The Summer Book You *Need* to Read Based On Your Zodiac Sign
The Summer Book You *Need* to Read Based On Your Zodiac Sign
A recent Goodreads poll found that 24 percent of Americans are lugging three books with them on a vacation. (And a recent study found those who read tend to live two years longer than those who don't!) These are the ones that belong in your beach bag, because nothing knows you better than ~astrology~.
Aries: The Last One
Author: Alexandra Oliva
Always a lady who leads the pack — whether it be at work, in competitions, or when you need to bring up a tough conversation — you appreciate someone who knows how to take charge. That's why you'll love The Last One, starring Zoo (yep, that's actually her name, or at least the one TV producers give her so she stands out from the crowd). Much like yourself, she doesn't like to sit on the sidelines and watch life pass by. So she signed up to be on a reality TV show. Zoo is sent into the woods with 11 other contestants to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. But when she finds herself alone, disoriented, and needing to call on all her survival skills (including a few new ones) to make it out alive when the lines are blurred between reality and TV, it starts to play with her psyche. You get that, being a little more impulsive than you'd care to admit at times, so you'll be rooting for her success as each suspense-filled challenge goes down.
Buy it here.
Taurus: Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial
Author: Rabia Chaudry
You couldn't get enough of Serial the first time around, so why would this be any different? Known for your stubbornness (c'mon, your sign is the bull), you'll connect with Rabia Chaudry, the fierce family friend who's championed for Adnan Syed's case to be thrown into the spotlight in the hopes that he'd be retried and found innocent. Rabia channels that Taurus stubbornness — or what we like to call perseverance — in this narrative that presents new key evidence that she says dismantles the State's case. Basically, she's the fierce friend everyone needs in their life, and you'll love how committed she is to exonerating Adnan and making sure justice is served.
Buy it here.
Gemini: The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo
Author: Amy Schumer
First of all, Amy Schumer herself is a Gemini, so the comedian is basically your spirit animal. You're both known for your ability to adapt to what's going on around you, and admit to becoming bored rather easily. That's why you'll love getting to know her more — including the times she experienced lust-at-first sight while in the airport security line and when she dug a little deeper to discover her CrossFit instructor's bad habit. Amy is big-hearted, brave, and unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, so reading this book will be like talking all night with your BFF — with a glass of wine in hand, naturally — and never wanting it to end.
Buy it here.
Cancer: Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty
Author: Ramona Ausubel
If you loved reading The Nest earlier this year (and who are we kidding, you totally did), you won't be able to put down this equally scintillating beach read. As someone who, ahem, knows how to hold a grudge, you know it's fitting that this story revolves around family — because no one holds grudges against each other like family. It follows a wealthy group of five summering on Martha's Vineyard in the 1970s, right as they learn that their trust fund — and sole source of income — has dried up. The plot is removed enough from your own reality to keep things light and entertaining (#richpeopleproblems like whoa), but the emotional motivation behind each character's decision-making channels how in touch you are with your own emotions — and you love it.
Buy it here.
Leo: Heroes of the Frontier
Author: Dave Eggers
If there's one thing you love about summer, it's the ability to get outdoors and explore. Which makes the setting of this novel perfect for you. Josie has just divorced her husband and ruined her dental career, so she packs her kids into a rattling RV nicknamed Chateau, and adventures off into Alaska for one wild ride. She'll have to get creative to make it through the icy cold rivers, dark forests, and the seemingly never-ending wildfires, but if she's a Leo like you, there's no need to worry — she's got this.
Buy it here.
Libra: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I &II
Author: J.K. Rowling
Okay, everyone is going to love this book given that it's, ya know, Harry Potter. But as a Libra, you tend to put others ahead of yourself often, so you'll identify with Harry now that he's an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father of three school-aged children (meaning there's, oh, zero downtime). You'll also connect with Harry's youngest son, Albus, who's struggling with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As someone who always values fairness (your sign is represented by scales), you understand where he's coming from — it's important to be able to choose your own future — and will enjoy following both his and Harry's journey as they learn that, sometimes, darkness arises where you least expect it.
Buy it here.
Scorpio: Living With No Excuses
Author: Noah Galloway
As a Scorpio, you have an intensely fierce sense of ambition, a desire to be in control, and you've spent a lot of time learning not to be afraid of your own power. Which is why you'll love getting to know Noah Galloway, an Iraqi war veteran you may have seen busting moves on Dancing With the Stars, or coaching everyday people (including a few fierce moms) on American Grit. But the story of how he fought back from an injury that cost him an arm and a leg (and the deep bout of depression that followed after) all while learning how to be a man his three kids could look up to is what you'll really connect with. And since you love so intensely, Noah's personal stories of romance will keep you flipping pages.
Buy it here.
Sagittarius: Here Comes the Sun
Author: Nicole Dennis-Benn
When most people think of Jamaica, they equate it to something like paradise thanks to its pristine beaches and turquoise waters. But that's not the reality for Margot, and as someone who loves to learn and is curious about the world around her, you'll enjoy following her story as she pulls back the curtain on what life can really be like on the island. She hustles to make sure her younger sister, Thandi, doesn't suffer the same fate she did — being taught that a girl needs to trade her sexuality for survival. You'll also love Margot's hustle for financial freedom as new opportunities present themselves with plans for a new hotel, and cheer her on as she grapples with revealing her secret of being in love with another woman.
Buy it here.
Capricorn: You Will Know Me
Author: Megan Abbott
How far will you go to achieve a dream? That's the question a celebrated coach poses to Katie Knox after he sees her daughter, Devon, compete as a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful. The sport requires practicality, discipline, and a competitiveness that rivals no other — all traits that you, a badass Capricorn, possess. But that's not what really draws you in. Rather, it's the whodunnit suspense that unfolds in Katie's community as a violent death is investigated, which appeals your desire to be the one who has all the answers. Katie's revelations — about her daughter, her marriage, and herself — will leave you feeling like this could very well happen to you…and leave you wondering if you'd handle it any differently.
Buy it here.
Aquarius: Truly Madly Guilty
Author: Liane Moriarty
Reese Witherspoon is basically your celeb BFF (you know, if you got to choose one), and since she's recommending this to her #RWBookClub — and turning one of Moriarty's other books into a limited TV series on HBO — you know you're going to love this choice. The story follows Sam and Clementine, who may very well be the busiest people on the planet, as Sam starts his new dream job and Clementine, a cellist, prepares for the audition of a lifetime. But when they decide to go to a barbecue at Tiffany and Vid's — characters you're totally going to "get" thanks to their eccentric, larger-than-life personalities — something happens that leave Sam and Clementine constantly asking, "What if we hadn't gone?" It's an interesting look at relationships and how what we don't say can be more powerful than what we do. That's something that, as an Aquarius who's all about developing deep, meaningful relationships, you can totally identify with.
Buy it here.
Pisces: A Hundred Thousand Worlds
Author: Bob Proehl
You're an introspective daydreamer, someone who doesn't necessarily like to stay rooted in reality all the time. This book serves as the perfect escape for your more laidback personality. You'll follow the story of Valerie Torrey and her son Alex as they escape reality, going on a road-trip to reunite Alex with his estranged father. But that's not her only escape — Alex may have left her role on a cult sci-fi TV show, but she encounters superheroes, monsters, time travelers, and robots as she travels west, making stops at comic book conventions all along the way. Both she and Alex are drawn into their own alternate universe of comic-con regulars, and they'll take you along for the ride that indulges in geeky fandom while also serving as a tribute to the complicated, intense love between a mother and son.
Buy it here.
It's written in the stars.