The Ultimate YA Summer Reading List
by Dena McMurdie
Summer is the perfect excuse to get comfortable with a big stack of young adult books. My teens and I love spending warm, lazy afternoons on our patio with a good book and a pitcher of cold lemonade. Whether it’s feel-good rom-coms or an exciting adventure to escape into, find the best YA books to read this summer.
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Nothing Bad Happens Here
Buy from:Crack open this book for a chilling summer adventure filled with murder and mystery set in beautiful Nantucket. When Lucia and her mother arrive on the idyllic island for the summer, she quickly becomes friends with three wealthy teen girls. But after finding a dead body on the beach, Lucia realizes something sinister hides beneath the island’s picture-perfect facade.
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Meet Me Under the Lights
Buy from:Eliza hopes to ditch her rich-girl reputation and focus on her small-town community theater this summer. But her plans get upended when her childhood friend, Reed, returns to town as the pitcher for her family’s baseball team’s biggest rival. Suddenly, Eliza and Reed find themselves on opposite sides of their town’s baseball competition and fighting their growing feelings for each other.
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Summer Official
Buy from:Saylor and Heaven couldn’t be more different, but when a viral video throws the two teens together for the summer, they can’t resist their growing attraction. YA readers will enjoy this sapphic romance about two girls, young love, and navigating unwanted social media fame.
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The Counselors
Buy from:Goldie Easton calls Camp Alpine Lake home. This summer, she and her two besties, Ava and Imogen, are counselors. But then a camper dies by the lake, and it wasn’t an accident. Here’s the twist: Goldie went into the summer with a dark secret — but so did her friends. Can she trust Ava and Imogen? Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus, this thrilling mystery novel needs to find a spot on your TBR list ASAP!
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Perfect
Buy from:Head to the lake for a Christian sleepaway camp, first love, and a summer of self-discovery. Meg feels trapped by the role she has to play for her family and at school. When she meets and falls for a boy named Danny at summer camp, her identity and her faith come into question. This heartfelt graphic novel explores the common teenage experience of figuring out who you are and what you believe in.
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This Thing of Ours
Buy from:A torn ACL sends Ossie’s dreams of playing basketball out the window. He feels lost until a teacher invites him to join her writing program. While he excels in the program, his new passion comes under fire when some students make a viral “anti-woke” video. Now, Ossie must decide whether to accept defeat again or put his newfound passion to good use.
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Beach Cute
Buy from:No YA summer reading list is complete without a Beth Reekles novel on it. From the bestselling author of The Kissing Booth series comes a charming new beach read that will have you swooning and laughing in equal measure. Three strangers meet at the same vacation resort and experience an unforgettable summer filled with romance, drama, and friendship.
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That Which Feeds Us
Buy from:A luxurious island resort, a missing girl, and a search for truth combine in this riveting YA summer thriller. When her twin sister vanishes, Lahua follows a trail of clues that leads her to Kōpaʻa. As she searches for her sister, Lahua must also face the island’s dark past and the horrors that still haunt it. For anyone who loves Hawaii, this bone-chilling novel is a must-read!
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Sunkissed
Buy from:When you want a feel-good story with cheerful summer vibes, you can’t go wrong with a Kasie West novel. Head to a family summer camp in this rom-com for Dirty Dancing fans. Avery is less than thrilled to be at the camp until she meets the handsome Brooks, an off-limits staff member. For Avery, the summer brings first love, self-discovery, heartache, and beauty.
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Stars, Stripes & Summer Nights
Buy from:First Daughter Elle wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager. So, when she gets sent to a small town inn for the summer, she enlists the help of the owner’s cute son, Gabriel, to help her complete her summer bucket list. As the days heat up, Elle can’t deny her growing feelings for Gabriel and the small town she’s falling for.
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Honeysuckle and Bone
Buy from:Hoping to escape her online bullies, Carina takes a job as an au pair for a wealthy family in Jamaica. But what starts as a summer of reinvention and romance in a luxurious mansion quickly takes a dark turn when something or someone starts haunting her. Carina and her new friend Aaron dive into the house’s mysterious past to figure out who or what is behind the bone-chilling events.
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In Case I Go Missing
Buy from:Fenny’s and Sam’s best friend and amateur detective, Sarah, vanished without a trace. When the police refuse to investigate, Fenny and Sam piece together a mystery Sarah was investigating when she disappeared. But the further they dig into Sarah’s final case, the more they realize that whoever is responsible for their friend’s disappearance could be coming for them, too.
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The QB, Summer, and Me
Buy from:Dallas and Drayton are looking forward to spending every moment of the 11-week summer break together before heading to separate colleges in the fall. As the summer progresses, their relationship faces unexpected challenges, secrets, and uncertainty about the future. YA readers will love this sequel to The QB Bad Boy and Me.
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Sundown Girls
Buy from:When Naomi’s family heads to a small mountain town for the summer, she can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. Before long, Naomi gets swept into a mystery involving ghosts, missing girls, and the town’s violent history. If you’re looking for a spooky summer read, this is it!
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The Dragon and the Sun Lotus
Buy from:Fantasy lovers will get lost in the pages of the conclusion to The Three Realms series this summer. Dive back into a world filled with demons, forbidden love, and hidden powers. When Yù’chén betrays Àn’yīng and aligns himself with her enemies, she has no choice but to join forces with the powerful yet mysterious heir to the empire, Hà o’yáng. Together, they must raise an army to defend the empire from a rising threat.
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Looking for summer reading ideas for younger kids? Check out our lists for Kids Ages 3 – 5, Ages 6 – 8, and Ages 9 – 12.