You know the feeling: You buy a new book that everyone has been raving about on the internet, you take it home, you settle in with a bowl of popcorn and a glass of something cool and refreshing, you open the book, and... you just can't get into it. If you want to read a sample of a few of summer's biggest books before you buy them, Bustle has 10 excerpts below.
If you want to read a propulsive young adult novel with plenty of edge-of-your-seat action, there are three on the list below that might suit your fancy: Girl Gone Viral by Arvin Ahmadi, All Of Us With Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil, and Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal. Or, if you want to lose yourself in a feel-good romance with a happily-ever-after, try The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory, Star-Crossed by Minnie Drake, or The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. On the chance you want a novel with thrills, twists, and one major mystery, read a chapter from The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter or The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean.
Here's the best part: You don't have to know what you want. You can read a chapter from all 10 books, and decide which to buy afterwards:
'All Of Us With Wings' by Michelle Ruiz Keil
Michelle Ruiz Keil's speculative fiction young adult novel follows Xochi, who is 17 and alone in San Francisco, with no family or friends. When she meets Pallas, the precocious 12-year-old daughter of rockstars, she eagerly accepts a position as her nanny and falls in love with their creative lifestyles. But when the Xochi and Pallas accidentally summon a pair of ancient beings bent on revenge, everything is thrown into chaos.
'Five Midnights' by Ann Dávila Cardinal
Ann Dávila Cardinal's spooky young adult novel tells the story of teenagers Lupe and Javier, who can barely stand each other but have put aside their differences to solve a series of gruesome murders sweeping through Puerto Rico. Their clues, however, lead them to a shocking realization: The murderer might not be human.
'Girl Gone Viral' by Arvin Ahmadi
Arvin Ahmadi's Girl Gone Viral follows 17-year-old Opal, a skilled coder and high school student on a mission to win a competition hosted on the virtual reality platform WAVE. If she wins, she gets to meet WAVE's founder — the only person who might know what happened to her dad, who disappeared when she was 10 years old.
'The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone' by Felicity McLean
In Felicity McLean's Australian-set novel, Tikka travels back to her hometown to get answers about the incident that has haunted her for her entire adult life: The disappearance of her best friends, the Van Apfel Girls.
'The Unhoneymooners' by Christina Lauren
Christina Lauren's latest romance novel follows Olive and Ethan, sworn enemies who — after a food poisoning debacle — end up on the honeymoon the bride and groom are now too sick to enjoy. Things get even more complicated when when they run into Olive's future boss and are forced to pretend to be newlyweds.
'Star-Crossed' by Minnie Drake
In Star-Crossed, Minnie Drake imagines what might happen if you let the stars rule your love life. When Justine runs into her childhood sweetheart, Nick, on the street, she knows they're destined to fall in love — especially after she learns that Nick uses the horoscopes from his favorite magazine to guide his love life. His favorite magazine? It just so happens to be the one where she works, and she has the power to take fate into her own hands.
'How It Feels To Float' by Helena Fox
Helena Fox's How It Feels To Float deals with two of the most pressing issues facing teenagers today: depression and grief. Fox's main character, Biz, knows how to float; she knows how to get by without worrying anyone too much or letting on just how much she is struggling to deal with her mental health and the death of her father.
'The Wedding Party' by Jasmine Guillory (July 16)
The first of two romance novels being released by Jasmine Guillory in 2019, The Wedding Party centers on Maddie and Theo, who hate each other but have put aside their differences for one reason: the wedding of their mutual best friend, Alexa. As you might imagine, they don't stay enemies for very long, and before the wedding is over, they will have to figure out how they really feel about each other.
'Gods Of Jade And Shadow' by Silvia Garcia-Moreno (July 23)
Rooted in Mexican mythology and set in Jazz Age Mexico, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's spellbinding fantasy novel centers on a young girl who accidentally awakens a Mayan God of Death and ends up on a quest to reclaim his throne from his traitorous twin brother.
'The Last Widow' by Karin Slaughter (Aug. 20)
Karin Slaughter's thrilling new novel follows detective Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton on their mission to figure out what happened to a kidnapped scientist from the Centers For Disease Control and what caused a mysterious explosion near Emory University, two hospitals, and the CDC. It's obvious that many lives are at risk, but the investigation takes an even more personal turn when Sara is kidnapped, too.
