The Best New Paperbacks for Your Summer Getaway

Sunny Greene is 35 and freshly divorced, and she has a tidy little to-do list. For starters, find a plus-size swimsuit that isn’t horrible. With a successful career, a great apartment, wonderful friends, and devoted pets, Sunny’s got a lot going for her. She figures it’s time to start loving herself just as she is. And with a new and determined confidence, she’s also ready to dive into the dating pool — even if it means she has to make her own swimsuit. Radiating warmth and body positivity, Sunny Side Up by MEGABABE founder Katie Sturino is a perfect summer splash of a novel.

Paperback release date: June 23, 2026

Formerly one of the world’s last anonymous restaurant critics, Besha Rodell shares the story of her journey to the table in her new memoir, Hunger Like a Thirst. After moving to the United States from Australia as a teenager, Besha was looking for something to fill the space of all the things she missed back home. Then she started waitressing and realized that the restaurant world might be just what she was looking for. In this witty and vibrant narrative, Besha maps out her path from waitress to food critic with all the ups, downs, and meals (of varying deliciousness) that got her to where she is today. 

Paperback release date: May 12, 2026

Criminal profiler Dan Garvie will never escape the childhood memory of his close call with a serial killer. In fact, that harrowing experience is what drives his career. So when his father dies and the details don’t add up, Dan heads back to the small island community where he grew up to find out what really happened. Has the monster from his past returned decades later? The Man Made of Smoke is the latest serial killer thriller from bestselling author Alex North. Hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “hair-raising delight,” it’s sure to send a chill down your spine on a hot summer evening. 

Paperback release date: May 5, 2026

Notes on Infinity, Austin Taylor’s singular debut novel, centers on Harvard students Zoe and Jack, who realize they have chemistry both in and out of the lab. Indeed, things heat up when their late nights together result in a potentially world-changing breakthrough: a new anti-aging drug that could grant immortality. First, there’s the secret research, then investors and a startup, then magazine features, money, and interviews. But with the spotlight and success comes a startling accusation that threatens to unravel everything they’ve worked so hard to build. “If you’re looking for a book to fill the Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow–shaped hole in your heart, Austin Taylor’s page-turning debut on friendship, rivalry, and the timeless quest for immortality is just what the doctor ordered” (Oprah Daily).

Paperback release date: June 2, 2026

In Fred Lunzer’s Sike, lyricist-for-hire Adrian is searching for love and emotional mooring, and after his last relationship crashed and burned, he turns to Sike, a new AI psychotherapy app that tracks your life and offers guidance. Venture capitalist Maquie, meanwhile, isn’t necessarily looking for love when she meets Adrian — she’s looking for the next big thing in tech, something to match the hype of Sike. Not that she’s hopping on that bandwagon: Despite its pervasive popularity, she refuses to use the app. As their relationship progresses, Adrian and Maquie grapple with questions of identity, connection, and the realistic limits of self-awareness in this insightful AI novel about modern romance.

Paperback release date: May 19, 2026

From besties to girl groups, friendships between women have long been idealized and scrutinized, both in social conversation and in the media. And yet, real-life friendships are far more complex than brunch dates, braided bracelets, and girls’ trips. In this memoir-slash-history-slash–cultural critique, Tiffany Watt Smith explores her own experiences in friendships, reflecting on her strongest bonds and most difficult breakups, while also interrogating the damaging cultural tropes of rivals, backstabbers, and other varieties of frenemies. Smart, moving, and insightful, Bad Friend “provides us with a blueprint for how to sustain friendships that are flawed, and sometimes painful — but more meaningful because they are real” (The Guardian).

Paperback release date: June 16, 2026

In Kristin Koval’s Penitence, two families linked by a troubled past must grapple with questions of forgiveness. In the wake of a devastating act of violence, Angie and David Sheehan call for the help of lawyer Martine Dumont and her big-city lawyer son, Julian, who happens to be Angie’s first love. Though the current case demands their attention and weighs heavily on everyone involved, Angie and Julian must also contend with the feelings they buried long ago and confront the guilt and blame they still carry over a tragic decades-past accident. Moving at the pace of a thriller, Penitence deftly explores themes of guilt and forgiveness to deliver a gripping summer read and an “uncommonly impressive debut novel” (Shelf Awareness, starred review).

Paperback release date: March 3, 2026

In The Man Nobody Killed, Edgar Award–winning true crime author and journalist Elon Green vividly chronicles the life and tragic death of Michael Stewart, from Stewart’s burgeoning success in the downtown arts scene of 1980s New York City to the shock of his demise and the movement it inspired. Stewart was 25 on the night NYC Transit Authority police brutally beat him for allegedly tagging a subway station wall. The young Black artist died in a coma 13 days later, after having arrived at the hospital hog-tied and with no heartbeat. His violent death catalyzed a movement, emboldening artists of all types, from unknown names to celebrities like Madonna, Spike Lee, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, to speak out against police brutality. “The Man Nobody Killed is overflowing with tragedy, humanity, and relevance to our own troubled age” (Robert Kolker, bestselling author of Lost Girls).

Paperback release date: March 10, 2026

Louisa is 10 years old when her father dies. It’s a summer night, and they’re out for a walk on the breakwater. Her father carries the flashlight. Later, when she’s found on the beach, soaked through and clinging to life, he’s gone. An only child of parents who have separated themselves from their pasts and their families, Louisa struggles to move forward with her mother, Anne, in the wake of her father’s death. Their shared grief holds them together even as it pushes them apart, and just as they cling to each other, the unanswered questions of that night on the beach cling to them, too. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award, Susan Choi’s acclaimed Flashlight is at once a gripping mystery and a fascinating family saga.

Paperback release date: May 5, 2026

Recently widowed Nina thinks she’s met the perfect man for this next phase of her life. Nick is charming and put together, and — if you ask Ash, Nina’s adult daughter — too perfect to be believed. Suspicious of this new man in their life, Ash starts digging into Nick’s background, and what she finds doesn’t make her feel any better. Meanwhile, in the next town over, Martha is starting to feel unsettled by how much her husband, Alistair, travels for work while she stays home with their young daughter. As his stretches away grow longer and more erratic, Martha’s frustrations transform into suspicion: Something isn’t right. Though they don’t know it just yet, all three women are hurtling toward a startling revelation. An instant New York Times bestseller, Don’t Let Him In by acclaimed psychological thriller author Lisa Jewell is a suspenseful story of deceit and a compulsively readable summer read.

Paperback release date: June 24, 2026

Legendary writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin receives a thorough, layered biography in Baldwin: A Love Story. Nicholas Boggs draws on his own research, author interviews, and new archival material to present a richly detailed portrait of Baldwin’s life, spotlighting how his personal relationships — with lovers, mentors, and other artists — significantly shaped his celebrated novels and essays. An instant New York Times bestseller, Baldwin: A Love Story is “a fascinating and original window into the private world of one of America’s greatest writers” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Paperback release date: July 28, 2026