Here are the books Devil and the Bluebird author Jennifer Mason-Black recommends for summer reading.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
I have a passion for epics, though, paradoxically, less so for traditional epic fantasy. This story, with its amazing world building, friendship, and heroism, is one I return to repeatedly. I first experienced it as a child, when my dad read it aloud to me. I still have the same tattered copy.
The Killer In Me by Margot Harrison
This debut novel, which just came out in July, is masterfully crafted. Less a mystery than classic noir with a modern facelift, it is dark, character rich, and imbued with a sense of place that had the hot desert air of the Southwest blowing through my chilly New England home.
The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude
Again, a novel with a tremendous sense of place. If I’m going to be on the beach, I very rarely want to be reading about the beach. I want to be transported elsewhere, and this story of secrets and murder had me on location in the Ozarks. Please note that this is a DARK read. Proceed at your own risk.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
A story that held me in its palm from beginning to end. More friendship, more heroism, facing the unfaceable. The kind of book I wish had been around when I was the YA target audience.
American Girls by Alison Umminger
This is one of those books that keeps you up all night. The voice of the main character is truly that compelling. And L.A. itself feels like the obvious summer read backdrop: hot, sunny, and full of illusion.