YA Reads to Start Your Summer

Summer is a great time to read all the books that you haven’t had time to read during the school year. This year, there are so many great books to choose from to take on vacation or read poolside. Below are some choice favorites for the beginning of summer.

With Malice by Eileen Cook (Available 6/7/2016)

Two friends go to Italy as a graduation gift. When one ends up dead and the other ends up in the hospital with no recollection of the trip, what really happened?

The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder (Available 6/7/2016)

“I can’t stop them: The dinosaurs are leaving New York City.”

What a great first line! A quirky, lovable protagonist who falls in love and collects trinkets along the way, while falling for the wrong guy. How do dinosaurs factor in? Pick up this book and read it in one sitting!

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

Doomed love. Enchanters locked in a fierce battle to the death. Imperial Russia. What’s not to love? Check out the whole review here.

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

When Lina’s mother dies of cancer, her last wish is for Lina to go live in Italy with her father she never knew existed. As Lina discovers more about her mother’s past, the beautiful hillsides of Tuscany offer friendship, love, and of course, gelato.

The Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hattemer

Jesse and his father live in an apartment wallpapered with postcards of Madonnas. After his young life is cut short by a hole in his heart, he writes a note to his cousin Cal: “I’m dead and you’ve got my notebook.” Another “last wish” book that sends the people left behind on a mission, Jesse planned for the five people he knew best to go to Europe following his death. His cousins, best friend and girlfriend are all sent on a wild goose chase across Europe that helps them come to terms with Jesse’s death. I especially loved the strong voices in this book, and the cast of characters is fun to follow.

Kate Hattemer is also the author of The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy.

A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry

Lucas Knight, an American teenager who visits Old San Juan every summer for his father’s contracting business, gets swept up into a murder mystery. A girl whose touch is poisonous (literally), hidden secrets in locked up houses, and the lush world of Puerto Rico combine to make an excellent summer read. Read the entire review here!

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Solomon Reed is perfectly fine, except he’s not, because he hasn’t left his house since the seventh grade, which was three years ago. But he’s happy being an agoraphobe. His whole life can be taken care of from inside of his house--school, food, and even friends. When Lisa Praytor needs to write an essay about “My personal experience with mental illness” to be accepted into Woodlawn University’s psychology program, she decides that curing Solomon of his agoraphobia is going to be her ticket into the program. Lisa and her boyfriend Clark befriend Solomon as part of the project, but then actually become friends with him. John Corey Whaley’s writing is sharp, funny, and incredibly real.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

This is the quintessential summer book. Andie Walker is working a job she never thought she would have as a dog walker, but it leads her to Clark, a famous author who is trying to write the next book in his series. Andie’s summer becomes completely unexpected, but in the best way possible. Read the entire review here!

The Fall of Butterflies by Andrea Portes

Willa Parker of What Cheer, Iowa, moves east at the behest of her mother to start a new life at an exclusive prep school called Pembroke Prep. From the middle of the country to the center of the glittering socialite world, Willa meets Remy Taft. When Remy decides to befriend Willa, Willa thinks that her troubles of fitting in are over, but nothing is ever enough for Remy. The Fall of Butterflies was a quick read and one that fans of We Were Liars will enjoy.

The Last Boy and Girl In the World by Siobhan Vivian

“You’re officially the last girl in Aberdeen.” Keeley Hewitt’s world is underwater. The world is coming to an end. And it might be her last shot with the boy she’s always wanted to take a chance with. The world won’t wait forever.

The Only Summer Slides Are at the Pool

With school dismissed, it's time for pure pleasure reading. Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Day, illustrated by Lisa Brown, will send youngsters scurrying for scraps of wrapping paper, crayons and paintbrushes to make their creations. For additional inspiration, dip into Lois Ehlert's The Scraps Book.

Children will start toe-tapping and beat-bopping with I Got the Rhythm by husband-and-wife team Frank and Connie Schofield-Morrison. You can't dance without music, so pick up The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka. Haven't heard of Sun Ra? Many of his recordings are now available on YouTube, and Raschka's illustrations sway to Sun Ra's sounds.

Gather the family around The Pilot and the Little Prince by Peter Sís, the picture-book biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, then reread The Little Prince and note how many of the facts about the pilot's life made their way into the classic. If you have a child who loved to get lost in Harry Potter, give him or her The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove. The maps, time warps and parallel worlds will keep the pages of this thick book flying. Do you have a reader who's not so committed? The Cabinet of Curiosities by Stefan Bachmann lets readers dip in and out of 36 spine-tingling tales.

For kids on the cusp of adolescence, This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki speaks to precisely where they are. The smart, funny narrator of Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McMahon addresses love between sisters, friends and, yes, potential romance. Did you miss The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau? Summer is the time to start this dystopian trilogy. And finally, a book for you and your teen: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Three cousins, one best friend, a grandfather worthy of Lear with an island off Massachusetts as his kingdom. Let me know what you think.

This article first appeared in Shelf Awareness for Readers.

More Fun Summer Reading

Now that we're closing in on the end of July, it's time for the young people in your life to read for fun (even though we know you've been encouraging that all summer long)!

In my work at the Bank Street College of Education two days a week as the director of the Center for Children's Literature, I get to work closely with the children's librarian, Allie Jane Bruce.

If you were to walk into the children's room today, you'd see an array of graphic novels on display that range from an exceptionally moving memoir of a childhood spent studying at the American School of Ballet under George Balanchine, To Dance by Siena Charson Siegel, illustrated by Mark Siegel; and Little White Duck, a memoir of growing up in Maoist China by Na Liu and Andrés Vera Martínez, illus. by Andrés Vera Martínez; to more classic comics such as George O'Connor's action-packed, gloriously illustrated Olympians series (my special favorites so far of the planned 12: Poseidon and Hera); plus a middle school Drama--literally--written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier about theatrical antics on and off the stage.

As with her graphic novels display, Allie's terrific summer reading lists include fiction and information books as well as poetry. The lists are divided into lower school (K-3rd grade), middle grades (4th-6th grade) and upper school (7th-8th grades). She also offers tips on how to present summer reading as fun, rather than a chore.

And here's the summer reading list I put together in May, just in case you missed it. Please don't miss Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein--my favorite summer read since my May list came out. Part Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (a wealthy gentleman searches for a young successor) and part Mysterious Benedict Society (testing wit and intelligence through unusual means), it's a great read-aloud for the entire family.

Happy reading!