Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST

From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys comes a novel that’s as warm and salty as a summer afternoon by the water.

Meet Benji Cooper. He’s one of the few Black students at an elite Manhattan prep school, but every summer he trades the city for Sag Harbor, where a tight-knit community of Black professionals has built a world entirely their own.

The summer of ’85 brings all the usual trials. There are new handshakes to fumble through. State-of-the-art profanity to master. A misshapen haircut that seems to have its own opinions. The New Coke Tragedy. And one deeply held secret: a Lite FM addiction.

But maybe, just maybe, this summer will be one for the ages.

The New York Times called it “a tenderhearted coming-of-age story fused with a sharp look at the intersections of race and class.” And honestly? That’s exactly right. It’s funny. It’s tender. It’s wise about what it means to grow up caught between worlds.

This is the kind of book you’ll want to read slowly, with the windows open and the ocean somewhere nearby. Whitehead writes the awkward, hopeful business of being sixteen with such affection that you’ll find yourself laughing out loud, then quietly remembering your own long-ago summers.

Curl up. Linger a while. Let Benji’s summer become one of yours.

A perfect pick for fans of literary fiction, coming-of-age stories, and anyone who loves a voice that feels like a friend.

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