12 books to read this summer with ties to Kansas City, from history to fantasy
If you’re looking for books to read this summer, there are endless choices. But we can narrow your list by suggesting new books with connections to the Kansas City region.
Two are from Pulitzer Prize winners: “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780” by former Kansas City Times reporter Rick Atkinson and “Mark Twain” by famed biographer Ron Chernow.
Atkinson began his journalism career at The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kansas, before moving to The Times, where he won the Pulitzer for national reporting in 1982. “The Fate of the Day” is the second volume of his American Revolution trilogy, following 2019’s “The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777.”
In “Mark Twain,” Chernow details the life of the man who was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, spent his formative years in Hannibal and became known as the father of American literature.
If those two subjects are a bit heavy for your summer tastes — the books weigh in at 880 and 1,200 pages, respectively — then another recent release might be more appealing.
Jonathan Van Ness, one of the stars of the Netflix series “Queer Eye,” has collaborated with Julie Murphy, who splits time between homes in Texas and the Kansas City area, to write the young adult novel “Let Them Stare.”
Van Ness and Murphy, who launched their book May 19 at the Kansas City Public Library, both are bestselling authors. Van Ness and his “Queer Eye” co-stars wrote “Queer Eye: Love Yourself, Love Your Life,” which they launched before a record crowd at the KC library in 2018. Murphy wrote “Dumplin,’” which became a Netflix movie and in 2021 was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time, as well as other novels.
Here are the details on all three books, plus two novels with regional ties that will be released in the coming weeks and seven other books that might intrigue area readers.
3 books from KC area authors out now
▪ “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780” by Rick Atkinson (Crown, April 29). Described by George Will as “the nation’s finest military historian, living or dead,” Atkinson won a second Pulitzer, this one in history, for “An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943” in 2003. $42. penguinrandomhouse.com.
▪ “Mark Twain” by Ron Chernow (Penguin Press, May 13). Chernow adds the Missouri literary legend to his list of book subjects who include Alexander Hamilton, Ulysses S. Grant and George Washington; he won the 2011 Pulitzer for biography for “Washington: A Life.” $45. penguinrandomhouse.com.
▪ “Let Them Stare” by Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy (Storytide, May 20). The “Queer Eye” star teams with the veteran author on a book about a small-town, gender-nonconforming 18-year-old who encounters the ghost of a 1950s drag performer. $22.99. bittersweet-books.com.
2 new novels to come
▪ “Lady or the Tiger” by Heather M. Herrman (Nancy Paulsen Books, June 10). A Salina, Kansas, native and University of Kansas journalism graduate, Herrman has written a YA novel set in 19th century Dodge City that features 19-year-old suspected serial killer Belle King. $19.99. penguinrandomhouse.com.
▪ “The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam” by Megan Bannen (Orbit, July 8). A former librarian who lives in the Kansas City area, Bannen is a USA Today bestselling author of speculative fiction. Her latest novel is billed as a “fantasy rom-com with an opposites-attract twist.” $19.99. hachettebookgroup.com.
Plus 7 more recent releases
▪ “Sad Grownups” by Amy Stuber (Stillhouse Press, Oct. 8, 2024). The author, who lives in Lawrence, won the 2025 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection for this book. $16. stillhousepress.org.
▪ “Liberating Lawrence: Gay Activism in the 1970s at the University of Kansas” by Katherine Rose-Mockry (University Press of Kansas, Nov. 1, 2024). This tells the story of the Lawrence Gay Liberation Front, a KU student organization launched in 1970. $39.99. kansaspress.ku.edu.
▪ “Audacious Optimism: The Mindful Choice to Live Boldly and Create Endless Possibilities” by Shanna Adamic (Wiley, Dec. 17, 2024). Adamic writes about her journey from Chiefs cheerleader to corporate philanthropist and her battle with a life-threatening brain tumor. $22. wiley.com.
▪ “The Great Good Thing” by Roderick Townley (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, reissue edition, Jan. 21). This is the redesigned 25th anniversary edition of the universally praised 2001 middle-grade novel by the Kansas City poet, literary critic and children’s author. $15.60-$18.99. rodericktownley.com.
▪ “Secrets of Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives” by Gretchen Rubin (Crown, April 1). A Kansas City native, Rubin also has written “The Happiness Project” and other New York Times bestsellers about human nature. $20. penguinrandomhouse.com
▪ “Heart of America: Kansas City Inspired Short Stories” by Marissa McQueen, Stacia Kaywood, Tom Owens, Sue Wright, Terricita Williams, Ron Thiewes, Lyric C. Faulder and Marian Rakestraw (Woodneath Press, April 22). This is the newest offering from the Mid-Continent Public Library’s Woodneath Press. $17.99. monsterasbooks.com
▪ “Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder” by Rachel McCarthy James (St. Martin’s Press, May 13). The Lawrence-based author co-wrote “The Man From the Train” with her father, baseball stat guru Bill James. $28. us.macmillan.com
Upcoming author events in the KC area
▪ June 5: Ron Chernow for “Mark Twain” at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 7 p.m. rainydaybooks.com.
▪ June 13: Heather Herrman for “Lady or the Tiger” at Red Fern Booksellers in Salina, 6 p.m. redfernbooksellers.com.
▪ June 17: Rachel McCarthy James for “Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder” at Rainy Day Books, 7 p.m. rainydaybooks.com.
▪ June 25: Katherine Rose-Mockry for “Liberating Lawrence: Gay Activism in the 1970s at the University of Kansas” at Kansas City Public Library-Plaza Branch. 6 p.m. kclibrary.org.
▪ July 8: Megan Bannen book launch for “The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam” at InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park, time TBA. monsterasbooks.com.
