11 Young Adult Books for Vacation-Worthy Summer Reading
While many people love summer for the long days and warm weather, others find that it's the perfect time to catch up on their reading. There's something about curling up with a good book when it's hot outside that just feels so right. Of course, the book has to earn your precious summertime, which means it has to be exceptional. Today, we're going to take a look at the beloved Young Adult books genre.
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” — Neil Gaiman, Coraline
If you're looking for some recommendations, here are 11 of our favorite YA books. Check them out and find the perfect page-turner for the beach, mountains, or wherever your summer leads you!
Best Young Adult Fantasy Books
Young Adult and Fantasy are the perfect fusion of genres. Transitioning from adolescence into adulthood is already a dragon of a challenge to deal with in and of itself. That’s why adventuring into the pages of fantasy is the ideal escape from the real world!
11) Spellbound Under The Spanish Moss: A Southern Tale of Magic
What this Young Adult book is about: Gareth Greyfin must find a way to save his father Samuel after he is bitten by a one-eyed snake. With little time before the venom will reach his father’s heart, Gareth follows his father’s instructions to bring him to a cabin in the swamps outside of Savannah, Georgia — the home of a witch with a fearsome reputation. The witch sends the fearful young man on a quest for five ingredients for the potion that offers the elder Greyfin’s only hope.
Why we love this Young Adult book: Spellbound Under The Spanish Moss, written by father-son duo Connor Judson Garrett and Kevin N. Garrett is delightfully meta as it explores a fictional father-son dynamic through the fantastic setting of Savannah, Georgia. It explores themes of love, loss, redemption, hope, and much more!
Standout quote from the YA book:
“The witch's eyes glint with an ominous mixture of the green and black and purple the sky turns before a tornado. Her lips and cheeks hint at a beauty behind a smile she has forgotten how to use. A patina of loneliness and years past obscure an allure that was more pronounced once upon a time.”
Where to get it: Spellbound Under The Spanish Moss
10) Rebel of the Sands
What this Young Adult book is about: Amani was born in the small desert town of Dustwalk and has always been content with her life there. However, when a mysterious stranger comes to town and saves her life, she starts to see the world in a different light. She realizes that she wants more out of life than what Dustwalk can offer.
Why we love this Young Adult book: Rebel of the Sands, the first of a trilogy, is packed with train robberies, shooting contests, festivals under the stars, a love story, and enchanting Djinni magic. But don’t just take our word for how great this YA fantasy novel is — it earned its author a win as the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Debut Author.
Standout quote from the YA book:
“Tell me that and we’ll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that’s how you want your story to go and we’ll write it straight across the sand.”
Where to get it: Rebel of the Sands
9) The Paper Magician
What this Young Adult book is about: Ceony Twill is a young woman with big dreams. After graduating from the School for the Magically Inclined, she is disappointed to find herself apprenticed to a paper magician. Just as the kindness of Magician Emery Thane begins to win her over, a dark magician attacks. Now, Ceony must embark on a quest to save Thane's soul.
Why we love this Young Adult book: We love The Paper Magician because it is written with carefulness yet reads with a sense of urgency, thrusting the reader from page to page.
Standout quote from the YA book:
“I don’t know how many women can claim to have walked a man’s heart, but I’ve walked yours, Emery Thane. And I like the dog.”
Where to get it: The Paper Magician
Best Young Adult Romance Books
Coming of age is a love-hate chapter of life. In many ways, it’s a journey that never really ends. We’re always in the middle of becoming something; however, there’s something bittersweet about standing on the precipice of adulthood and navigating first loves and heartbreaks. These Young Adult Romance books help to encapsulate that feeling and tell a story you’ll probably relate to in some way or another.
8) Everything, Everything
What this Young Adult book is about: Maddy had always been content with her life, even though she was confined to her house due to a severe immunodeficiency disease that could prove fatal if she is exposed to anything outdoors. She had a loving family and friends who visited her often. But when Olly moved in next door, everything changed.
Why we love this Young Adult book: Health is taken for granted far too often. Existential questions and deep thought are, for many people, saved for the moment they are confronted with their own mortality. Everything, Everything reveals the preciousness of life — and love to its readers.
Standout quote from the YA book:
“Spoiler alert: Love is worth everything. Everything.”
Where to get it: Everything, Everything
7) Five Feet Apart
What this Young Adult book is about: Though Will and Stella are both living with cystic fibrosis, they must keep a distance of five feet between them at all times. If they get too close, they could spread fatal infections to each other. However, as they get to know each other better, they start to wonder if the risk is worth it.
Why we love this Young Adult book: Sometimes, the things we want most feel just out of reach. Five Feet Apart shows the possibilities of daring to make that leap.
Standout quote from YA book:
“If I’m going to die, I’d like to actually live first.”
Where to get it: Five Feet Apart
6) Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
What this Young Adult book is about: Charlie Vega is a lot of things. She's smart, beautiful, and ambitious. But to most people, she's "just" fat. It's not that Charlie doesn't have friends. She does. But it seems like everyone around her is either trying to lose weight or talking about how they need to lose weight.
Why we love this Young Adult book: This book is perfect for anyone struggling with insecurities and body image. Additionally, it deals with themes of friendship, navigating relationships, and positive self-talk.
Standout quote from YA book:
“But my mind struggles to bridge the gap between the two ideologies. I’m fat, and I celebrate other fat people, but I don’t quite celebrate me. It makes me feel like a fraud.”
Where to get it: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
New Adult Fiction Books
This lesser-known, often more R-rated cousin of the Young Adult genre isn’t technically Young Adult because it focuses primarily on people around the ages of 18-30 — or as its name suggests, “new adults.” However, New Adult Fiction can offer a refreshing look at problems and situations young adults will inevitably encounter during adulthood.
5) Falling Up in The City of Angels
What this New Adult book is about: The protagonist, Tony leaves behind everything familiar in his hometown of Atlanta with only $1,800 to his name to pursue his dream of being a writer in Los Angeles. He’s also running away from a broken relationship, hoping to find where he fits. A hopeless romantic and a perfectionist with a penchant for mistakes, Tony falls in love with the allure of the city of angels and learns to live with his own imperfections. He paints a vivid portrait of the lives of millennials and relationships in the age of Tinder and friends with benefits.
Why we love this New Adult book: The main character takes the reader on a voyeuristic journey through his new haunts of Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and Malibu with all its quirky, wondrous and shady characters. In this raw, honest and poetic novel, Tony reveals to the reader and to himself, the exciting and sometimes hollow search for meaning in LA-LA land. Falling Up in The City of Angels is sort of a New Adult version of the famous show Californication mixed with Catcher in The Rye.
Standout quote from New Adult book:
“I have a habit of falling in love with everything: colors, light, shadows, a breeze, the lines of a building, a fragrance drifting off a flower or a girl — and then, all I want to do is remember it forever exactly as it was and give it to everyone so they can feel it or see it and hold onto it for safekeeping.”
Where to get it: Falling Up in The City of Angels
4) Sweetbitter
What this New Adult book is about: Tess, a 22-year-old from Ohio, arrives in New York City with dreams of making it big. She has no connections and no experience, but she's determined to make her mark. After a string of dead-end jobs, Tess finally lands a gig as a back waiter at a prestigious Manhattan restaurant. There, she gets a crash course in the high-pressure world of fine dining, from the grueling hours to the cutthroat competition. Tess also quickly learns that the restaurant business is about more than just food. It's about power, passion, and unrequited love. Sweetbitter is a coming-of-age story that captures the intoxicating highs and crushing lows of life in the Big Apple.
Why we love this New Adult book: It's a tale of self-discovery, heartbreak, and triumph, told with humor, insight, and plenty of mouth-watering detail. Whether you're a foodie or not, Sweetbitter is sure to leave you hungry for more.
Standout quote from New Adult book:
“It’s an epidemic with women your age. A gross disparity between the way that they speak and the quality of thoughts that they’re having about the world. They are taught to express themselves in slang, in clichés, sarcasm—all of which is weak language. The superficiality of the language colors the experiences, rendering them disposable instead of assimilated. And then to top it all, you call yourselves ‘girls.’”
Where to get it: Sweetbitter
3) Vinegar Girl
What this New Adult book is about: Vinegar Girl is for anyone who loves a good romcom. It is a witty reimagining of The Taming of the Shrew. Kate Battista finds herself in the challenging situation of an arranged marriage. Pyotr, her father's Russian lab assistant, is in danger of being deported. In order to keep him in the country, Dr. Battista comes up with a batty plan to have him marry his daughter Kate. Find out how it plays out!
Why we love this New Adult book: This book is full of humor and heart. Shakespeare fans and anyone into 90s and early 2000s rom-coms will fall in love with the characters.
Standout quote from New Adult book:
“The unsatisfying thing about practicing restraint was that nobody knew you were practicing it.”
Where to get it: Vinegar Girl
Young Adult Historical Fiction
Historical fiction has taken over as a genre even on the screen. Young adults have a tendency of looking forward — and rightfully so. They have the whole world ahead of them after all. However, Young Adult Historical Fiction is a great way to entertain, educate, and prepare them for the future all at once.
2) The Black Kids
What this New Adult book is about: The Black Kids is set in Los Angeles back in 1992. Ashley Bennett and her friends are living that glamorized California lifestyle as seniors in high school, and are carefree, splitting time between the beach and the classroom. Plus, summer is just around the corner. Then, four LAPD police officers are acquitted after beating Rodney King half to death. At a moment’s notice, with riots and chaos engulfing the city, Ashley isn’t one of the girls — she’s one of the black kids.
Why we love this New Adult book: Three decades later, the world is still wrestling with racial injustice, police brutality, and how to / if we should have conversations around race.
Standout quote from New Adult book:
“Sometimes being different means hiding pieces of yourself away so other people's mean can't find them.”
Where to get it: The Black Kids
1) When the World Was Ours
What this New Adult book is about: The day started out like any other. Leo, Elsa, and Max were best friends, and they loved spending time together. They walked to school together, played together at recess, and did everything they could to make the most of their time together.
Why we love this New Adult book: Based on a true story When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is a beautifully heartwrenching story that centers around friendship, love, and family that glow like embers even in the darkest times.
Standout quote from New Adult book:
“Max forced himself to switch off whenever it happened. Made himself believe it was just his father ranting.”
Where to get it: When the World Was Ours
There's something special about reading a great young adult book during the summer. Maybe it's because you can finally have some downtime to relax and enjoy a good story, or maybe it’s the feeling of the breeze blowing the pages. Whatever the reason, if you're looking for an exceptional book to read this summer, we hope you found just the one you were looking for on this list of the best Young Adult books to add to your summer reading list!
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