{"id":561871,"date":"2026-07-27T13:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/561871\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:12:12","slug":"books-zendaya-recommends-for-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/561871\/","title":{"rendered":"Books Zendaya recommends for this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although it seems to me that everyone and their mother has been talking about Zendaya<\/a> lately, which is only natural given that she stars in some of the year\u2019s most anticipated films<\/a>, from The Drama to The Odyssey, I think my interest in the actress has slowly developed into full-blown fan behavior. How do I know? Let\u2019s just say that I managed to recount two of her new interviews almost word for word during a single car ride. Indeed, I have been following Zendaya daily for some time now because, over the past few months, the star has not disappointed me with a single appearance, from the incredible fashion looks<\/a> with which she and Law Roach have outdone themselves this time to her articulate interviews and the warmth she shows in conversation.<\/p>\n

My fascination is taking me to the cinema this summer, where I am watching films starring Zendaya almost back to back, and after this movie marathon of sorts, I also plan to read her favorite books. Naturally, I learned about them in one of her most recent interviews with Jack Edwards, a YouTuber and podcaster known for his literary reviews whom I have been following for several years. During their conversation, the actress revealed her two favorite books, joking with a laugh: \u201cOnce you read them, it becomes very difficult to read anything else. In a way, the experience ruins reading for you forever!\u201d And given that Jack, whose recommendations are rarely bad, agreed with Zendaya, I know that a true reader\u2019s paradise awaits me.<\/p>\n

Below, we reveal Zendaya\u2019s two favorite books, as well as the novel she is currently reading.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

@rakestrawbooks<\/p>\n

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m currently on a bit of a Toni Morrison novel marathon,\u201d Zendaya said, naming The Bluest Eye as her favorite. Morrison is a celebrated author who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993, and the novel in question was her first, published in 1970. Her debut work has been praised for its linguistic richness, which Zendaya also applauded, and the boldness of its vision. Set in the author\u2019s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, the story follows Pecola Breedlove, an eleven-year-old Black girl whose greatest wish is to have blue eyes because she believes that this would finally make her \u201cbeautiful\u201d and accepted like the other blond-haired, blue-eyed children around her. At the same time, the novel explores her parents\u2019 youth and their struggle as African Americans in a predominantly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant community. This undeniably difficult novel has been celebrated for its vivid portrayal of fear and loneliness through the eyes of a young girl and is an exceptionally significant work of American literature. The Bluest Eye brings marginalized voices to the forefront, while its exploration of the damaging effects of white beauty standards and the ways in which internalized racism can affect children makes it a work that truly belongs on everyone\u2019s reading list.<\/p>\n

Giovanni\u2019s Room,\u00a0James Baldwin<\/p>\n

Zendaya\u2019s other favorite novel is James Baldwin\u2019s Giovanni\u2019s Room. This story also gives a voice to marginalized groups, this time focusing on American expatriates in Paris. Against a tense backdrop of romantic relationships and violence, the novel follows David, an American torn between his longing for another man and conventional social expectations. When he meets Giovanni, a young man who works at a Parisian bar, David enters into an intense and complicated relationship that forces him to confront his own desires, fears and social norms. James Baldwin is also known for his brilliant storytelling, and this novel explores the mystery of love while revealing the unspoken complexities of the human heart through a powerful story of passion, death and loss. Once controversial and just as powerful today as when it was first published in 1956, Giovanni\u2019s Room is another major work of American literature that brings desire and identity to the forefront. I think Zendaya\u2019s reading preferences are perfectly clear from these recommendations.<\/p>\n

Sula,\u00a0Toni Morrison<\/p>\n

In the interview, alongside her \u201cessential reading,\u201d Zendaya also revealed the book she is currently reading, Sula, another novel by Toni Morrison. Given that I particularly love stories about complex female friendships, this is definitely the first novel on Zendaya\u2019s list that I will read. The story follows two girls from a small town, the bold Sula and her obedient friend. Growing up together, they forge a bond even stronger than the dark secret they must carry with them throughout their lives. Decades later, Sula\u2019s anarchic nature leads to a betrayal that may be impossible to forgive. This is a novel about love and intimacy, and about life in an America where the traces of slavery are still evident. Sula offers another irresistible story about the struggle between societal expectations and the love the heroines long for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although it seems to me that everyone and their mother has been talking about Zendaya lately, which is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-561871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}