28 Canadian books that make great summer reads
Looking for a new read this season? Check out the CBC Books Summer Reading List!
Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay
Written on the Dark is a gripping historical drama set in medieval France, blending love and conflict against the backdrop of a nation on the brink of collapse. The novel follows Thierry Villar, a famous tavern poet, who finds himself thrust into an important role as his country teeters on the edge of destruction amidst a fierce power struggle and a decades-long war. Along the way, Thierry encounters a diverse array of characters, including potential love interests.
Guy Gavriel Kay is the author of 15 novels. His Fionavar Tapestry fantasy series has sold over a million copies worldwide since being published in the 1980s and has been optioned by the Canadian production company behind Orphan Black. Some of Kay's other titles include Children of Earth and Sky, Tigana, River of Stars and A Brightness Long Ago. In 2014, he was appointed to the Order of Canada.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
One Golden Summer is a follow-up to Carley Fortune's debut book Every Summer After and tells the story of Alice, a photographer seeking a quiet, restorative summer at her childhood cottage with her grandmother. But her plans for peace are upended when Charlie — charming, flirtatious, and impossible to ignore — unexpectedly reappears. Soon, Alice finds herself feeling like she's 17 again, questioning whether this summer might hold something more than she ever expected.
Fortune is a Toronto-based writer and journalist who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and Toronto Life. Her previous books are Every Summer After, This Summer Will Be Different and Meet Me at the Lake, which was a contender for Canada Reads 2024, championed by Mirian Njoh.
Everything Is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe
In Everything Is Fine Here, a younger sister navigates the challenges of family and societal pressures while offering love and support to her older sister, who is gay, in a country with strict anti-homosexuality laws.
Iryn Tushabe is a Ugandan Canadian writer and journalist based in Regina. Her writing has appeared in Briarpatch Magazine, Adda, Grain Magazine, The Walrus and CBC Saskatchewan, among others. She won the City of Regina writing award in both 2020 and 2024, and was a finalist for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2021. In 2023, she won the Writers' Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Tushabe was longlisted for the CBC Nonfiction Prize in 2016.
Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang
In Julie Chan is Dead, Julie Chan and her identical twin sister Chloe VanHuusen are polar opposites and barely communicate after being separated at a young age. But when Chloe, a popular influencer, mysteriously dies, Julie steps in to take her place and is thrust into a glamorous world with millions of followers. However, she quickly learns that Chloe's seemingly flawless life was far from it, and as she uncovers the sinister cause behind her death, it casts Julie as the next target.
Liann Zhang is a second-generation Chinese Canadian writer who was a former skincare content creator. She holds a psychology and criminology degree from the University of Toronto and splits her time between Vancouver and Toronto. Julie Chan is Dead is Zhang's debut novel.
The Cost of a Hostage by Iona Whishaw
In the Cost of a Hostage, Lane's quiet August morning is jolted when two shocking cases unfold — she receives news that her brother-in-law, Bob, is missing in Mexico, while her husband, Inspector Darling, is confronted by a frantic mother reporting her son's kidnapping. While the couple searches for Bob, the kidnapper and child are found, making it seem like the case is solved — until another body is discovered.
Iona Whishaw is a Vancouver-based author and former teacher and social worker. She has published works of short fiction, poetry, the children's book Henry and the Cow Problem and the Lane Winslow Mystery series.
The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien
In The Book of Records, Lina grows up in "The Sea," a building that serves as a home for migrants from all over the world, while caring for her sick father. She forms friendships with her fascinating neighbours, including a Jewish scholar exiled for his radical views and a poet from the Tang Dynasty, whose stories captivate her. However, her seemingly perfect life takes a startling turn when her father reveals the true reason they came to live at "The Sea."
Madeleine Thien is a short story writer and novelist. She is the author of the novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Thien's debut novel, Certainty, published in 2006, won the Amazon First Novel Award and was a Globe and Mail Best Book. Her other books include Dogs at the Perimeter and Simple Recipes.
Death on the Island by Eliza Reid
Death on the Island is a mystery set in Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands) during a diplomatic dinner party. When the deputy ambassador of Canada dies suddenly, her boss, the Canadian ambassador, is quickly thrown under suspicion, and his wife must figure out everyone's secrets to clear his name and save her crumbling marriage.
Eliza Reid is the writer of Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World. Born in Canada but currently living in Iceland, Reid served the unofficial role of First Lady while her husband was President of Iceland from 2016-2024.
Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
In Theory of Water, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson discovers, understands and traces the historical and cultural interactions of Indigenous peoples with water in all its forms. She presents water as a catalyst for radical transformation and how it has the potential to heal and reshape the world in response to environmental and social injustice.
Betasamosake Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, activist, musician, artist, author and member of Alderville First Nation. Her books include Islands of Decolonial Love, This Accident of Being Lost, Dancing on Our Turtle's Back and As We Have Always Done. This Accident of Being Lost was shortlisted for the Rogers Writer's Trust Fiction Prize in 2017 and the 2018 Trillium Book Award. Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Prize. Her book, a collaboration with Robyn Maynard titled Rehearsals for Living, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction.
Try Hard by Max Kerman
From Arkells frontman Max Kerman, Try Hard is a look into the day-to-day of a musician from a touring band and answers your burning questions about what goes into making a song, preparing for a show and marketing a band. Part memoir, part self-help book, it breaks down the creative process — and reveals that trying hard is often the secret to success.
Kerman is the frontman of the band Arkells. Try Hard is his first book.
52 Ways To Reconcile by David A Robertson
52 Ways to Reconcile is a guide for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who want to take action when it comes to reconciliation — and shows how we can work together on the long road ahead.
Robertson, a two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner and member of the Norway House Cree Nation, has written over 30 books for both children and adults, including the Misewa Saga series, picture books On the Trapline and When We Were Alone, graphic novel Breakdown, and his memoirs Black Water and All The Little Monsters. He lives in Winnipeg.
Whistle by Linwood Barclay
In Whistle, Annie moves to a charming town in upstate New York with her young son. She's reeling from the sudden death of her husband in an accident and the fact that one of the children's books she authored and illustrated ignited a major scandal. When her son, Charlie, finds an old train set in a locked shed on their property, he's thrilled, but there's something eerie about the toy.
As weird things start happening in the neighbourhood, Annie can't help but feel that she's walked out of one nightmare and right into another.
Barclay is a New York Times bestselling author who has written over 20 books, including thrillers I Will Ruin You, Find You First, Broken Promise and Elevator Pitch and the middle-grade novels Escape and Chase. Many of Barclay's books have been optioned for film and television, and he wrote the screenplay for the movie Never Saw It Coming, adapted from his novel of the same name. The Toronto author championed the memoir Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston on Canada Reads 2025.
Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick
In Favourite Daughter, when Mickey's estranged father dies, she's left a considerable fortune. There's a stipulation, however: Mickey must attend therapy sessions before she can access the money. Things get complicated when it's revealed that her new therapist is a sister who she's never met — and the two begin sessions without knowing they share a father.
Morgan Dick is a Calgary writer whose short fiction has been published in Grain, Geist, CAROUSEL, Cloud Lake Literary, The Prairie Journal, Vagabond City Lit and The Humber Literary Review. Favourite Daughter is her debut novel.
Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin
In Detective Aunty, when recently widowed Kausar Khan hears that her daughter has been accused of murdering the landlord of her clothing boutique, nothing can hold her back to help figure out who is the true culprit. But even Kausar is unprepared for the secrets, lies and betrayals that she'll uncover along the way.
Uzma Jalaluddin is a teacher, parenting columnist and author based in Ontario. Her previous works include the novels Ayesha At Last, Hana Khan Carries On, Much Ado About Nada and Three Holidays and a Wedding.
The World So Wide by Zilla Jones
The World So Wide tells the story of Felicity Alexander, a mixed-race opera star, who spends her life chasing love and validation and finds herself caught up in the military coup during the 1983 Grenada revolution and is placed under house arrest. What unfolds next is a saga that spans decades and reflects on race, love, belonging and revolution.
Jones is a Winnipeg author and has been a finalist for the CBC Short Story Prize on four occasions, and the CBC Nonfiction Prize in 2024. She's also won many literary awards including the Journey Prize, the Malahat Review Open Season Award, the Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction and the FreeFall short fiction award.
The Vinyl Diaries by Pete Crighton
Growing up in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic left Pete Crighton with a huge fear of sex — and he threw himself into music as a way to cope with those anxieties. It wasn't until his 40s that Crighton knew he needed to face his fears and figure out how to live his queer life to the fullest. In his memoir The Vinyl Diaries, he takes readers on this journey — pairing big moments with the music that shaped them.
Crighton works in marketing in the arts and has studied comedy at Second City. The Vinyl Diaries is his first book. He lives in Toronto.
Soft As Bones by Chyana Marie Sage
In Soft As Bones, Chyana Marie Sage shares the pain of growing up with her father, a crack dealer who went to prison for molesting her older sister, and the self-destructive ways with which she coped. By revisiting her family's history, she describes the experience of overcoming generational trauma that began with her grandfather, who was forcibly separated from his family through residential schools and the Sixties Scoop. She reflects on how the traditions of her Cree culture played a crucial role in her healing.
Sage is a Cree, Métis and Salish writer based in Edmonton. Her journalism has appeared in the Toronto Star, Huff Post and the New Quarterly. Sage won first place in the Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest and silver in the National Magazine Awards for her essay Soar. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University where she taught as an adjunct professor. She also teaches Indigenous youth about cultivating self-love and healing through the Connected North program.
Encampment by Maggie Helwig
Encampment is about priest Maggie Helwig's lifelong activism, highlighting her dedication to supporting the unhoused who found refuge near her Anglican church in Toronto. As she fights to keep her churchyard open to those in need of shelter, the book brings the stories of the unhoused to the forefront.
Helwig is a white settler based in Tkaronto/Toronto. She is the author of 15 books and chapbooks, including the most recent book, Girls Fall Down, which was on the Toronto Book Award shortlist and selected as the One Book Toronto in 2012. She is a social justice activist and an Anglican priest, serving as the rector of the Church of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields since 2013.
Indigenous Rights in One Minute by Bruce McIvor
From Indigenous rights expert Bruce McIvor, Indigenous Rights in One Minute answers 100 essential questions asked by Canadians across the country about truth and reconciliation. Avoiding complicated legal jargon, McIvor shares how we can move from rhetoric and policy to reality when it comes to reconciliation.
McIvor is the founder and senior partner at First Peoples Law LLP and a professor at the University of British Columbia. He's the author of Standoff: Why Reconciliation Fails Indigenous People and How to Fix It and is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation. He's based in Vancouver.
Subterrane by Valérie Bah
In Subterrane, a documentary filmmaker named Zeynab is working on a project about Cipher Falls, the last affordable area on the margins of New Stockholm, a major metropolis and North American city. Cipher Falls is a polluted, industrial wasteland where artists and anti-capitalists are forced to work dead-end jobs to survive. When a construction process threatens Cipher Falls' gentrification, some residents want to sabotage the plans. Zeynab focuses her documentary on Doudou Laguerre, an activist who mysteriously died — and the potential that his death had something to do with his dissent against the construction project.
Bah is an artist, filmmaker, documentarian, photographer and writer. Their collection The Rage Letters was translated from French by Kama La Mackerel. Subterrane is their first novel in English.
Look Ma, No Hands by Gabrielle Drolet
When writer and cartoonist Gabrielle Drolet developed a condition that made her unable to use her hands, she had to figure out how to express herself in new ways. Her memoir Look Ma, No Hands explores how her life was changed by disability and how she navigates everything from mundane tasks to complicated healthcare systems, first dates and moving apartments. With humour and honesty, she shares her path to making peace with life's curveballs and her profound commitment to finding ways to create.
Gabrielle Drolet is a journalist, essayist and cartoonist. She regularly contributes to The New Yorker, the Globe and Mail and CBC's Commotion. Her writing has appeared in New York Times, the Globe and Mail, The Walrus, VICE and Teen Vogue. She was nominated for a Digital Publishing Award and won gold at the Canadian Online Publishing Award. She lives in Montreal.
Hello, Juliet by Samantha M. Bailey
Hello, Juliet is a dark thriller about Ivy Wescott, a former actor who must revisit the past after a celebrity exposé about the show she used to work on brings old skeletons to light. Despite old wounds, she agrees to be in a top-secret reunion episode and finally find out who betrayed her all those years ago. But when a castmate is found dead, she must work to clear her name and figure out who's responsible.
Samantha M. Bailey is a journalist and editor in Toronto. Her first thriller, Woman on the Edge, was released in 2019 and was an international bestseller. Her other novels include A Friend in the Dark and Watch Out for Her, which was championed by Olympic gold medallist Maggie Mac Neil on Canada Reads 2025. Her journalistic work can be found in publications including NOW Magazine, The Village Post, The Thrill Begins and The Crime Hub.
The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman by Niko Stratis
The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman is a memoir-in-essays that explores how a love of "dad rock" music helped Niko Stratis come to a better understanding of life, love and the world around them. Stratis was a closeted 20-something trans woman working in her dad's glass shop in the Yukon Territory during the time when "dad rock" bands like Wilco, Radiohead and The National were regular fixtures on the radio and in rock culture circles.
The incisive essays in the book examine how Stratis discovered a sense of queer and trans identity and belonging by way of listening to "emotionally available" artists such as Neko Case and Sharon Van Etten within this subgenre.
Stratis is a Canadian writer, author and critic from Toronto by way of the Yukon. Her writing has appeared in publications like Catapult, Spin and Paste.
Unravel by Tolu Oloruntoba
In the poetry collection Unravel, Nigerian Canadian poet Tolu Oloruntoba reflects on themes of identity, belonging and agency by way of poems that fundamentally delve into what it means to be human in today's world.
Tolu Oloruntoba is a writer from Nigeria who now lives in Alberta. His first full-length poetry collection, The Junta of Happenstance, won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry.
He is the founder of the literary magazine Klorofyl and author of the chapbook Manubrium, which was shortlisted for the 2020 bpNichol Chapbook Award.
Buzzkill Clamshell by Amber Dawn
Packed with sharp, candid and sensual verses, Buzzkill Clamshell is a collection of poems that explore themes of sick and disabled queerness, aging and desire.
Amber Dawn is a Vancouver-based author, editor and creative facilitator. Her previous works include the novels Sub Rosa, which won the Lambda Literary Award, and Sodom Road Exit, as well as poetry collections Where the Words End and My Body Begins and My Art Is Killing Me and Other Poems.
Only Because It's You by Rebecca Fisseha
In Only Because It's You, Miz panics when her best friend Kal faces the possibility of being forced to return to Ethiopia, as she can't imagine life without him. She comes up with a plan to marry him so he can stay, with the idea of quickly getting a divorce afterward — believing nothing will change between them, right?
Rebecca Fisseha is an Ethiopian Canadian writer based in Toronto. Her previous works include the novel Daughters of Silence and short stories and essays that have appeared in the anthologies Addis Ababa Noir and Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers, the Vancouver Film School and an alumnus of the TIFF Writers' Studio.
I Hope You Remember by Josie Balka
I Hope You Remember is a poetry collection that dives into jealousy, family relationships, body image, nostalgia and love from social media sensation Josie Balka. Through clear prose, I Hope You Remember is a reminder to hope and call to ruminate on the past.
Josie Balka is a broadcaster and poet. Her poetry, recorded from her soundproof closet, has gone viral on social media. Born in Toronto, she currently lives in Calgary. Her Instagram handle is @JosieBalka.
Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive
Set in 2067 at a vibrant retirement resort for queer women in Florida, Palm Meridian follows Hannah Cardin, who faces a terminal cancer diagnosis after a decade of peaceful living. Hoping for closure and one last chance at love, she invites Sophie, the woman she hasn't seen since their painful breakup over 40 years ago. When a long-buried secret emerges, Hannah is forced to question whether she's truly ready to say goodbye.
Grace Flahive, originally from Toronto, now lives in London. She studied English literature at McGill University. Palm Meridian is her debut novel.
Living Expenses by Teri Vlassopoulos
Living Expenses tells the story of sisters Laura and Claire, the daughters of a single mother who immigrated from the Philippines. Their close bond is put to the test when Claire moves to Silicon Valley for a new job while Laura stays in Toronto and decides to start a family with her husband. While Laura undergoes fertility treatments, Claire has her own run-in with the industry — and the sisters experience a rollercoaster of feelings, both together and apart.
Teri Vlassopoulos is the author of the short story collection Bats or Swallows, which was nominated for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and the novel Escape Plans. Her work has been published in Room Magazine, Catapult, The Millions and her regular Substack newsletter, Bibliographic. She lives in Toronto.
