It’s summer! And we’re actually allowed out of our houses and can get to the beach this year! We know you want a few good books to bring on vacation, so Halli, Richelle, and I came up with a list of our favorites.
Whether you love thrillers or fantasies, contemporaries or romances, you’ll find something(s) you love on this list.
Happy reading!
I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
Let’s start this list with a couple beach reads set at the beach!
Anna Cicconi arrives at the Hamptons for her summer job as a nanny to find people staring. Her looks are eerily similar to a local girl, Zoe Spanos, who went missing on New Year’s Eve and hasn’t been seen since. Over the course of the summer, Anna becomes more and more convinced that she and Zoe are connected and when Zoe Spanos body is pulled from a nearby lake, Anna is charged with manslaughter. Did she do it?
I loved this book for its atmospheric portrayal of the ideal summer job gone wrong, with twists, turns, and psychological mind games that keep the reader guessing until the very end.
Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George
This newly released novel is a story told from two points of view, past and present, about two young women who navigate the responsibilities, obligations, and passions of those around them while attempting to pursue their dreams. Their passion for poetry is tied together through the same man and the aura of wonder surrounding him, and through each teen, we’re able to learn the man behind the stories. The novel is beautifully written and through it all we are emersed in the girls’ poetry.
Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi
Perfectly Parvin starts with a beach vacation romance, so it definitely counts as a beach read. This funny book focuses on Parvin Mohammadi and her quest to tamp down her natural flair and use that new quiet, ladylike persona to snag a cool boyfriend for high school.
Parvin is delightful, and supporting characters are all well-drawn. I loved the window into the life of a girl growing up with an Iranian father and a white American mother — the food, the far-flung relatives, Farsi school, Parvin’s need for waxing, and her mom’s relative hairlessness…it’s all explored openly. (And often hilariously.)
Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into reality. Jordan Hennessy obsessively sets alarms at 20-minute intervals to keep herself from dreaming because her dream wants to kill her. Carmen Farooq-Lane has seen the damage that dreamers can do and is out to stop them by any means possible.
With richly developed characters, non-stop action, and set in a fascinating present-day fantasy world, this book is great for both fantasy lovers and fans of contemporary. If you loved Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series, this is a must-read. If you haven’t, you’ll have 4 other great books to put on your TBR list after you finish this one.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. He performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.
However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out who killed him. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
Okay, the perfect time to read this book is mid-October as Día de los Muertos approaches, but spend a few summer days with ghosts and fall chills to enjoy this action-packed adventure. Great trans representation.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch….
- A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
- A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
- A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
- An alien warrior with anger-management issues
- A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem. The girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy. NOBODY PANIC.
From the authors of Illumanae, this book is perfect for readers who’d rather spend their summer as part of a motley crew on a space adventure.
Shine by Jessica Jung
What would you give for a chance to live your dreams?
For 17-year-old Korean American Rachel Kim, the answer is almost everything. Six years ago, she was recruited by DB Entertainment—one of Seoul’s largest K-pop labels, known for churning out some of the world’s most popular stars. The rules are simple: Train 24/7. Be perfect. Don’t date. Easy right?
Not so much. As the dark scandals of an industry bent on controlling and commodifying beautiful girls begin to bubble up, Rachel wonders if she’s strong enough to be a winner, or if she’ll end up crushed…
Written by Jessica Jung, K-pop legend and former lead singer of Girls’ Generation, this book takes us inside the world of K-pop to see what it takes to SHINE.
List of Ten by Halli Gomez
Ten: three little letters, one ordinary number. No big deal, right? But for Troy Hayes, a 16-year-old suffering from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the number ten dictates his life, forcing him to do everything by its exacting rhythm. Finally, fed up with the daily humiliation, loneliness, and physical pain he endures, Troy writes a list of ten things to do by the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis—culminating in suicide on the actual day.
But the process of working his way through the list changes Troy’s life: he becomes friends with Khory, a smart, beautiful classmate who has her own troubled history. Khory unwittingly helps Troy cross off items on his list even as she shows him that life may have more possibilities than he imagined. This is a dark, intense story, but it’s also realistic, hopeful, and deeply authentic. Great for readers with Tourette’s Syndrome, allies, and anyone who would like a peek into another person’s world. By our very own, Halli Gomez!
The Wide Starlight by Nicole Lesperance
This is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. The words, sentences, and paragraphs are woven together in a such a way, you feel as if you are floating with the stars.
This is a story about secrets and misunderstandings. It’s also about family, friendships, trust, and acceptance. Told with the background of Norwegian folklore, we follow the main character as she searches for her mother, and we follow her mother’s journey before she disappeared. This is a can’t-put-down book, magical as a fairy tale and as realistic as contemporary lives. The two are tied together seamlessly. Perfect for readers of all genres.
The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton
This sweet and spunky book is another fun and funny read about a teen who works in a Medieval Times-type restaurant. Kit longs to play the role of knight like her brother instead of being relegated to the serving wench position. But girls can’t be knights. So Kit sets out to fight the system.
Pacton deftly weaves in discussions about poverty and wealth and the plight of workers in our country to the story. Loved its fight-the-power energy and the fun setting.
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phillipe Black
French Canadian Norris is horrified when he has to move from Montreal to Austin, Texas when his mother accepts a new job. As a way of coping, he starts a journal where he describes and categorizes his new classmates. Norris sweats and journals and misses hockey and sweats and works at a very Texas family-owned restaurant and sweats and develops a crush on a difficult girl.
This book is funny and a bit mean, but even Norris at his worst is still lovable.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by John Green
The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., 23-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship – like a 10-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor – April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world – everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires – and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.
Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity, and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us. This page-turner grapples with how the social Internet is changing fame and public dialogue. It’s an adult novel with crossover appeal.
What Are Your Favorite Young Adult Beach Reads for 2021?
Leave them in the comments below! We need more great books for our TBR list!
Need a Few More Great Young Adult Book Suggestions?
See last year’s list, 10 Great Young Adult Books to Read During Self-Quarantine.
What an assortment of books!
Will you please provide an MG list, as well? Thanks!
Yes, I think we can. Stay tuned!