Summer Challenge 2026: Decade you were born

Looking for help completing your Summer Challenge Bingo Card? Here are some books that are set in different decades over the last century.

Updated June 27, 2026
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Greater Victoria Public Library
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Sisters in Yellow
Kawakami, Mieko
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From Mieko Kawakami, award-winning author of Breasts and Eggs, comes a bold novel of sacrifice and the tumultuous bonds of sisterhood, set in the gritty Tokyo of the 1990s. "I have a feeling I won't forget Hana, perpetually running up life's down...

Set in the 1990s.

Riveter
Wang, Jack.
Paper Book
In the vein of All the Light We Cannot See, a cross-cultural love story set against the dramatic backdrop of the Allied invasion of Europe during WWII. Vancouver, 1942. Josiah Chang arrives in the bustling city ready to make a new life for himself. The Second World War...

Set in the 1940s.

Skylark : a novel
McLain, Paula
Paper Book
"1664. Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette's efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious...

Set in the 1940s.

Saturday Night Ghost Club
Davidson, Craig, 1976-
Paper Book
SOME TOWNS ARE MORE HAUNTED THAN OTHERS... An irresistible and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends

Set in the 1980s.

Daisy Jones & the Six a novel
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD! A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup--from the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, and...

Set in the 1970s.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
Honeyman, Gail.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick "Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric...

Set in the 2010s.

The Help
Stockett, Kathryn.
Ebook
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, but Constantine has...

Set in the 1960s.

Little Fires Everywhere A Novel
Ng, Celeste.
Ebook
The #1 New York Times bestseller * Named a Best Book of the Year by People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month,...

Set in the 1990s.

Mexican gothic
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "It's Lovecraft meets the Brontës in Latin America, and after a slow-burn start Mexican Gothic gets seriously weird."--The Guardian   ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME * WINNER OF THE LOCUS...

Set in the 1950s.

Malibu rising
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today * From the author of Carrie Soto Is Back, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . . . "Irresistible . . . High drama at the beach,...

Set in the 1980s.

To kill a mockingbird
Lee, Harper.
Paper Book
Look for The Land of Sweet Forever, a posthumous collection of newly discovered short stories and previously published essays and magazine pieces by Harper Lee, coming October 21, 2025. Voted America's Best-Loved Novel in PBS's The Great American Read Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize...

Set in the 1930s.

It : a novel
King, Stephen
Paper Book
Stephen King's classic #1 New York Times bestseller and the basis for the massively successful films It: Chapter One and It: Chapter Two as well as inspiration for HBO Max's series It: Welcome to Derry--about an evil without a name: It. Welcome...

Set in the 1950s.

Wonder
Palacio, R. J.
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times Bestseller A Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Booklist Best of Children's Books 2012 August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he...

Set in the 2010s.

Lessons in chemistry
Garmus, Bonnie
Paper Book
#1 GLOBAL BESTSELLER WITH MORE THAN 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD * Meet Elizabeth Zott: "a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention" (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a ...

Set in 1960s.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea
Mafi, Tahereh.
Audiobook
A National Book Award Longlist title! From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series comes a powerful, heartrending contemporary novel about fear, first love, and the devastating impact of prejudice. It's 2002, a year after 9/11. It's...

Set in the 2000s.

Eleanor & Park
Rowell, Rainbow.
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Best Seller! "Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."-John Green, The New York Times Book Review Bono met his...

Set in the 1980s.

Tell the wolves I'm home : a novel
Brunt, Carol Rifka
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A heartfelt story of love, grief, and renewal about two unlikely friends who discover that sometimes you don't know you've lost someone until you've found them "A dazzling debut novel."--O: The Oprah Magazine "Tremendously...

Set in the 1980s.

The perks of being a wallflower
Chbosky, Stephen
Paper Book
"A timeless story for every young person who needs to understand that they are not alone." --Judy Blume "Once in a while, a novel comes along that becomes a generational touchstone. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of those books." --R. J. Palacio, #1 New York...

Set in the 1990s.

Attachments
Rowell, Rainbow.
Paper Book
From the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slow Dance, Wayward Son, Fangirl, Carry On, and Landline comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel about an office romance that blossoms one email at a time....Beth Fremont...

Set in the 1990s.

Wrong place wrong time : a novel
McAllister, Gillian
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "It's perfection, every word, every moment. A masterpiece . . . One of the best books I've ever read." --Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author New York Times bestselling...

Set in the 2000s.

Five little Indians
Good, Michelle
Paper Book
" Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or...

Set in the 1960s.

Silver nitrate
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers. ...

Set in the 1990s.

A town called solace
Lawson, Mary
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GLOBE AND MAIL, CBC BOOKS AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH   "I've been telling everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each of her novels is just a...

Set in the 1970s.

Young Mungo
Stuart, Douglas, 1976-
Paper Book
A story of queer love and working-class families, Young Mungo is the brilliant second novel from the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain A national bestseller, acclaimed as one of the best books of the year by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Time, and...

Set in the 1990s.

The Island Club
Harrison, Nicola
Paper Book
"The Island Club is a Carrie Soto is Back meets Big Little Lies delight that will exceed all reader expectations!" --Lynda Loigman "A story of the power of friendship, the defiance of societal expectations, and the finding of one's true self." -- Kristin...

Set in the 1950s.

A Fortune of Sand
Sepetys, Ruta
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The daughter of a powerful tycoon escapes to a glamorous artists' retreat--where dark secrets and dangerous temptations await--in this gripping Prohibition-era novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt to the Sea. ...

Set in the 1920s.

A Botanist's Guide to Tradition and Treachery: A Saffron Everleigh Mystery
Khavari, Kate
Saffron Everleigh is newly engaged and full of optimism as she sets off on the adventure of a lifetime for any scientist: a research expedition. She sails to newly formed Turkey with her fiance, Alexander Ashton, and a bevy of fellow researchers under the watchful and reformed eye of Dr. Henry. With...

Set in the 1920s.

Gin, turpentine, pennyroyal, rue : a novel
Higdon, Christine
Paper Book
"Christine Higdon is a brilliant storyteller. Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue is a joy and a privilege to read; undoubtedly one of the best books I've read in years." -- Donna Morrissey, author of Pluck Four working-class Vancouver sisters, still reeling from...

Set in the 1920s.

Deep Cuts
Brickley, Holly.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * "Tender as a ballad and pleasurable as a pop song, Deep Cuts is both a romp into the indie sleaze era of the early aughts and a timeless love story."--Coco Mellors, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Sisters SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION...

Set in the 2000s.

Idlewild : a novel
Thomas, James Frankie
Paper Book
Idlewild is a tiny, artsy Quaker high school in lower Manhattan. Students call their teachers by their first names, there are no grades, and every day begins with 20 minutes of contemplative silence in the Meetinghouse. It is during one of those meetings that an airplane hits the Twin Towers.

Set in the 2000s.


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