The best books to put on your summer reading list

What’s on your summer reading list?

Maybe you’re looking to find something new or to revisit a classic. Perhaps you want to pick up a light, breezy read or delve into something a little heftier.

We turned to the Richland County librarians for help guiding us to the hottest books this summer for adults, teens and kids. See their recommendations below:

TOP BEACH READS

Megan Mathis at Richland Library Main predicts these adult titles with beachy themes will be flying off the shelves and into your beach bag.

“The Swans of Fifth Avenue” by Melanie Benjamin: Of all the glamorous stars of New York high society, none blazes brighter than Babe Paley. Enter Truman Capote, who sets Babe and her circle of friends aflutter.

“All Summer Long” by Dorothea Benton Frank: A charming New York couple prepares to relocate to Charleston. English professor and Southern gentleman Nick is ecstatic. Interior designer Olivia is not.

“The Weekenders” by Mary Kay Andrews: Riley Griggs’ island home on Belle Isle, North Carolina is being foreclosed, and her husband is nowhere to be found. She turns to her friends for help, but they have secrets of their own.

“Tuesday Nights in 1980” by Molly Prentiss: Welcome to SoHo at the onset of the ’80s: a gritty, not-yet-gentrified playground for artists and writers looking to make it in the big city.

“Modern Lovers” by Emma Straub: Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another grow up, but nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch to their own offspring.

TOP NEW RELEASES

“Ease into summer with these new releases for May and June 2016,” said Chantal Wilson at Richland Library Main. “Find fiction filled with pulse-pounding thrills and enthralling characters and nonfiction that is informative and moving.”

“15th Affair” by James Patterson: As she settles into motherhood and a happy marriage, Lindsay Boxer thinks she has found domestic bliss. But when a beautiful blonde woman with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder, Lindsay’s life begins to unravel.

“City of the Lost” by Kelley Armstrong: Casey Duncan once killed a man and got away with it. But that’s not why she’s on the run.

“Everyone Brave is Forgiven” by Chris Cleave: Set in London during the years of 1939-42, a wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents unfolds.

“Redemption Road” by John Hart: A boy with a gun waits for the man who killed his mother. A troubled detective confronts her past in the aftermath of a brutal shooting. After 13 years in prison, a good cop walks free.

“Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War” by Mary Roach: “Grunt” tackles the science behind some of a soldier’s most challenging adversaries―panic, exhaustion, heat, noise―and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them.

LOCAL AUTHOR FICTION

Sometimes, a great book comes from your own backyard. Sarah Gough from the library’s programs and partnerships recommends these picks from the Main library’s Local Author Collection.

“Hunting the Storm” by Bill J. Looney: When an undercover FBI agent in the Art Crime Unit goes missing in Charleston, the race is on to retrace her steps.

“Broken Shells” by Deena Bouknight: In this Southern drama, an aging white woman discovers that her long-time elderly black servant is dying.

“His First Lady” by Kym Davis Boyles: On the surface, Evan appears to have it all. But she struggles with making it all look good for her husband Leon, the powerful pastor of their mega church.

“A Month of Tomorrows” by Chuck Walsh: World War II hero Samuel Gable has weeks to live. He has secrets to divulge, and local writer Pete Swift agrees to document what he assumes are a few tales of war.

“Every Bush is Burning” by Brandon Clements: After a discovered affair leaves him with no friends and no family, Jack Bennett forms an unlikely friendship with a homeless man named Yeshua.

TOP CHILDREN’S BOOKS

From Heather McCue in the Children’s Room

“The Hidden Oracle” by Rick Riordan: After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disoriented, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy.

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by Jackson Thorne: This play is based on J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, set 19 years after the ending of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” Harry is now an overworked Ministry of Magic employee, and his youngest son Albus struggles with his family’s legacy at Hogwarts. (This one can be for adults, too. It’s also coming to the West End stage in London on July 30.)

“The Thank You Book” by Mo Willems: Gerald and Piggie are best friends. Piggie wants to thank everyone, but Gerald is worried Piggie will forget someone.

“The BFG” by Roald Dahl: Now’s the perfect time to revisit the story of the Big Friendly Giant, because the movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg comes out in July.

“Booked” by Kwame Alexander: In this follow-up to “The Crossover” 12-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.

TOP TEEN BOOKS

From Brittany Crowley in the Teen Center

“Rebel of the Sands” by Alwyn Hamilton: Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas. For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female. Amani Al’Hiza is all three.

“Outrun the Moon” by Stacey Lee: San Francisco, 1906: Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty in Chinatown, and an education at St. Clare’s School for Girls is her best hope.

“Thanks for the Trouble” by Tommy Wallach: Parker Santé hasn’t spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels.

“An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir: Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

“Flawed” by Cecelia Ahern: In her young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and flaws are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "The best books to put on your summer reading list."