more likely find Toni Morrison’s classic novel of friendship and betrayal on a high school summer reading list than a beach reads list, but it has a place on both. Perhaps it’s because friendships are so often forged and broken in the summertimes of our earliest years that these stories are ripe for seasonal reading, and Morrison’s visceral storytelling pairs the trials of friendship with small-town gossip and long-held secrets. All the right ingredients for a summer read. If you’re looking for a quick but potent beach read, you can’t go wrong with Sula. — S. Zainab Williams

A magical coastal estate in England. A slow-burn romance between a grumpgrump librarian and a kindhearted witch in search of found family. All things cottagecore. Come on! What more could you want from a beach read? Sangu Mandanna’s sweet romance hits the molten hot core of cozy and my personal witchy wheelhouse. This is the book you’ll want to grab when you’re looking for a summer read to help you unwind and capture those carefree vibes. Yes, it has stakes and some racist, xenophobic antagonists, but the strife is soft. You can bet that it delivers the HEA and a houseful of human-shaped cinnamon rolls (even if in the making). — S. Zainab Williams