5 British Books To Look Out For in the U.S. in July

This month’s picks of newly released Brit Lit features lots of great novels to throw into your suitcase for your beach holiday—including one for any elementary-school age child who might be travelling with you.

Dear Mrs. Bird by A J Pearce (Scribner, July 3, 2018)

At a time when not many books kept my attention, Dear Mrs. Bird was a lovely read that kept me turning pages late into the night. I’m not sure if there’s a particular trend of World War II books these days in the UK, but I keep coming across them—and really liking them. In Dear Mrs. Bird, Emmy goes to work for an agony aunt at a magazine, and gets more than she bargains for there. Nina Stibbe has called it “charming and delightful” and she is (as so often) right. One of my favourite lines from the novel: “My mother always said that a lot of men think that having bosoms think you’re a nitwit. She said the cleverest thing to do is let them assume you’re an idiot, so you can crack on and prove them all wrong.”

How to Be Famous by Caitlin Moran Harper (Harper, July 3, 2018)

I’ve never read any Caitlin Moran, but this might be the one that converts me! The author of How to Build a Girl is much loved in the UK and in this follow up sounds like it might be a great read: “Johanna Morrigan has it all: at 18, she lives in her own flat in London and writes for the coolest music magazine in Britain. But Johanna is miserable. Her best friend and man of her dreams John Kite has just made it big in 1994’s hot new BritPop scene. Suddenly John exists on another plane of reality: that of the Famouses. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Johanna hatches a plan: she will write a monthly column, by way of a manual to the famous, analyzing fame, its power, its dangers, and its amusing aspects. In stories, girls never win the girl—they are won. Well, Johanna will re-write the stories, and win John, through her writing.” What can possibly go wrong?