TorontoMet Today's summer reading list
Add these three novels to your summer reading list, all written by journalism alumni
Whether you love taking a long walk with an audiobook or bringing a light read to the beach with you, summer is a great time to discover new books.
Three Toronto Metropolitan University alumni from the journalism program in The Creative School have released novels this year and TorontoMet Today is adding all three to our summer reading list.
Check them out below.
Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia
Harlem Sunset is the follow-up to Nekesa Afia’s debut novel, Dead Dead Girls. It appeared on People Magazine’s summer reading list
Nekesa Afia has been writing since she was a child and professionally since she graduated from TMU in 2017. In fact, it was a history course at the university that inspired the themes of Afia’s first novel Dead Dead Girls and its follow up, Harlem Sunset: A Harlem Renaissance Mystery, released in June.
Both books are part of a series (external link) set in the prohibition era. The series follows main character Louise Lloyd, a young Black queer woman in 1920s New York City who becomes a detective, solving the murders of other young Black women.
“This second book focuses on Louise and sees her grow,” said Afia. “It’s been very fun to write.”
The book covers themes of true crime, history, culture, mystery and importantly for Afia, representation. “I never got to see myself as a central character in books when I was a kid. That was something that was very important to me,” she said. “If I want to see a story with a Black person at the centre, I have to write it myself.”
Afia is working on a third novel for the series.
What Afia is reading this summer:
The Perfect Ruin (external link) , Shanora Williams
The Lunar Housewife (external link) , Caroline Woods
The Show Girl (external link) , Nicola Harrison
Afia’s favourite reading spot:
“From my bed, it has a massage feature!”
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Every Summer After, Carley Fortune’s debut novel, is both a coming-of-age and love story
Every Summer After follows Persephone Fraser over the course of six summers and one weekend. The novel takes the reader between Persephone’s present day and her experiences as a young girl, spending her summers at her family cottage.
“I always wanted to write a book, I loved creative writing, but I didn’t think I could make a career of it,” said Fortune, who, prior to writing her first novel, was an editor for 16 years.
It was a number of events in the summer of 2020 that led her to writing Every Summer After. First, Fortune decided to read 13 of her childhood journals and second, she spent two months at a cottage close to where she grew up.
“I was feeling very nostalgic, thinking of the summers of my youth, which were spent swimming and on the dock, reading and working at my parent’s restaurant. I was living in the past a little bit,” she said. “One day after a particularly stressful work phone call, I said to myself out of nowhere, ‘I need to write my book’ and I started writing it the next day.”
Every Summer After was released in May and has become an immediate hit, appearing on the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists.
Fortune is working on her second novel, to be released in 2023.
What Fortune is reading this summer:
Something Wilder (external link) , Christina Lauren
The No-Show (external link) , Beth O’Leary
A Hundred Other Girls (external link) , Iman Hariri-Kia
Fortune’s favourite reading spot:
By a body of water. At the lake, in a chair on the dock.
Jameela Green Ruins Everything by Zarqa Nawaz
Jameela Green Ruins Everything is a dark comedy that also puts a spotlight on foreign policy
Zarqa Nawaz is famously known for being the creator of the critically acclaimed show, Little Mosque on the Prairie, which aired on CBC for six seasons. Following the show’s very popular run, Nawaz wrote a memoir called Laughing All the Way to the Mosque (external link) in 2014.
The memoir inspired the concept of Nawaz’s first novel, Jameela Green Ruins Everything, which was released earlier this year. When Laughing All the Way to the Mosque didn’t make it on the New York Times bestseller list, she began writing the novel as a reflection.
The book follows Jameela Green, a budding author who is furious that her book isn’t a bestseller. She complains to her local Imam, who insists she help a homeless person to help her become less selfish and narcissistic. This triggers a series of unfortunate events which include international espionage and accusations of espionage, all done with Nawaz’s signature comedic tone.
“The story is about not giving up and continuing to have faith,” said Nawaz, a practising Muslim. “It was really important to centre Islam and write a book that people could read and get strength from.”
Nawaz did extensive research into ISIS, the war in Iraq, foreign policy, international relations and how it all connects to the stereotyping of Muslim people. “I was putting together my thoughts and research, while simultaneously going through an emotional trajectory of loss and hope.”
In addition to Jameela Green Ruins Everything, Nawaz also debuted a new show on CBC Gem, titled Zarqa (external link) , a series about a divorced Muslim woman whose ex-husband is getting remarried.
What Nawaz is reading this summer:
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss (external link) , Rajeev Balasubramanyam
The Farm (external link) , Joanne Ramos
The Thursday Murder Club (external link) , Richard Osman
Nawaz’s favourite reading spot:
Audiobooks for insomnia. “I listen to a story to help take my mind off my day and relax into sleep.”