YA Friday: Longer Days = More Light to Read

Don't forget to participate in Summer Learning!

Reading books during the season in which they occur is one of those little things that makes reading those books extra wonderful. It's nice to be able to look out your window and see the leaves changing colors when a character is describing the crispness of the air on their walk to the first day of the new school year. I love taking full advantage of the longer, warmer days of Summer to lounge on the beach, relax on the patio, or at the park with a book and catch up on my TBR pile. Summer is always a special season of transition and adventure. Whether you are beginning your ten-weeks of Summer vacation or need a bit of escapism from the office, these books capture the magical and youthful spirit of this time of year. Air conditioner not included.

Summer Reads

The Way You Make Me Feel book cover

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Sentenced to a summer working on her father's food truck after taking a joke too far, prankster Korean-American Clara Shin unexpectedly bonds with a straitlaced co-worker and a cute boy on another food truck while reevaluating her relationship with her estranged mother.


Stay Sweet book cover

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

Seventeen-year-old Amelia has looked forward to her last summer before college working at the Meade Creamery, but when the owner of the local landmark passes away her nephew has big changes in mind.


Down and Across book cover

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

Sixteen-year-old Scott Ferdowsi's impromptu trip to a famous professor for advice about success turns into a summer of freedom that brings him answers in unexpected places.


Alex, Approximately book coverAlex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Seventeen-year-old Bailey moves to California to live with her father and, perhaps, finally meet an online friend and fellow film buff, but soon finds herself attracted to an annoying co-worker.


The Unlikelies book cover

The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone

Sadie Sullivan's pre-senior year summer changes for the better when she and four other teens band together to right local wrongs, but the Unlikelies and their heady new friendships soon face obstacles that could tear them apart.


That Thing We Call a Heart book cover

That Thing We Call a Heart by Sheba Karim

When Shabnab's best friend starts wearing a Muslim headscarf, she feels alienated until taking a summer job that leads to falling in love with a friend in ways that remind her of the rose and nightingale of classic Urdu poetry.


Girl out of Water

Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman

When her aunt gets into a car accident, Anise is forced to leave her friends and surfing behind to spend the summer in Nebraska to help care for her cousins. In doing so, she forms familial bonds and new friendships that challenge her feelings of abandonment by her mother. When Lincoln, a one-armed skater, dares her to swap her surfboard for a skateboard, Anise isn't one to shy away from a challenge.


Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories book cover

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins

Summer is the perfect time for love to bloom, and these short stories of teenagers facing the confusing maze of first love will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. The selections range from heartfelt to outlandish, as the characters find passion in some very unexpected places.

Further Reading

Summer of SloaneThe Unexpected Everything book coverA Walk in the Sun book coverBreakfast Served Anytime book coverWild Swans book coverThis One Summer book cover