YA Reading for Sunny Days : A Reading List for the Summer

Posted by Kay on June 23, 2012 2:41 am in Book talk | 5 comments

It’s officially summer and the sun is high and bright (at least it is here, where humidity makes the weather particularly insufferable for owl-like creatures like me).

Every season I’m excited to make reading lists for the coming months, but it is especially true in summer. Maybe because for as long as I remember I’ve preferred rain and cooler days to the sticky, sunny days of summer, I feel the need to look for the most awesome books and characters.

I’ve compiled a list of Young Adult novels that I have enjoyed in the past or plan to read this summer, and that I feel are perfect summer books, for different reasons; some are light and fun, some have more depth, some are directly about summer and others are just great books that give me that “summer vibe”. Titles are linked to my reviews, or to Goodreads if I haven’t reviewed it yet.

I hope this can inspire you some awesome summer reading: if so, stay tuned for my upcoming giveaway!

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1. The Summer Series by Jenny Han

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty
2. It’s Not Summer Without You
3. We’ll Always Have Summer

You might read the titles and look at the covers and assume, like I did when first stumbling on The Summer I Turned Pretty, that this is just another shallow story about boys, bikinis and romance. But while there is definitely some of that (the love triangle is, after all, center stage to the story), the series also is about family, loss, growing up, difficult choices and responsibility. While the first book is by far my favorite, the following novels kept me hooked to the story and I often think about Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad’s story, even a year after reading the last novel.

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2. Go Around the World

1. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
2. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
3. The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

I have already raved about Wanderlove, a down-to-earth contemporary novel that will take you all over South America. This novel was such a great surprise to me, offering depth and character growth in a realistic manner. The book also showcases some of the main character’s drawings, which were in fact the result of the author’s talented hand.

13 Little Blue Envelopes is a little less down-to-earth, but certainly a fun read. The idea itself – a young woman’s aunt, before dying, left her a travel itinerary in 13 envelopes, each to be opened at a specific moment – is certainly an intriguing and entertaining one. With Europe as a landscape, a touch of romance and great humor, this novel (easily read in one sitting) had everything to enchant me. Its sequel, which I have yet to read, looks equally charming.

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3. A Supernatural Summer

1. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
   
2. Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
3. The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
4. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Just ’cause it’s summer doesn’t mean all we want to read about is pools and bikinis and travel. Sometimes, a little unearthly touch is all we need for a perfect vacation read!

And Unearthly, a paranormal romance about angels, gives you exactly that. While other angel novels of the YA world have been huge disappointments for me, this one offered a great main character who wasn’t too stupid to live, a romance which took an unexpected turn in Hallowed, and a story that had more depth than the usual YA paranormal novel. Part of the story takes place in the summer, and there’s a lake and mountains and romance. What more could you wish for?

Sea Change is a light supernatural I would say(if it even is…), but I really enjoyed it. Definitely a summer read, with a great advantage : it’s a stand alone! In a world dominated by series, it is so pleasant to start and finish a story in one sitting, isn’t it?

The Gathering, like Unearthly, is also the first in a series. It’s not exactly in summer, but such a big part of the story takes place in the woods, with animals, in nature, that it felt like a summer book to me. As for the last of this category, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, it wins its place on the list for its creepy atmosphere (especially the first part) and its original concept. While it didn’t work perfectly for me, it was still a very captivating read. Beware though; cliffhanger!

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4. Tales of the Sarahs

1. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
2. Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
3. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
4. That Summer by Sarah Dessen
5. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
6. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

1. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
2. The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
3. Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
4. One Moment by Kristina McBride

I went for variety here, because when dealing with grief and broken hearts, there is so many different ways to feel and handle things that I always feel kind of bad when I can’t relate to a character going through hard times. Therefore, I picked two novels I “only” liked, and two novels I really loved for this category. Whether these four contemporary novels break your heart or not, they sure will give you a lot to think about and discuss.

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6. Happy Summer!

1. Boys, Bears and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald
2. Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald
3. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
4. Unbreak my Heart by Melissa Walker

Because summer reading should also be light and fun, a few happy novels are a must. I have read both of Abby McDonald’s novels and really enjoyed them. I’ll try posting reviews soon, but for now I’ll say this : the first one is a fun trip into Canada’s wonderful nature, and the second is a cute non-romance. Yes, you read that right; a non-romance! Refreshing, isn’t it?

An Abundance of Katherines was my first John Green, and though it didn’t have the intensity of Looking for Alaska, it will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was fun, original, and having a male narrator is certainly refreshing. I read it by the pool in a single day and wasn’t bored for even one minute of it!

As for Unbreak my Heart, I have yet to read it, but the reviews I read of it described it as fun, positive, with a great ending and great characters.

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That’s 24 books, 24 books I enjoyed and would happily recommend to YA readers (and older readers of YA, too!) It was a difficult list, I’ll admit: there were so many books I would have loved to include just because they’re great, whatever the season. But nothing is keeping me from writing another list later, right?

Have you read any of these?  Which book would you add to this list to make it a perfect summer list? (after all, I, too, need recommendations! 😛 )