Summer Reads Make Me Feel Fine

As usual, I'm busy, etcetera, etcetera, but I've been meaning to recommend a few things I read on vacation, where I experienced one of those magical streaks of wonderful read after wonderful read:

• Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran: How much do I love this book? If you have any small love in your soul for girl detectives, sharp explorations of race and class, books within books, friendships between girls and women that echo through a lifetime, and just generally fine writing, please to read this. I'm beyond ecstatic that it's the first of a series. Our next taste of Claire can't come soon enough. (I highly recommend this for fans of Scarlett Thomas, too.)
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles: This is a debut novel set in the 1930s, centered on 20-something Katey Kontent making her way in the big city. The novel has a great mix of glamour and witty dames and charming men and melodrama that kept me up late reading. And the heroine is entirely appealing.
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: I just turned in a review of this one for Locus*, so I'll let that stand as my full take BUT: I will say this is undoubtedly one of my favorite YA reads of the year. If you like Kristin Cashore and Megan Whalen Turner, pick this up. Rae's an amazing writer, and this is a fantastic book. I can't wait to see what Elisa does–or eats!–next.
• Deadline by Mira Grant: Oh, so good–the follow-up to Feed, which I'm assuming you've all read and if you haven't, well, get on that. I won't say much because I don't want to spoil anyone, but suffice to say this is another clever, scary, hilarious book in the best zombie series around, bar none. Bring on Blackout. 

*Other great newish and forthcoming YA books I've recently reviewed for Locus (some still to appear)–all highly recommended: Janni Simner's Bones of Faerie, Malinda Lo's Huntress, Nova Ren Suma's Imaginary Girls (a particularly good summer read, I think), Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star, and Franny Billingsley's Chime