Find your next great read to celebrate the Summer Solstice by exploring my reviews of the best YA books that belong on your summer reading list this year.

For teens, summer is an unscheduled time. Free time. There’s no school, less supervision, more sleeping in, fewer restrictions, more opportunity to be with friends, more lying around and decompressing, even adventure. Reading a few great novels is a great way to spend some non-screen time. Summer-themed YA books may include stories where characters are traveling for summer vacation, preparing for college, having a summer romance, saying goodbye to a high school boyfriend, or working a summer job.

Here are my personal recommendations for which YA books belong on your summer reading list this year. It’s an eclectic list. Some of them are classics, and some are titles you may have never heard of before. With such an array of choices, you’ll be sure to find something that piques your interest.

Maybe this is the summer to try something new!

Drive to June by Khristina Chess

“You do realize that a car is a mobile make-out location, right?” Ian said. ― Khristina Chess, quote from Drive to June.

Although pitched as a story about alcohol abuse and grief, this YA is also a romantic story about a dating and intimacy. The present story line is a relationship that develops between the protagonist, 18-year-old Adrianna, and a pizza delivery boy who goes to her school and who offers to help her get her driver’s license.

With her father traveling so much and her older sister away in college, no one knows Adrianna has been guzzling her dead mother's extensive wine collection. She drinks to forget something awful that she did; she drinks to go numb. To avoid her grief. And now she can't seem to stop. Since moving to this new school, she doesn't have close friends or teachers, so there's nothing to stop her free-fall.

But then one night, Ian spots her on the roof and makes an offer she can’t refuse. He comes into her life, and everything begins to change.

Wow, what a ride! Drive to June took off from the start and accelerated all the way to the finish. I had to find out Adrianna’s secret. What makes this book so special is the sweet relationship that develops between Adrianna and Ian as he teaches her how to drive and helps her get her driver’s license. Although it starts as a story about alcohol abuse, this is a dreamy and hopeful YA novel with heart.

You won’t want to miss this this surprisingly romantic YA book about dating and grief. It’s definitely one of the YA books that belongs on your summer reading list.

In fact, if you like to binge-read a new favorite author, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so if Drive to June sounds intriguing, you might also want to check out some of her other titles too, like The Delinquent Hero and Junior Missing. For paperback fans, you could fill your whole beach bag.

Breathless by Jennifer Niven

“All these words and stories. My mom calls them the color of a human life: those little moments that are so uniquely ours.” ― Jennifer Niven, quote from Breathless

I might love this book even more than Niven’s All the Bright Places—and that's saying a lot!

Breathless is the story of Claude's trip to a remote island off the coast of Georgia after graduation with her mom following the sudden separation of her parents. She meets a boy and falls in love. So simple. Yet Jennifer Niven beautifully captures that lovely, breathless feeling of first love. Passionate kisses. Romantic trysts. Mosquito bites on sunburned skin.

There is so much growing up packed into this brief summer for Claude. She learns that parents have secrets and tell lies. She and her lifelong best friend grow apart even as they prepare to truly separate for fall college classes. And she has this deep relationship with Miah on the island that changes her in fundamental ways.

Breathless is the perfect beach read for your summer reading list. In fact, Jennifer Niven is also on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited, so you might want to check out some of these others, too.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

“Life feels beautiful that day. The four of us Liars, we have always been. We always will be. No matter what happens as we go to college, grow old, build lives for ourselves; no matter if Gat and I are together or not. No matter where we go, we will always be able to line up on the roof of Cuddledown and gaze at the sea. This island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart, quote from We Were Liars

What an unexpected and beautiful story about summertime, friendship, coming of age, and sorrow!

I wasn’t sure I’d like this book, but I fell in love with this unexpected story. By the end it made me cry. We Were Liars is about a group of privileged young friends and their lies, family secrets, grief, and love. It’s a mystery. Its private island setting evokes all kinds of summer images: the beach, the heat, the sun. The beautiful and disorienting plot will leave you reader breathless until the very end.

If you haven’t picked this one up yet, do yourself a favor and add it to the top of your summer reading list this year. It’s a whirlwind read.

Lockhart's prequel to this one, Family of Liars, does not disappoint either! In Family of Liars, the narrator, Carrie, tells the story of the summer of the boys' visit to the island, but long before those events, there are ominous hints of what is to come. In her early teen years, for example, Carrie's father insists on a surgery to break her jaw, and an infection sets in. The pages are full of great details about summertime on the island. The lemon hunt was very vivid, as well as the details about clothing, food, and the picnic table. Lockhart painted a vivid sense of place, siblings, and privilege.

I recommend reading both of them while you’re at the beach!

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

“His bed’s really comfortable. And he never pees in it.” ― Huntley Fitzpatrick, quote from My Life Next Door

This adorable YA love story is compelling and has an unexpected ending. Everything about the messy Garrett house draws Samantha into it, but especially the good-looking son, Jase. He’s one of several children in the house. His little brother, George, has some of the best lines. I laughed out loud. The sneaking around teen love stuff was pretty wonderful. Samantha’s best friend is a jerk, and her sister is too. No wonder she’s so drawn to the loving family next door.

Samantha is keeping this relationship with Jase a secret from her mom and everyone else in her life, but eventually that blows up in her face. In the process, she learns some lessons about who she is and who she wants to be.

This dreamy YA book will leave you smiling for days and definitely belongs on your summer reading list this year. It evokes all those light feelings of happiness, joy, and romantic love. You just can’t help sighing about that first kiss. You can’t wait for Samantha and Jase to take their relationship to the next level, and your heart breaks when things get rocky. This is such a sweet story. So cute!

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

In fact, if I’m going to include My Life Next Door to the roundup of best YA books on your summer reading list this year, I also have to include The Unexpected Everything. This was another light, sweet, happy, and satisfying vacation read. The characters and story were perfect for each other. At first I didn't like them, but they totally won me over. They fit their world, and they grew as a result of the summer events. I will definitely read more of this author.

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

"We keep thinking there are only these two choices: We either grow apart or grow together. But maybe we can just kind of each grow on our own, and see how it goes. And then later, if it's right, we'll come back to each other and start again." ― Jennifer E. Smith, quote from Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between

In another “novel in one night” book, Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between explores the relationship of Clare and Aiden as they prepare to separate before heading off to college at the end of summer break. Along the way, they spend time with a cast of friends and visit places where they enjoyed some of their most memorable moments. I didn’t love-love the story and characters the same way that I did some of the other novels here, but there were sweet and romantic moments that kept me invested.

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between definitely belong in this list of summer-themed YA books. If you’re looking for YA books that belong on your summer reading list this year, check out Jennifer Smith’s book.

Other YA Books That Belong on Your Summer Reading List

If you are looking for some other great suggestions for which YA books belong on your summer reading list, check out the Summer-Themed YA and YA Summer Reads Books lists on Goodreads. If you haven’t found what you’re looking for yet, you might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type.

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