Best Books of June 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
![David Nicholls's "You Are Here," Annabel Monaghan's "Summer Romance," Rufi Thorpe's "Margo's Got Money Troubles," and more.](https://d1ysvut1l4lkly.cloudfront.net/B0D5RKZMCP/3/image-0-0.jpg)
If you are in the market for an awesome book (or five) to kick off the summer reading season, you are in luck. It’s an embarrassment of riches in June with great reads that run the gamut from breezy, to bone-chilling, to (literally) dreamy.
Once upon a time, a beekeeper met a pirate…and though they were only children, they recognized each other as two sides of one coin, creating an unbreakable bond of friendship. All the Colors of the Dark begins with a kidnapping that changes their lives forever, as a serial killer leaves a trail of missing girls in his wake. Patch (the pirate in this story) and Saint (the beekeeper of long ago) get caught up in this mystery that takes years and many detours to solve, because Patch's obsession with finding a particular girl does not wane with time. Chris Whitaker’s vivid storytelling had me laughing one minute, tears rolling down my cheeks the next, and I could picture everything as clearly as if I were living alongside these characters. A novel of love so powerful it hurts, family, sacrifice, survival, and devotion—I couldn’t stop turning the pages and when I reached the end, I wanted to begin again. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
All the Worst Humans will make your jaw drop: it’s a juicy, salacious memoir that confirms just how seedy the world is when money, politics, and power come into play. With the vibes of the propulsive Liar’s Poker, Elwood dishes on his decades as a public relations hitman, a hired gun known for pulling off (or hiding) the treacherous, outlandish requests of “dictators, tycoons, and politicians,” as the catchy subtitle promises. From dishing on how he helped Qatar land their first FIFA World Cup by sabotaging the United States’ bid to how he babysat Gaddafi’s son during a Las Vegas boondoggle filled with drugs, guns, and women, Elwood sets dynamite to his career. And that’s what makes this memoir so page-turning; it’s not just his astonishing stories of danger, manipulation, and questionable ethics—but his determination to expose it all, ultimately confronting the choices he made, and revealing how easily we (anyone, politicians, reporters, governments, and countries) can be puppets in a fragile world of egos and power grabs. A wild, oh-my-god-ride that you won’t be able to stop talking about. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
As Dolly Parton once pointed out, it costs a lot of money to look this cheap. Single parenthood also costs money, and when life hands 20-year-old Margo lemons by getting her pregnant by her skeevy professor, she gamely searches for a good lemonade recipe. But it may take getting her melons out on OnlyFans to make rent and be the parent she didn’t exactly have herself. Semi-abandoned by her dad—an itinerant pro wrestler—as a kid, and by her mother—a former Hooters waitress—during her hour of need as a new mom, Margo leans in, and, using a few tricks from her dad’s old WWE playbook, suddenly her OnlyFans page is getting the kind of hits that Vince McMahon could only dream of. Motherhood, using what you’ve got, the internet, female friendship, sex work, and the way women catch flak coming and going: Thorpe throws it all into the hopper, and out comes the most gloriously over-the-top, unapologetically crass, singularly hilarious, thoughtful, and dazzlingly original novel to ever make this editor snort with laughter. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
It’s one thing to have to keep a daughter secret, quite another for that secret to live so close you can catch glimpses of her life, glimpses that sometimes lead you to worry…. This is a heart-wrenching reality that Charles Lamosway understands all too well, and while the decision whether or not to reveal Elizabeth’s parentage propels the plot, this gem of a novel truly is more about the journey than the destination. Charles was raised on the Penobscot Reservation, a community he loved, but wasn’t a citizen of (his mother married a full member of the tribe). Morgan Talty deftly mines the emotional alienation Charles feels, and makes the reader question, along with him, if a wrong decision was made for all the right reasons. And that is a running theme: flawed characters you’d physically shake if you could, but who you can’t help but root for anyway, because they’re all trying to do what’s best for their loved ones, when what is best isn’t always clear. Fire Exit is a melancholy but quietly powerful story about taking care of your tribe, however you find them. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
“Sometimes, she thought, it’s easier to remain lonely than present the lonely person to the world….” To say I was charmed by this hilarious, hopeful book is the understatement of the century. Marnie is a copyeditor who has withdrawn from her friends in the wake of her divorce and worries she’s let life pass her by. Michael has taken to walking the English countryside alone to avoid being at his house after his wife left him. They are strangers brought together by a mutual friend for a 10-day hike. What happens next is the stuff of literary magic—phenomenal banter, the unpredictability of the outdoors, and the tentative, fragile beginnings of a second chance. I was cheering for Marnie and Michael from page one, hoping that they’d be brave enough to find their way back to themselves, and to each other, along this endearingly funny journey. Every step was a delight. —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
“You are never more alive than when you’re dreaming,” writes neuroscientist Rahul Jandial in his page-turning look at the magical way the brain functions every night. Fascinating insights abound: dreams’ evolutionary purpose, certain types of dreams men often have 15 years before they’re diagnosed with Parkinson’s or dementia, how dreams can serve as a gauge of psychological wellbeing (including, surprisingly, visions of divorce, drugs, and cheating), and why everyone dreams about school, even decades after graduating. Zooming out, Jandial reveals how dreams have changed the world for the better—and how they’ve been weaponized by companies to convince us to spend more money. Understanding our dreams (and nightmares) opens a window to our deepest thoughts and desires, and Jandial explains just how easy it is to better remember, and even shape, what we see as we snooze. From your wildest dreams to your dying dreams, don’t sleep on this revelatory read about your slumbering brain’s power. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Annabel Monaghan writes women, particularly mothers, so well. They are witty, messy, complicated women I want to be friends with. Summer Romance is no exception, and I greedily binged it in one sitting. Ali is a professional organizer whose life is in chaos. She is still grieving her mother’s death, going through a divorce, and hasn’t worn “hard pants” (read: jeans) since who knows when. But when her friend's younger brother, Ethan, returns to town, he remembers Ali as the vibrant, fearless girl who he's always had a crush on; and she starts to remembers that girl too, and how she lost her somewhere along the way. What begins as a lighthearted summer romance quickly becomes so much more. This is a story about what a scary but worthwhile risk love is, in all its many forms. It’s also brimming with insights about so many things—motherhood, friendship, the unbearable cruelty of seventh grade girls. I could go on and on, but instead I’ll say, relish every moment of this endearing, charming romance. —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
This debut novel has a mystique that is not only beautifully displayed on the cover, but elegantly woven throughout. Set in the small border town of La Cienega, Texas, a dual timeline jumps between 1951 and 1994. Readers first learn about Pilar—a young, newly married mother who experiences a series of events that dramatically shape the course of her life. Fast forward to 1994, where you meet Lulu—a punk rock, Selena-lovin' Latina who has dealt with more heartache than any 15-year- old should. Pilar and Lulu meet, and there is something about Pilar that continues to draw Lulu in, flaming her desire to learn more about Pilar’s background and connection to Lulu’s family and the community. Spanish words and phrases are sprinkled throughout and cultural nuances within the Mexican diaspora are detailed in a way that offers an immersive and intimate view into the characters and culture. Providing a little bit of mystery and a lot of family drama—readers will become engrossed in this story of friendship, grief, and secrets. —Kami Tei, Amazon Editor
Swift River is a debut so assured, wise, and knowing, it’s scarcely believable that it’s a debut. As a little girl, some of Diamond Newberry’s happiest moments were spent in the back of her dad’s car while he drove their little family. These days, his old car sits rotting in the yard of their dilapidated house, a symbol of the decay that’s befallen Diamond and her mom since Diamond’s dad disappeared. Ostracized because she’s mixed race, Diamond, now a teenager, has comfort-eaten herself to the point where she’s bullied and teased about her weight as well as her skin. And her white mom is so broken she’s no help. But Diamond has a plan. Diamond is a wonderful character and readers will root for her, cry for her, laugh with her, and make her dreams their own. Her voice is so memorable and vivid, and through her Chambers deftly explores topics from generational trauma, race and mixed race, family, and the power of love and will in this unforgettably lovely novel. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
In Middletide, Sarah Crouch has crafted an atmospheric, complex story of love, obsession, and murder, with one of the strongest senses of place and landscape in a novel since Jane Harper's The Dry. The story opens with the discovery of a beautiful local doctor, her body hanging in the trees by the shoreline of Point Orchards in Puget Sound. Soon we learn that murder, not suicide, is believed to be the cause of death, and that she was hanged on property belonging to Elijah Leith, a failed novelist returned after years in the big city to start over in his childhood home and maybe to re-establish contact with Nakita, the Native girl he ghosted years ago. But when Dr. Landry’s murder is laid at his door, and his own novel is a witness for the prosecution, his homecoming takes a dark turn. Crouch’s characters are too full of ordinary human frailties to be easily flagged as good or bad, which makes this well-plotted literary thriller both a surprise and a delight. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
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