Summer Reading Guide 2023: Nostalgic Titles from Birch Tree Books & Foliage Plants

Summer is fast approaching, and whether you’re facing boring flights and long road trips or looking forward to relaxing afternoons on the beach, what you need is a good book.

What makes a good summer read? A story that’s compelling and bingeable, and also sparks conversation topics to take home with you. And this summer at Birch Tree, we’re celebrating some brand-new releases with a touch of nostalgia: think summer camp, ‘90s vibes, reboots, vintage recipes.

With that in mind, we here at Birch Tree Bookstore have compiled the following list of titles showcasing a variety of genres and ranging across a variety of reading levels (what better way to keep little ones occupied on a road trip than with a colorful, fun picture book?).

Children’s Picture Books

For picture books, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the delightful Mell Fell by Corey R. Tabor and Evergreen by Matthew Cordell. However, if your little one leans more towards nonfiction, there’s an incredible series of beautifully illustrated field guides called Young Zoologist with topics like Honey Bee, Giant Panda, and Koala (and many more!).

And of course you can’t pass up the variety of activity books such as the very popular Paint by Sticker series.

Early Reader Books

Packing a paperback with short chapters will keep your early reader entertained, help them to build reading skills, and promote confidence with reading while having fun with great stories such as Museum Kittens, The Nevergirls. Good Dog, or Dinosaur Club.

Middle Grade Books

For your middle grader who loves fantasy, Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef is a brand-new fantasy novel featuring mythical creatures. Or if they read Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman last summer, Skandar and the Phantom Rider is the second in the series and just released. Then of course, there’s the modern classic, Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming, a memoir in verse that we always return to.

For graphic novels, check out the Wings of Fire and Amulet series, or lean in to Birch Tree’s summer theme with the super nostalgic graphic novel adaptations of Sweet Valley Twins.

Young Adult (YA) Books

For young adult readers, we have a real range of recommendations from fantasy with Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights, Tracy Deonn’s The Legendborn Cycle, and Adalyn Grace’s Belladonna; to mysteries with Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington; to horror (Trang Thanh Tran’s She is a Haunting); all the way over to fun romances such as The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han and Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Hardcovers, paperbacks, graphic novels… take your pick!

Nonfiction Books

To keep you grounded in reality and learn something new, check out Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss (coming to Birch Tree Bookstore in June!). Or, out in paperback in May, Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles.

Memoirs

For memoirs, you have probably already read I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy of iCarly fame, but if not… now is the time! Or for something a little more celebratory and hopeful – but also meaningful and thoughtful – check out geobiologist Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl (labs! plants! botany!) or author John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed (rating the human-centered planet on a five-star scale!).

Historical Fiction

While you’re traveling to new places this summer, why not also do some time-traveling? Some of the best authors in historical fiction such as Kirstin Harmel with The Paris Daughter and Marie Benedict with The First Ladies have new releases coming out this summer.

Plants and Nature

Because Birch Tree Bookstore and Foliage Plants coexist in the beautiful 11 W Market St. building, not only are plants scattered all around the books, but many of our books focus on gardening and nature, such as Soil, Wilderness Tales, and (coming in October! That’s sort-of still summer, right?) Living Wild by Hilton Carter.

Fiction Books

General fiction is one of the most challenging genres to narrow down. For that summer-camp-nostalgia, The Summer of Songbirds is about a group of friends trying to save the camp that they loved when they were growing up. New releases to look out for are The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hildenbrand, Yellowface by RF Kuang, and The Half-Moon by Mary Beth Keane… but maybe Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Weyward have also been on your TBR for a while, so how are you supposed to pick?

Maybe just read all six!

Mystery & Suspense Books

OK, maybe the most difficult genre to narrow down is actually mystery… some of the best beach reads are mysteries, especially from tried and true authors like Ruth Ware (Zero Days) and Riley Sager (The Only One Left). Or if you want to branch out a bit, check out The Soulmate (amazing cover), The Good Ones (coming to Birch Tree in June), The Whispers (from author of The Push!), The Senator’s Wife, or the gothic horror about a woman who travels to an island populated with people obsessed with 1994, Dead Eleven.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

For fellow SFF lovers, we have a huge list of new releases to enjoy this spring and summer! If you want a big, warm hug in the form of a quirky sci-fi retelling of Pinocchio, run (don’t walk) to pick up In the Lives of Puppets.

Another cozy sci-fi with the dedication “For anyone who could use a break,” check out Becky Chambers’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built. And then of course one of Brandon Sanderson’s new titles, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, is coming out in June along with Translation State by Ann Leckie, Witch King by Martha Wells of Murderbot fame (May release!), and Immortal by Chloe Gong (July!).

Romance Books

What would a vacation be without a little romance? We have a list and a half of great titles for this summer… Starting with everyone’s favorite STEM/romance writer, Ali Hazelwood and Love, Theoretically, then moving on to (buckle up!): The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren herself, no less; Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune; Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan; and Meant to Be by the illustrious Emily Giffin, and Hello, Stranger by Katherine Center (July release).

And the “summer” titles! Same Time Next, Summer by Annabel Monaghan (June release); Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay (May release); and The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy (July release);

Cookbooks

So you want to bring the tastes of the sea to your table this year, but you’ve never worked with oysters before… We’ve got your back with Nils Bernstein’s The Joy of Oysters : A Complete Guide to Sourcing, Shucking, Grilling, Broiling, and Frying.

For some local Leesburg flavors, it’s absolutely essential to get Olwen Woodier’s The Pesto Cookbook: 116 Recipes for Creative Herb Combinations and Dishes Bursting with Flavor.

Since this is Birch Tree’s summer of nostalgia, you absolutely can’t miss B. Dylan Hollis’s Baking Yesteryear: The Best Recipes from the 1900s to the 1980s. With recipes like Chocolate Potato Cake, Cornflake Macaroons, and Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake (yyyep: sauerkraut cake… but seriously, I do want to try this!), you are guaranteed some fun baking this summer, and maybe even the chance to find a new-old favorite!

Summers are for books, good food, and fond memories. Whether you’re traveling around the world or just out to your backyard, what will you bring with you to read?

Laura Seabourne is a bookseller at Birch Tree Books and a lifelong book-lover. She particularly loves science fiction and fantasy, but really, how can a reader choose just two favorite genres? In her spare time, she enjoys reading books, thinking about books, teaching books, writing about books… and knitting, of course. CR: Legends and Lattes and Bird by Bird.