Enjoy these top teen picks for the Summer. Perfect for vacation or the beach!

TEEN FICTION COTUGNO

Liar’s Beach / Katie Cotugno

A fresh new take on Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery The Mysterious Affair at Styles, with iconic detective Hercule Poirot recast as a brilliant, brash teen girl named Holiday, and narrated by her childhood friend Linden, an athlete-scholar who fits right in at his elite New England prep school—all the while hiding some secrets of his own.

TEEN FICTION DELACRUZ

The Headmaster’s list / Melissa De la Cruz

After one teen doesn’t make it home alive from the party of the summer, Spencer Sandoval is struggling to come to terms with rumors that her ex, Ethan, was the reckless driver responsible. The hunt for answers intensifies when a local true crime podcast takes an interest in the case, pushing Spencer further into the depths of this sinister mystery. Was it just a night out that went very wrong or is it a coincidence that all but one person is on Armstrong’s esteemed honor roll, the Headmaster’s List?

TEEN FICTION DESSEN

The rest of the story / Sarah Dessen

A big-hearted, sweeping novel about a girl named Emma who reconnects with a part of her family she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl-and falls in love, all over the course of a magical summer.

TEEN FICTION GEORGE

The edge of Summer / Erica George

18-year-old Cor Cabot navigates first love and the loss of her best friend, all while working on her summer internship to save whales on Cape Cod.

TEEN FICTION LOCKHART

Family of liars / E. Lockhart

Carrie Sinclair tells the ghost of her son Johnny about the summer of 1987, when “the boys” arrive on Beechwood Island, setting off events that will haunt her for years to come.

TEEN FICTION MARKUM

You wouldn’t dare / Samantha Markum

Juniper Nash’s friendship with her two best friends go sideways after a summer kiss, and things have been awkward since. Just when she doesn’t think that life can get any worse, her Mom announces that they will be moving at the end of the summer to go live with her boyfriend and his daughter, Tallulah, and they are forced to work together at their family café. The only bright spot ahead is Junie’s dad’s upcoming visit, just in time for her community theater production. And then poor turnout soon threatens that. But when Junie starts to realize the feelings she swore to take care of last summer have lingered, saving her production and managing her hostile relationship with Tallulah might be the least of her problems.

TEEN FICTION MCDOWELL

This might get awkward / Kara McDowell

The most hilarious, romantic book of the summer about a girl with social anxiety and the guy who refuses to let her hide herself away.

TEEN FICTION PETERSON

Lola at last / J. C. Peterson

Move over, Elizabeth Bennet. The most infamous Bennet sister is here to tell her story. Join Lola Barnes, a.k.a. a modern Lydia Bennet, at the beginning of a summer gone truly wrong: where a boat party-turned-fiery-fiasco ends with the ship, Lola’s summer plans, and her reputation truly sunk. (The boat was barely on fire, for the record–and all the partygoers were just fine.) Luckily, this disaster of a summer has another thing in store for her: a path of self-discovery she never saw coming. Given an ultimatum–jail time or spending the summer with the nonprofit Hike Like a Girl–she laces up her hiking boots and takes to the wilderness.

TEEN FICTION PLATT

Postcards from Summer / Cynthia Platt

Seventeen-year-old Lexi has always wanted to know more about the mother who passed away when she was only a child. But her dad will barely talk about her.

When Lexi’s grandma dies and secretly leaves her a worn blue chest that belonged to Lexi’s mother, Lexi is ecstatic to find a treasure trove of keepsakes – all from the same beautiful summertime getaway: Mackinac Island—plus a cryptic postcard that hints at a forbidden romance. Following in her Mother’s footsteps, Lexi ventures to the island to find answers and stumbles across some unfortunate secrets.

TEEN FICTION REYNOLDS
The Summer of Lost Letters / Hannah Reynolds
This sweet, summery romance set in Nantucket follows seventeen-year-old Abby Schoenberg as she uncovers a secret about her grandmother’s life during WWII.

TEEN FICTION SALVATORE
No Perfect Places / Steven Salvatore
After their father dies unexpectedly in prison, twins Alex an Olly’s relationship becomes fractured as they cope with their loss very differently, and to make matters worse, Olly is hiding the truth that Tyler, who recently arrived at their lakeside town for the summer, is actually their half-brother.

TEEN FICTION VIVIAN
Stay sweet / Siobhan Vivian
17-year-old Amelia is looking forward to her last summer before college working at the Meade Creamery, but when the owner of the local landmark passes away her nephew has big changes in mind.

TEEN FICTION WELCH
Love & Olives / Jenna Evans Welch
When her long-estranged father invites sixteen-year-old Liv Varanakis to help him film a documentary about his theories on Atlantis, she looks forward to reconnecting but discovers he may have invited her to Greece for a very different reason.

TEEN FICTION WEST
Sunkissed / Kasie West
Betrayed by her best friend and dragged off to a remote family camp, seventeen-year-old Avery’s dreams of a perfect summer seem over until a whirlwind romance leads to an unexpected journey of self-discovery.

TEEN FICTION ZARR
Goodbye from nowhere / Sara Zarr
When Kyle learns some troubling family secrets, his reality is altered. But when Kyle’s parents want him to keep this secret from the rest of the family until after what might be their last big summer reunion, he begins to feel the walls of his relationships closing in and has to decide what his obligations are to everyone he cares for.

JJ: 6/12/2023