10 Books with Summer Adventures
Summer is a season for adventures, and this book list includes stories of children, teenagers, young adults, and senior citizens choosing their own or being accidentally caught up in them. I like reading a variety of genres, so hopefully you’ll find something on this list to match your summer mood.
The Story Girl* by L.M. Montgomery
This is a charming book about the summer adventures of a group of cousins in Prince Edward Island, Canada. If you enjoy Montgomery’s whimsical style of writing in the Anne books you’ll probably enjoy these gentle misadventures.
Gone-Away Lake* by Elizabeth Enright
Another group of cousins, this time in New York state, spend a summer exploring and setting up a secret clubhouse in an abandoned lake community. These are the kind of innocent summer adventures you hope your kids can still have.
Swallows and Amazons* by Arthur Ransome
This English classic is the story of siblings spending a summer sailing in the Lake District where they explore an island and declare war with sister “pirates,” Nancy and Peggy. The 2016 film adaptation makes a great family movie night.
Picnic at Hanging Rock* by Joan Lindsay
This classic Australian gothic novel set at a girls’ school kept me turning the pages, though I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending.
Gidget* by Frederick Kohner
I watched the Sandra Dee film as a teenager, so it was fun to read the source material about a California summer learning to surf and falling in love along the way. The movie version is a little more innocent than the book.
Sanditon* by Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s unfinished novel that takes place in a town trying to make it as the next big seaside resort feels like a good summer Austen even if you do have to make up your own ending.
Pride and Prejudice* by Jane Austen
I couldn’t leave this off the list since it is during Elizabeth’s summer trip to the Peaks that she and Darcy re-unite.
My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park* by Cindy Jones
An American Austenite who can’t get enough of Jane Austen travels to England to participate in a summer of re-enacting Mansfield Park. There were parts of this novel I didn’t care for, but if you can’t get enough of Jane Austen re-tellings and spin-offs (I obviously can’t if this list is any indication), you’ll probably enjoy this reading experience.
Heavy Weather* by P.G. Wodehouse
The usual hijinks ensue at Blandings Castle in the midst of hot and humid (i.e. heavy) weather that is finally broken by a thunderstorm. There’s a private detective and a plot to steal Lord Emsworth’s beloved pig.
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax* by Dorothy Gilman
This Cold War-era book is slim and so appealing to me. The recently widowed Mrs. Pollifax is so bored with her predictable life and decides to volunteer to work as a spy for the CIA. I can’t help but want to be her when I grow up.
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