There are many things I love about summer, including warm temperatures, vacations, and more time to relax. However, one of the reasons I find summer to be a wonderful time of the year is actually a very simple one: I finally have time to read books. I don’t have homework, school obligations, or activities to go to, so I have many more opportunities to delve into literature.

As enjoyable as it is, choosing a book to read in the summer can sometimes be a difficult process. There are just so many choices and so little time. So if you’re stuck in a summer reading rut and don’t know which book to pick up, let me help you out! Following this paragraph are four recommendations: one for what I’m reading now and three for books that have similar themes. I’d love to do more of these, so stay tuned! The theme for this one is life for women of color in the South in the late 20^th century and their fight for equal rights.

What I’m reading now: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

If you’re thinking that this title sounds familiar, you are absolutely right. This is the book from which the Oscar nominated movie of the same name sprang from. If you are interested in the full story of the women who answered the call to work for their country and fight for the advancement of their careers, despite their sex and the color of their skin, this is the book for you. The narration traces not only the lives of these incredible women, but also the historical events and the scientific research breakthroughs from World War II through the Space Race.

Similar reads: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

In the 1950s, a young mother named Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cervical cancer. Doctors interested in creating an immortal cell line took some of these cancer cells without knowledge or consent from Henrietta or her family. Today, those cells constitute the largest, most used cell line in the world and are known simply as HeLa. This is a fascinating and entertaining look at the bioethics behind these cells and life for Henrietta’s family, who are too poor to afford health insurance.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This book is a work of fiction and has nothing to do with science, but it still offers an eye opening picture of life in 1960s Mississippi for African American women. The story follows several women who work as maids for white families. They are unhappy with the mold they are forced to fit into and thus hatch a risky plan to fight for the lives they wish to have. The Help paints an achingly real portrait of life during that time period and lets the reader forge bonds with the characters as if they were friends. Beautifully poignant and hopeful, The Help is a must read.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir told in short, simple, yet profound poems. Woodson uses these poems to recount her experiences growing up in both in the 1960s and 70s north and south. She writes through the eyes of a child who is trying to grow up and find her own way in the world; it is brimming with heartbreak, promise, and the pains of growing up, and is worth hanging on to every word.