Best Beachy Books for This Summer
2. Perennials
by Mandy Berman
MARISSA STERN | JE STAFF
FOR BOOK LOVERS, the beach is the perfect place to sit back
and relax — after applying sunscreen, of course — and read
beneath the summer sun.

Here are some suggestions to pack in your beach bags this
summer by Jewish authors or featuring Jewish characters, with
lightly condensed descriptions pulled from Amazon because
they can probably describe them better than I can.

1. You Think It, I’ll Say It: Stories
by Curtis Sittenfeld
The author of Eligible (a modern retell-
ing of Pride and Prejudice that would
also do well on the beach) returns with
this story that has already been chosen
for Reese Witherspoon’s book club and
been confirmed for a 10-episode Apple
TV series starring Kristen Wiig. So, this
one probably rocks.

“A suburban mother of two fantasiz-
es about the downfall of an old friend
whose wholesome lifestyle empire may
or may not be built on a lie. A high-pow-
ered lawyer honeymooning with her husband is caught off guard
by the appearance of the girl who tormented her in high school.

A shy Ivy League student learns the truth about a classmate’s
seemingly enviable life.”
Aching to go back to summer camp? This
novel may bring you back to those days.

“Rachel Rivkin and Fiona Larkin used
to treasure their summers together as
campers at Camp Marigold. Now, reunit-
ed as counselors after their first year of
college, their relationship is more com-
plicated. Rebellious Rachel, a street-smart
city kid raised by a single mother, has
been losing patience with her best friend’s
insecurities; Fiona, the middle child of a not-so-perfect subur-
ban family, envies Rachel’s popularity with their campers and
fellow counselors. For the first time, the two friends start keeping
secrets from each other. Through them,
as well as from the perspectives of their
fellow counselors, their campers, and
their mothers, we witness the tensions of
the turbulent summer build to a tragic
event, which forces Rachel and Fiona to
confront their pasts — and the adults
they’re becoming.”
3. Choose Your Own Disaster
by Dana Schwartz
Following her debut YA novel, Schwartz
is back with a memoir revisiting her ear-
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18 JUNE 7, 2018
THIS SUMMER
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



ly 20s and the terrible decisions that came with it. Who else can
already relate?
“Part-memoir, part-VERY long personality test, Choose Your
Own Disaster is a manifesto about the millennial experience and
modern feminism and how the easy advice of ‘you can be any-
thing you want!’ is actually pretty f---ing difficult when there are
so many possible versions of yourself it seems like you could be.

Dana has no idea who she is, but at least she knows she’s a Car-
rie, a Ravenclaw, a Raphael, a Belle, a former emo kid, a Twitter
addict, and a millennial just trying her best.”
4. The Hellfire Club
by Jake Tapper
Hometown hero and CNN host Jake Tap-
per made his novel debut with this polit-
ical thriller.

“Charlie Marder is an unlikely Con-
gressman. Thrust into office by his family
ties after his predecessor died mysteri-
ously, Charlie is struggling to navigate
the dangerous waters of 1950s Washing-
ton, D.C., alongside his young wife Mar-
garet, a zoologist with ambitions of her
own. Amid the swirl of glamorous and
powerful political leaders and dealmakers, a mysterious fatal
car accident thrusts Charlie and Margaret into an underworld
of backroom deals, secret societies, and a plot that could change
the course of history. When Charlie discovers a conspiracy that
reaches the highest levels of governance, he has to fight not
only for his principles and his newfound political career...but
for his life.”
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 5. Playing with Matches
by Hannah Orenstein
This breezy and entertaining book is basi-
cally begging to be read on the beach.

“Sasha Goldberg has a lot going for her:
a recent journalism degree from NYU, an
apartment with her best friend Caroline,
and a relationship that would be amaz-
ing if her finance-bro boyfriend Jonathan
would ever look up from his BlackBerry.

But when her dream career falls through,
she uses her family’s darkest secret to land
a job as a matchmaker for New York City’s elite at the dating
service Bliss. … Sasha hopes to find her clients The One, like she
did. But when Jonathan betrays her, she spirals out of control —
and right into the arms of a writer … she had previously set up
with one of her clients.”
6. This Really Isn’t About You
by Jean Hannah Edelstein
For those who prefer memoirs, this one
— due out in August — is sure to fit the
bill. Edelstein moved back to the U.S. after
living abroad for 14 years. Six weeks later,
her father died from cancer. Six months
after, she found out she inherited the gene
that would cause her cancer, too.

“When Jean Hannah Edelstein’s world
overturned she was forced to confront
THIS SUMMER
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JUNE 7, 2018
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