By Cameran Steiger ’26 & Honora Quinn ’27
STAFF WRITERS
For some Mount Holyoke students, the summer of 2025 was the summer of Labubus, “Love Island,” and Lady Gaga. For others, it was all about that other L-obsession: Literature.
As platforms like “BookTok” and “Bookstagram” take off and garner thousands of views, a top-notch reading list is just as much of a summer must-have as L.L. Bean’s classic Boat and Tote. However, an internet search reveals only a fraction of what the real-life literati actually have on their shelves. So, in search of some cool-kid recommendations for what to read and how to read it, we turned to patient zero: The Mount Holyoke student body.
As it turns out, when they are given time away from seminars and the packed lecture halls of campus, MHC students read widely across genres, follow both whims and strict lists of books-to-be-read, and mark their spot with anything from a special bookmark to a crumpled receipt from the depths of their bookbags or totes. Read ahead for a breakdown of how Mount Holyoke students like to read.
The Stats
Our search goes far beyond the more impersonal facts and figures. In addition to crunching the numbers related to their bookish habits, participants in the survey were also asked to recommend their favorite reads from the summer.
For example, Stella Rennard ’27 recommends Edith Wharton’s “House of Mirth,” summing it up simply with, “Beautiful writing, devastating tragedy.” Meanwhile, Sarah West ’26 described Paul Murray’s “Skippy Dies” as “an enthralling read” with “so many twists and turns!”
But the recommendations only start there.
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Dystopia
“Don't Let the Forest In” by C.G. Drews
This young adult horror-fantasy novel follows two teenagers who begin to see real-life monsters pulled straight from the twisted fairy tales they’ve been writing together. Mia Kysia ’27 wrote, “I was so obsessed with this and read it in a matter of days, unable to put it down. I cannot stress how beautiful the writing and characters were!!”
“Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins
Many readers are already familiar with the dystopian “Hunger Games” series, but dedicated followers of the series may be thrilled to explore this recently released prequel. This installment offers a particularly canny perspective on “media and what may be fed [to] or withheld from audiences,” Beka Henderson ’26 wrote. “ I think ‘Sunrise’ really tries to make the audience aware that … what’s happening in these books, what’s happening in the world, is something that can and will happen to us if we aren’t aware and actively working against it.”
“Get in Trouble” by Kelly Link
Jane Prusko ’28 wrote, “It’s a magical realism short story collection. The stories are very thought-provoking and have stuck with me [for] the entire rest of the summer since reading them in June.”
“Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer
This sci-fi novel follows a nameless female biologist who, alongside her academic colleagues, traverses into the classified Area X to investigate mysterious creatures. Caitlin Frarie ’28 said, “It is the first in a series, but works very well as a standalone, and is so well written!!”
“Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke
“Piranesi” revolves around an extraordinary house and its inhabitants in a speculative fiction extravaganza. “This book was incredibly beautiful and wonderfully strange,” wrote Ada Morrison ’29. “I fell in love with the main character and all his quirks and flaws, especially as the story unfolded and the mystery progressed. It definitely made me consider more deeply how my perception of the world shapes my identity.”
Contemporary and Literary Fiction
“My Friends” by Fredrik Backman
Translated from Swedish, Backman’s latest novel centers three teenage friends and a summer of rebellion, through the eyes of an aspiring artist twenty-five years later. Kennedy Olivia Bagley-Fortner ’26 recommends it, saying, “Backman is such an amazing writer! He writes as if he is experiencing each moment himself. ‘My Friends’ captures the growing pains, nostalgia and the grief of life.”
“The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver
Yasmeen Miloua ’28 called this read a “really interesting depiction of the experiences of the wife and daughters of an overzealous American Baptist missionary in the Congo, following the nation's independence from Belgium.”
“The Heart's Invisible Furies” by John Boyne
“This book covers the entire life story of a gay man from Ireland. It is absolutely hilarious yet also full of touching scenes and heart-wrenching tragedies. I could not put it down and found myself cackling in public over certain scenes,” said Abigail McKeon ’26.
Romance
“The Seven Year Slip” by Ashley Poston
Romance meets time travel in this spooky and special book. Naomi Biber-Bishop ’27 vouched,“It was a really sweet story that works forwards and backwards in time — including some drama and intensity — but it concludes with the typical rom-com ending in which all is right in the world.”
“The Invisible Life of Addie Larue” by V.E. Schwab
Spanning centuries and yet just one lifetime, “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” follows the journey of one woman who bargains to live forever, but never be remembered. Madeline DiFazio ’29 wrote, “It was just such a good depiction [of] the fear of being forgotten.”
“Just Another Epic Love Poem” by Parisa Akhbari
Lily Mueller ’26 wrote that this book is a “Really beautiful love story told in a mixture of narrative chapters and poems with wonderful representation that doesn't feel like ‘a thing.’”
Poetry
“The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe” by Laura Gilpin
Ella de Beauport ‘’27 found this book after reading Gilpin’s poem “The Two-Headed Calf.” She was so moved by it that she looked into her work and found the collection that the poem was included in. “The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe” won the Walt Whitman award in 1976. Beauport said, “Each poem was better than the last. Many of her descriptions of loss, grief, and the wonder of life will stick with me forever.”
Abigail McKeon ’26 provided fact-checking.