In between assigned readings and an overwhelming amount of homework due at midnight, it can be challenging to find the time to pick up a novel for personal enjoyment. Thankfully, summer is right around the corner, so I’ve gathered the best list of summer reads you may not have heard of before.
SUMMER SISTERS BY JUDY BLUME
Most of us haven’t heard this author’s name since the fifth grade, but I promise this isn’t an elementary-school-level novel. It’s set up as a coming-of-age style, or bildungsroman, following Caitlin and Vix’s story as they grow up on the Vineyard and go through the woes and joys of youth and first love. It even continues when they’re older and live completely separate lives. It’s a book I read every summer and one that will make you wish you were there with them…or not.
SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE BY MORGAN MATSON
Since You’ve Been Gone is the perfect blend of mystery, summer romance, adventure, and friendship all rolled into one. In this novel, Emily embarks on a journey to find her missing best friend by following a to-do list full of things she’d never do, and in this way, she finds something else: herself. Matson has a way of curating realistic and vulnerable stories with the right amount of sweetness and humor.
BEACH READ BY EMILY HENRY
It wouldn’t be a summer reads article without Beach Read. I have recently been introduced to the phenomenon that is Emily Henry. This was the first book of hers that I read and it was enthralling. The narrator’s tone is always a humorous, relatable character that you can’t help but like, and Beach Read is no different. It’s a love story you won’t forget.
THE SONG OF ACHILLES BY MADELINE MILLER
I know it is crazy, but I only discovered this book recently. It completely exceeded my expectations. While reading, I felt as if I was transported back to Ancient Greece, and it was a refreshing break from French homework. In a lounge chair by the beach or getting some sun by the pool, The Song of Achilles is a book I would not miss out on this summer if you’re in the mood for a little adventure and forbidden love.
ALEX, APPROXIMATELY BY JENN BENNETT
Alex, Approximately is a unique and heartfelt story I came upon in high school. It takes place in sunny California, where the main character ‘Mink’ is torn between her online crush Alex and her new sardonic coworker, Porter. If only you could have both, right? It doesn’t hurt that the cover itself is beautifully crafted, too.
TWISTED DARES (BLACKRIDGE PREP SERIES) BY A.R. BRECK
Twisted Dares is not your average lighthearted summer read. I wanted to include it because it’s just as gripping and interesting as the others and is a series that got me out of my month-long reading rut. If you find yourself looking for something different among the endless summer days, this trilogy will keep you entertained and maybe introduce you to another type of New Adult novel.
With these great seven choices for summer reads you’re sure to love, your summer just got much more exciting. Whether you’re chilling by the pool or stuck inside with the air conditioning, you have the ability to time travel to another world through the power of books.
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