While we’re all manifesting summers that are full of time in the sun, pool parties, and at least one fantastic trip, we also have great reads on our bucket list. Whether you’re by the waves, in a car, or on a plane (or just waiting for the next big thing), these are your beach reads and meaningful summer moments.
Check out our June must-reads below.
Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen
Finley is not a leader, but her boyfriend Colin is. Together, they make a perfectly balanced duo, introvert and extrovert. Finley gets to participate in activities, have a social circle, and feel secure in the future.
This is everything she could need or want until a last-minute trip to a family vacation house that is both a new feature of Finley’s life and about to be sold, sends Finley away from Colin and her comfy life as a sidekick to his decisions. It also introduces her to an extended family, a new town…and Ben.
Everything is so new. Finley’s relationship with Colin starts to unravel, and her life back home is falling through the cracks with him. Taking charge isn’t Finley’s style, but she’s going to have to learn to make the first steps as she discovers family secrets and a whole new life where, just maybe, she can be the main character in her story.
If you like: Contemporary, realism, high school, summer vacation, coming of age
The Summer Scrapbook by Florence Migga
Summer vacation is the most exciting part of the year…until you realize that guaranteed time with your friends is gone for a few months.
Ava, Becca, and Cat are not looking forward to a summer apart—and they will be far apart. Ava is going to London with her dad. Becca is being sent to summer camp, and Cat is stuck at home. Restricted cell phone use stands in the way of keeping up, so the trio comes up with a solution for keeping their summer going: letters and a shared scrapbook. Going analog means the girls are going to have to try new things (alone!) if they want to have memories to share with their friends when they’re reunited.
Turns out stepping out of your comfort zone leaves you with great stories and a new outlook on who you are.
If you like: Contemporary, realism, summer vacation, coming of age, crafts, analog trend
Force of Nature by Melissa Clark
We all know that turning 16 is special. A sweet 16 is about finding your cool factor and celebrating your peak teenage years. For Chloe Lovejoy, it means inheriting the role of Mother Nature from her grandmother.
As if being responsible for the well-being of the planet (and going to high school!) isn’t enough, Chloe’s grandmother passes away, leaving Chloe without a guide in her new role. Managing literal storms, school drama, and life at home is a full-time job, and it only gets more challenging when someone decides they want to take Chloe’s powers and use them for their own plans.
The weight of the world feels like it is on every teen’s shoulders, but Chloe is going to have to learn how to manage it more than others, or it could mean the end of everyone around her.
If you like: Fantasy, high school, coming of age, nature
Until We Meet Again by Lily Kim Qian
This coming-of-age graphic memoir follows Lily Kim Qian’s journey from adolescence into adulthood as she navigates her own struggles and her mother’s relationship with depression.
Moving over and over again is a drag, and Lily has moved all across Canada and now to Shanghai, China. As if that wasn’t enough to make her feel displaced, Lily’s mom is regularly missing, and when she returns, things are even stranger than when she’s gone. Lily is growing up, and as she navigates the next phase of her life, college, she will have to find her own understanding of where she belongs in the world, her family’s complex history, and what she wants her life to look like, on her own terms.
If you like: Graphic/illustrated stories, coming of age, non-fiction, memoir
Stars, Stripes, & Summer Nights by Celeste Dador
One summer. One normal summer is the only thing on Abby’s post-graduation bucket list. For most teenagers, this is an easy ask, but for the First Daughter of the United States, normal and lowkey are not everyday occurrences.
This summer seems to be going well, though—until she runs into photographer Gabriel Calabrese and ends up in yet another social media scandal.
Escaping the media circus means going to a country inn…run by Gabriel’s family. Their not-so-cute meeting is now a never-ending summer, and the two will have to spend more time together if they want to save Gabriel’s family’s Fourth of July festival.
Will this be a summer of mistakes and frustrating circumstances, or the perfect change for Abby to be a normal teen for once?
If you like: Contemporary, romance, summer vacation, coming of age
