25 hot books for summer
It's time to stuff your beach bag with this summer's hottest reads. From Stephen King to Harper Lee to Dr. Seuss, there's something for readers big and small. USA TODAY's Jocelyn McClurg offers a guide.
JUNE
1. Finders Keepers by Stephen King (Scribner, fiction)
What it's about: A young boy discovers money and notebooks stolen years earlier from a famous writer, just as the criminal who took them is released from prison.
Why it's hot: It's a sequel to 2014's Mr. Mercedes, which USA TODAY's Brian Truitt praised for taking "the old detective genre in an excellent, modern direction."
On sale: June 2
2. In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (Knopf, fiction)
What it's about: A multi-generational family novel whose characters are affected by a series of plane crashes in the 1950s in New Jersey.
Why it's hot: This is a novel for adults by the popular children's writer (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret).
On sale: June 2
3. Once Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mezrich (Atria, non-fiction)
What it's about: True-life crime tale about the tangled web and huge fortunes of two Russian oligarchs, Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich.
Why it's hot: Mezrich's book about Facebook, The Accidental Billionaires, became the hit film The Social Network.
On sale: June 2
4. Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews (Scribner, fiction)
What it's about: In this thriller from the author of the espionage novel Red Sparrow, the CIA tries to stop Vladimir Putin from helping Iran build a nuclear weapon.
Why it's hot: Who better than a CIA officer-turned-novelist to plumb the hot-button issue of Iran's nuclear program?
On sale: June 2
5. The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America by Colin Quinn (Grand Central, non-fiction)
What it's about: The comedian takes on political correctness and asks why we're afraid to talk about and celebrate racial and ethnic differences.
Why it's hot: Quinn is either crazy or genius to try to find laughs about race in a post-Ferguson, post-Baltimore climate.
On sale: June 9
6. The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows (Dial, fiction)
What it's about: A spoiled senator's daughter, forced in 1938 to write the history of a small West Virginia mill town, becomes involved with a complicated local family.
Why it's hot: Barrows co-wrote the best-selling World War II-era novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
On sale: June 9
7. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (Delacorte, fiction)
What it's about: Teenager Audrey Turner, who suffers from a social anxiety disorder, finds a pal when she meets Linus.
Why it's hot: This is the first young-adult novel from the author of the comic Shopaholic chick-lit series.
On sale: June 9
8. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari (Penguin Press, non-fiction)
What it's about: The comic teams up with a researcher, NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg, to understand the dating and mating habits of modern humans.
Why it's hot: Ansari follows Parks and Rec vets Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman into the literarti arena.
On sale: June 16
9. The President's Shadow by Brad Meltzer (Grand Central, fiction)
What it's about: In this latest Culper Ring thriller, Beecher White races to track down a would-be presidential assassin.
Why it's hot: "A stay-up-all-night nail-biter," says Booklist.
On sale: June 16
10. Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow (Random House, non-fiction)
What it's about: The film director interviews comedy stars including Mel Brooks, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Louis C.K. and Lena Dunham.
Why it's hot: Apatow's brand of frat-house humor (Trainwreck, Knocked Up) has meant megabucks at the box office.
On sale: June 16
11. Charlie Martz and Other Stories by Elmore Leonard (William Morrow, fiction)
What it's about: Fifteen early stories, including 11 that have never been published before.
Why it's hot: The great writer of Westerns and crime novels died in 2013, so this posthumous collection is a bonus.
On sale: June 16
12. Truth or Die by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Little, Brown, fiction)
What it's about: An attorney unearths a secret he desperately wants to keep out of the wrong hands — like terrorists'.
Why it's hot: Patterson fans gobble up every thriller he writes; he's had 24 No. 1 USA TODAY best sellers.
On sale: June 22
13. Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell (Grand Central, fiction)
What it's about: A writer feels trapped by the famous character she's created when her "Monica" books become blockbuster films.
Why it's hot: Thanks to Sex and the City, Bushnell knows a thing or two about a book becoming a pop culture phenomenon.
On sale: June 23
JULY
14. A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster, non-fiction)
What it's about: The former president, now 90 years old, reflects on his public and private life in this memoir.
Why it's hot: Carter, author of more than two dozen books, has found a post-presidential career as a best-selling writer. And he paints.
On sale: July 7
15. Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella (St. Martin's Press, non-fiction)
What it's about: A new humor collection from the mother-daughter duo, on topics from family to love to food to beach bods.
Why it's hot: Takes the, er, cake for best title of the summer.
On sale: July 7
16. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (Harper, fiction)
What it's about: Sequel to Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written in the 1950s but only recently rediscovered.
Why it's hot: A first printing of 2 million copies (along with an e-book) indicates the great expectations for this landmark publishing event.
On sale: July 14
17. Movie Star By Lizzie Pepper by Hilary Liftin (Viking, fiction)
What it's about: The female half of a divorced A-list Hollywood couple decides to finally tell her side of the story.
Why it's hot: Liftin has ghostwritten or co-written celebrity books including ones by Tori Spelling, Miley Cyrus and Mackenzie Phillips.
On sale: July 21
18. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (Ballantine, fiction)
What it's about: Historical fiction about aviator Beryl Markham and her tragic 1920s love triangle with Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen (better known as Out of Africa author Isak Dinesen).
Why it's hot: McLain had a best seller with The Paris Wife, her novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage to Hadley Richardson.
On sale: July 28
19. What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss (Random House, fiction)
What it's about: The brother and sister from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish visit a pet store.
Why it's hot: This latest posthumous discovery from the beloved children's author is getting a first printing of 1 million copies.
On sale: July 28
AUGUST
20. The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman (Simon & Schuster, fiction)
What it's about: Historical fiction about the woman who would become the mother of Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro.
Why it's hot: Hoffman showed her deft hand with strong historical female characters in The Dovekeepers.
On sale: Aug. 4
21. The Storm of the Century by Al Roker (William Morrow, non-fiction)
What it's about: Recounts the Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900, which killed 8,000 in Galveston, Texas. (Erik Larson also tackled the subject in 1999's Isaac's Storm.)
Why it's hot: We predict a sunny outlook for this title by the Today show's weatherman.
On sale: Aug. 11
22. The State We're In by Ann Beattie (Scribner, fiction)
What it's about: New linked short stories, set in coastal Maine.
Why it's hot: Beattie's stories have captured the zeitgeist going back to the 1970s.
On sale: Aug. 11
23. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (Minotaur, fiction)
What it's about: In the latest Inspector Gamache mystery, a little boy prone to crying wolf disappears one day in a small Quebec village.
Why it's hot: The Gamache novels have been steadily rising in popularity; last year's The Long Way Home hit No. 5 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list.
On sale: Aug. 25
24. The Face That Changed it All by Beverly Johnson (Atria, non-fiction)
What it's about: A memoir by the first black supermodel to be on the cover of Vogue.
Why it's hot: Johnson has been in the news as one of the women who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging them.
On sale: Aug. 25
25. X by Sue Grafton (Marian Wood Books/Putnam, fiction)
What it's about: The 24th novel in Grafton's Alphabet mystery series features P.I. Kinsey Millhone on the case of a serial killer.
Why it's hot: Grafton's series has a certain "X" factor -- 2013's 'W' Is for Wasted was a No. 1 USA TODAY best seller.
On sale: Aug. 25