Platinum pulls together the best summer reads 2022 for a season of literature, from thrillers to affecting real-life stories you won’t want to put down.
The debuts making a splash
Vladimir: A Novel by Julia May Jonas
Whip-smart, timely and darkly funny, this debut follows the story of a beloved English professor as she faces a slew of accusations against her charismatic professor husband by former students. This situation becomes more complex when she starts to develop an obsession of her own with Vladimir, a celebrated (and married) young novelist. Ideal for fans of My Dark Vanessa and Adele.
Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett
Ambitious, unsettling and funny, this book is full of desire and mischief with surprising results. A women revisits the moments that have shaped her life — from embarrassing crushes on teachers to overhearing her grandmother’s odd stories and everything in between. This book examines the triumphs and traumas we experience.
For fiction lovers
Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
Suspenseful and funny, this is the rom-com you didn’t know you’ve been looking for. A women leaves a work reunion to buy some cigarettes. On the way back, she bumps into an old boyfriend. And then another. And another. Recently engaged, Lola discovers that this coincidence may not be all it seems. And why is her former boss and best friend so invested in her engagement?
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
From the Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The Idiot, comes this charming and witty new story. We follow Selin and her hedonistic lifestyle as she navigates the next chapter of her life with hilarious results and how when your life feels like the plot to an exciting novel, you can never truly know how it may end up.
Real life stories
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
We couldn’t love Viola more, but in this memoir, she pulls back the curtain of her life and examines her past with radical honesty and touching results. She says, “Finding Me is a deep reflection on my past and a promise for my future. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.” It’s one not to miss.
Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron
Following the loss of her sister and husband to cancer, You’ve Got Mail screenwriter Delia Ephron wrote an op-ed that caught the eye of an old flame. She couldn’t remember dating him, but they fell in love nonetheless. Four months into their relationship, she discovered she had cancer. In this book, Delia muses on his new phase of her life and a second chance at love.
Looking for a thrill?
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson
Looking for a book to read in one gulp? Then look no further, as this is less of a book and more of a literary puzzle that keeps you guessing until the final sentence. A struggling author sits in an airport lounge, plane delayed when his former classmate, Jeff, invites him for a drink and after swearing him to secrecy, shares the disturbing and fascinating story of his gilded life. How can saving someone from drowning cause such a domino effect?
The Resting Place by Camilla Sten
Eleanor looked into the eyes of her grandmother’s killer and survived. But her prosopagnosia means she’ll never be able to identify them — not unless they’re caught and if they ever come back. Now that she’s inherited her grandmother’s home, a place full of unsettling family secrets, Eleanor becomes convinced the killer is back to finish the job. First though, she has to find out which neighbour it is.
For non-fiction lovers
Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos
Violence, recovery, sex work and substance use disorder each play a part in this new memoir from Girlhood and Whip Smart. Melissa Febos takes a look at how our bodies are linked to our labour and production, from psychically to physically with fascinating results.
In The Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing by Elena Ferrante
From the acclaimed author of My Brilliant Friend, The Lost Daughter and The Lying Life of Adults comes a collection of essays on writing and reading. Ferrante examines her literary life and advocates a crop of female talent as she discourses through the work of some of her favourite authors. If you’re looking to refine your craft, or simply have an insight to an author’s mind, start here.
