Summer Reading List - For Females

The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman by Lori Smith

The Jane Austen Guide to Life playfully and poignantly examines Austen's life and novels for the timeless advice that still applies for today's women. Austen may not understand texting or tweeting or platform heels, but as an astute student of human nature, she can surely teach us an awful lot about ourselves--and we might just be surprised by what she has to say.

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

MEET BECKY BLOOMWOOD, AN IRRESISTIBLE HEROINE WITH A BIG HEART, BIG DREAMS --- AND JUST ONE LITTLE WEAKNESS ... Becky Bloomwood has what most twenty-five-year-olds only dream of: a flat in London's trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season's must-haves. The only trouble is, she can't actually afford it --- not any of it. Her job writing at Successful Saving magazine not only bores her to tears, it doesn't pay much at all. Still, how can she resist that perfect pair of shoes? Or the divine silk blouse in the window of that ultra-trendy boutique? But lately Becky's been chased by dismal letters from Visa and the Endwich Bank --- letters with large red sums she can't bear to read --- and they're getting ever harder to ignore. She tries cutting back; she even tries making more money. But none of her efforts succeeds. Finally, a story arises that Becky actually cares about, and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will transform her life --- and the lives of those around her --- forever.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

A dying American starlet arrives at a coastal Italian inn in the late '60s, setting off a string of events that spans 50 years and half the world. Walter blends together a story of Hollywood, complete with fictionalized Richard Burton, et al, and a sleepy Italian village. The cultish Walter, who has been quietly popular for books such as The Zero and The Financial Lives of Poets, may finally break out with Beautiful Ruins. Harper. $25.99. 352 pp. Available June 12.

Home by Toni Morrison

A tale about a Korean War veteran, Frank Money, disturbed by the racial, economic, and psychological oppression of his situation, lives consumed by violent memories. To help his medically abused younger sister, Money must return to his small Georgia hometown; a place he's hated for his entire life. Childhood and wartime memories shake Frank's sense of self, but help him on a path to renewal.

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Delilah is a bookworm who always reads one book, a fairy tale called Between the Lines, in order to spend time with the brave, adventurous protagonist Prince Oliver. One day, Oliver actually speaks to her. He is frustrated with his literary life and predetermined fate in the storybook. The two try to get Oliver to enter the real world, dealing with questions of fate and reality, and falling in love along the way. Why it's hot: As Picoult's first-ever YA novel, it's bound to offer a more nuanced portrait of romance than often provided for teens. Co-written by her daughter Samantha, who created the idea, the novel will be buoyed by the youthfulness of a fairytale invented by a teenage girl herself. For the teenage girl in your family - or in you.

A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez

In her memoir, Alvarez and her husband meet a Hatian boy named Piti in 2001. He is a teenager crossing the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Moved by his courage and energy, Julia treats him like a son. When Piti invites her to his wedding in 2009, Julia is drawn into the neighboring country that she had never known. Alvarez explores the personal experiences of poverty in what used to be the richest French colony.