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Endless summer days call for a long list of page-turning books.
Escape with these beach reads.Credit:Stocksy
Fiction
When Things Are Alive They Hum by Hannah Bent (Ultimo Press)
At once uplifting and heartbreaking, this is a story about the special bond between two sisters. Marlowe is finishing her PhD in London when she gets the call to return home to Hong Kong for a family emergency; Harper, who lives with Down syndrome – or “Ups” as she calls it – has a failing heart.
The House Uptown by Melissa Ginsburg (Faber)
This beautifully written novel follows teenager Ava, who is sent to live with her eccentric grandmother, Lane, in New Orleans after her mother dies. Lane, an artist, is preoccupied with
her work as Ava learns to navigate a strange new life with a little help from Lane’s assistant, Oliver.
Magpie by Elizabeth Day (Fourth Estate)
This gripping domestic noir novel tackles the pain and anguish of infertility. Happy couple Marisa and Jake are trying for a baby when they take in a lodger, Kate. Gradually Marisa’s uneasiness about the situation turns to suspicion and despair as the story unfolds in a series of shocking twists and turns.
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The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (Viking)
A poignant and evocative novel about a family and their ramshackle holiday home on Cape Cod. Set over 24 hours, Elle Bishop – married to a man she loves, with children she adores – reflects on her life and past summers at the house as she faces a life-changing decision of the heart.
Love & Virtue by Diana Reid (Ultimo Press)
Reid explores themes of power, privilege and consent in her captivating debut novel that follows two students, Michaela and Eve, living on campus at a Sydney university. The two girls initially forge a close friendship, until the truth about a drunken encounter during orientation week is revealed.
Devotion by Hannah Kent (Picador)
Set in the 1830s, this love story follows teenagers Hanne, an outsider in her conservative village, and kindred spirit Thea, as their Lutheran community flees persecution in Europe and sets out on a dangerous journey to resettle in the new colony of South Australia.