Hadley Brown, Grace Wang, Ginna Allen, Aneliese Hitron, Rylan Jones, and Maddy Mahoney all contributed to this article.
Spring break is the perfect time to unwind and recharge, and what better way to relax than with a great book? To help you find your next read, The Hallmanac Editors teamed up with Dana Hall’s student book club leaders, Madeline (Maddy) Mahoney ‘26 and Rylan Jones ‘26, to curate a list of top recommendations.
Historical Fiction
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Lessons in Chemistry, a novel written by Bonnie Garmus, explores women’s careers, daily lives, and difficulty finding empowerment in the 1950-1960s. The protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, faces sexism in the workforce in a male-dominated field as a chemist. After being fired from her research job, Elizabeth becomes the host of a popular TV cooking series and learns to understand gender inequality, reliance, motherhood, and even love. This 400-page-long novel is available in paperback and on Kindle.
Salt to the Sea* by Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea, a 448-page novel by Ruta Sepetys, is set during World War II and explores the devastating impact of the Wilhelm Gustloff’s sinking. The story follows a Lithuanian nurse, a Prussian art restorer, a pregnant Polish girl, and a Nazi soldier as they navigate the chaos and uncertainty of war. As their lives become intertwined in a desperate race to board the doomed ship, the novel delves into themes of survival, loss, and the harsh realities of war.
Between Shades of Gray* by Ruta Sepetys
Between Shades of Gray is a 384-page novel by Ruta Sepetys that follows 15-year-old Lina Vilkas, a Lithuanian girl deported to a Soviet labor camp in Siberia during Stalin’s reign. Here, she endures harsh conditions, loss, and cruelty while documenting her experiences through art. Through resilience, hope, and the love of her family, Lina fights to survive and preserve her story against the brutal oppression of the Soviet regime.
Contemporary Fiction
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a 2015 novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi that tells the story of a café in Tokyo that allows its customers to travel back in time, as long as they return before their coffee gets cold.
Please Look After Mom by Shin Kyung-sook
Please Look After Mom is a novel by South Korean author Kyung-sook Shin. It sold a million copies within 10 months of release in 2009 in South Korea, is critically acclaimed internationally and the English translation by Chi-young Kim won the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series comes A Very Large Expanse of Sea, a powerful, heartrending contemporary novel about fear, first love, and the devastating impact of prejudice. This book has been longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas follows 17-year-old Maverick Carter as he navigates fatherhood, gang life, and personal growth while trying to break free from the cycle of violence in his neighborhood. Through love, responsibility, and tough choices, Maverick learns what it truly means to be a man and to build a better future for himself and his family.
Romance
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han follows Belly Conklin as she spends her summers at Cousins Beach. She navigates love, friendship, and self-discovery while caught in a love triangle between brothers Conrad and Jeremiah.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter follows rom-com-obsessed Liz Buxbaum as she teams up with her annoyingly charming neighbor, Wes, to win over her childhood crush, only to realize that real love might not follow a movie script.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid follows aging Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo as she recounts her scandalous life story. She reveals her sacrifices, secrets, and true love life to an unsuspecting journalist, Monique Grant.
Mystery & Thriller
Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is about Sawyer Taft, a sharp-witted mechanic, who enters the world of Southern high society to uncover the truth about her father, only to get tangled in secrets, scandals, and unexpected family drama.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes follows Cassie Hobbes, a girl with an uncanny ability to read people, as she joins a secret FBI program for gifted teens to help solve cold cases, only to find herself targeted by a dangerous serial killer.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens follows Kya Clark, the mysterious “Marsh Girl,” as she grows up isolated in the North Carolina marshes, navigating love and loss while becoming entangled in a murder investigation that shakes her small town.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson follows the story of high school student Pip Fitz-Amobi, who investigates a five-year-old murder case in her town for a school project, and uncovers secrets that challenge the official story and put her in danger.
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston follows high school senior Hannah, who gets caught up in a dangerous game of deception and manipulation when a lie about her family’s wealth spirals out of control, leading to unexpected consequences.
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius follows 15-year-old Elsa, a Sámi girl, as she struggles to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of her reindeer and confront the tensions between her indigenous heritage and the encroaching threats to her way of life.
Fantasy
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Vicious by V.E. Schwab follows former college friends Victor and Eli, who discover how to develop superhuman abilities but become bitter enemies, leading to a thrilling battle of vengeance, power, and moral ambiguity.
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna follows sixteen-year-old Deka, who, after discovering her golden blood marks her as a demon, is taken to join an elite army of warrior girls fighting for the empire, only to uncover dark truths about her world and herself.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
The House in the Cerulean Sea is a heartwarming and romantic novel of found family in an orphanage of magical children. But what happens when a government agency gets suspicious of one of the kids and his abilities?
*included on the 2024 Dana Hall summer book list