I’m wrapping up my better-late-than-never Summer Reading Guide with a post for the teens! I’ve got twelve fantastic new YA picks for you, all of which published in the first half of this year. (Please note that none are graphic novels because I already included my two favorites in the Graphic Novels installment.) If you’ve got young teens, I also encourage you to check out some of the 10+ titles in my Middle Grade installment.
In this list you’ll find fiction and nonfiction, thrillers and romances, historical fiction and contemporary coming-of-age stories. What I admittedly didn’t do a great job of vetting for you is fantasy. I’m not including sequels here, which is why you won’t see Sunrise on the Reaping (but it’s soooo good), but I’ve heard Ava Reid’s Fable for the End of the World is the queer dystopian book we didn’t know we needed, and Divine Rivals fans have also been loving Laura Steven’s Our Infinite Fates.
I’ve read and loved all of these, with the exception of one I haven’t gotten to yet but my daughter adored; I indicate which one it is below. Some of these (Everything is Poison; Death in the Jungle; Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between; Under the Same Stars) have tremendous crossover appeal for adults, so I encourage you to add them to your own TBR list as well!
Onwards! Remember that summer break comes with a chance at new routines, fresh starts, and screen-free trips, all of which can jump start reading for fun.
Say a Little Prayer
by Jenna Voris
Ages 13+ (320 pages)
What would a Summer Reading Guide be without a good sleepaway camp story? And this one is an absolute delight! On its surface, Say a Little Prayer is about a girl who, when forced to attend a week of church camp so she can learn to embrace the seven heavenly virtues, decides instead to commit the seven deadly sins—a decision quickly complicated by a realization that she’s in love with the pastor’s daughter. In part, Riley aims to punish the pastor, who threw her sister out of the church and regularly delivers homophobic sermons. But more than that—let me be clear: this book is not anti-religion—Riley is pushing back against absolutes and binaries. She yearns for nuance and dialogue, two things in short supply in the leadership of Pleasant Hills Baptist Church.
What Riley never anticipates is that, in rightly calling out others for their righteousness, she will end up confronting and dismantling her own steely armor. (Even prayer books can’t come between the bonding of bunkmates and the beauty of mountains.)
Under the Same Stars
by Libba Bray
Ages 13+ (480 pages)
For your historical fiction fans, Under the Same Stars is a sweeping, ambitious mystery spanning three interconnected timelines, from anti-Nazi work under the cloak of a German forest, to the punk movement in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, to the George Floyd protests during Covid lockdown. The historical settings spring to life, the character work is extraordinary, we get a touch of magic in a fairytale element seamlessly woven throughout, and the gorgeous prose intentionally and powerfully draws parallels to events unfolding in today’s headlines. It left me breathless.
Each timeline—Kleinwald, Germany, 1939; West Berlin, 1980; Brooklyn, NY, 2020—centers two young people thrust into change and chaos, both personal and political; how these characters are connected across time is revealed only towards the end. In the vein of other favorite historical writers for teens—ahem, Ruta Sepetys—though the story is filled with coming-of-age angst, parental clashes, redemptive friendships, music and art, and romance both sapphic and hetero, the theme that rises to the top is one of resistance—specifically, the way young people have shown up, time and again and at great personal risk, to help create the world they want to live in, instead of the one they’ve inherited. The urgency is underscored with every page turn: “Don’t die in the waiting room of the future.”
Murder Between Friends
by Liz Lawson
Ages 12+ (384 pages)
From the co-author of The Agathas, another favorite, Murder Between Friends is a masterclass in plotting at a time when I find much of YA to be sorely lacking in plot. It has all the hallmarks of a classic mystery—gripping suspense, foreshadowing, red herrings, evidence that rewards close reading, and a highly gratifying surprise twist at the end—while also grounding itself in that emotionally rich territory of teen friendship.
High schoolers Grace, Henry, and Ally were longtime besties until Grace’s eyewitness testimony put Henry’s big brother behind bars and everyone hailed her as the town hero. Since then, it has been Henry and Ally on one side and Grace and the popular kids on the other. Now, with Jake released on a mistrial but a new trial date quickly set, Grace is beginning to question what she actually saw the night their English teacher was murdered. But will her ex-friends be willing to accept her apology and let her help them uncover new evidence from that night to keep Jake out of prison? And how quickly can they crack the case? Because if Jake didn’t do it, that means the murderer is still at large…
Lovesick Falls
by Julia Drake
Ages 13+ (336 pages)
Lovesick Falls, a queer modern take on Shakespeare’s As You Like It, is the dreamiest summer read on this list, a story that’s so much more than romance or friendship and perfectly encapsulates the kind of accelerated growing up that a single teenage summer can inspire. (I’m now a Julia Drake super fan and need to read her critically acclaimed debut novel next.) A trio of besties decides to spend the summer before their senior year of high school housesitting at a tiny lake cabin in a “plucked-from-myth” place called Lovesick Falls, known for its annual theater festival and a spring that may or may not cure you of love.
Two of the teens immediately dive into acting and costume internships, the third gets a job at a local florist, and dabbling in adulting (cooking! chore charts!) has never been more fun…until it isn’t. There’s nothing like a summer of close quarters to unearth the complicated, non-platonic feelings in the group, and when mounting tensions, jealousy, and confessions come to a head, you might just find a pie directed at your face.
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown
by Candace Fleming
Ages 13+ (368 pages)
Mark my words: Death in the Jungle is the Nonfiction of the Year! Candace Fleming has always been one of the best nonfiction writers for kids and teens (remember last year’s The Enigma Girls?), but there is perhaps no subject more deserving of her craft than the tragedy of Jonestown.
Can we—should we—consider the mass grave of 909 bodies found in the Guyana jungle outpost of Peoples Temple to be an act of “revolutionary suicide,” as their leader Jim Jones called it (and the inspo behind “Drink the Kool-Aid” in our lexicon)? Were these people “blindly obedient” at best or “baby killers” at worst, as the media painted them, or were they victims of longterm brainwashing, peer pressure, fear-mongering, distortion of truth, starvation, sleep deprivation, and the racism and disillusionment rampant in the US in the 60s and 70s to which Jones offered an alternative? Who was this charismatic Jim Jones and why did so many subscribe to his Christian-turned-socialist platform? And if it happened to these people, couldn’t it happen to anyone? The nuanced portrait of Jones that Candace constructs, relying on a vast array of primary sources including interviews with survivors, is transfixing. You won’t be able to look away.
Needy Little Things
by Channelle Desamours
Ages 13+ (320 pages)
If you like your thrillers with emotionally complex characters and a side of social justice—think Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give or Jas Hammonds’ We Deserve Monuments—look no further than this gripping speculative mystery, where a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend’s disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger.
In Needy Little Things, a debut from a talent to watch, Sariyeh can sense other people’s needs—tangible things, like a pen or nail file or can of mace—before they themselves even can, which is why she doesn’t go anywhere without her Santa Bag filled with odds and ends from the dollar store. But this power comes with an increasing emotional tax, especially after Sariyeh fills a need for her best friend, Deja, who then goes missing at a musical festival they’re at together. Deja isn’t the first friend of Sariyeh’s to go missing, and she is determined not to let Deja’s non-whiteness stand in the way of an aggressive police investigation—even if she has to hunt down the perpetrator herself.
Come As You Are
by Dahlia Adler
Ages 13+ (320 pages)
There are few things better than a new Dahlia Adler rom-com, and though nothing could probably ever dethrone Going Bicoastal for my daughter and her friends—their obsession runs deeeeep—her newest, Come As You Are, is now my personal favorite. I cackled through so much of the banter in these delightful pages, cheered on this friends-to-lovers duo at every turn, and I only wish I could re-visit my own boarding school years for a chance to whip out the many razor-sharp comebacks our protagonist slings at the misogynistic undertones of the bro culture around her.
Pray tell: is there a funnier premise than a girl transferring to a fancy-pants boarding school for her sophomore year only to discover she has been given a room in an all-boys dormitory because her name, Everett (Evie), was mistaken for that of a boy’s and now she’s stuck with these dormmates for an entire year? The only silver lining for Evie is that the emo boy upstairs is as much of an outlier as she is. He also might be the perfect recruit to help her shed the “good girl” image that she faults for her broken heart last year—that is, unless she accidentally unleashes a heart of gold in him first.
Everything is Poison
by Joy McCullough
Ages 14+ (304 pages)
For those who spark to feminist currents in historical fiction, this gorgeous novel reminds us that women have always found corners in which to affirm power over their own bodies, in which to nurture, support, and protect one another, and in which to guard and pass on these practices from one generation to another. Written mostly in prose, with a few strategically placed chapters of free verse to invite emphasis, Everything is Poison is loosely inspired by a real woman living in 17C Rome, who developed—and paid a dangerous price—for a controversial poison to be used by women as a last resort against physically abusive husbands. I assure you, these pages are not glorifying or advocating murder. Rather, with great tenderness and care, they ask us to consider nuance in discussions of power, forgiveness, responsibility, and bodily autonomy.
Now that Carmela Tofana is sixteen, she can finally help at her mother’s apothecary, including its heavily guarded inner sanctum—the workroom where different natural remedies are handcrafted and doled out for aches and pains of both body and heart. But in apprenticing under her mother and her two longtime women assistants, she gets far more than a crash course in herbs and elixirs. As Carmela learns about some of the darker ingredients on hand, including those for a poison called Agua Tofana, she is exposed to some of the most heavily guarded secrets in her community. Carmela has always been quick to fire, judge, and resent, but suddenly the world seems cloaked in confusing shades of grey. But Carmela is still young, flirting with independence and fueled by a strong sense of right and wrong, and an impulse decision one evening jeopardizes the future of the apothecary—and her mother.
The Thrashers
by Julie Soto
Ages 14+ (352 pages)
If your thriller-obsessed teen is ready to level up from the likes of Holly Jackson or Liz Lawton, let me tell you about the most unhinged thriller of the year. (Take note because if my daughter and her friend are any indication, this also excels as a buddy read, because the gasps are all the better for company.) The Thrashers begins with a girl dead in a bathtub and a suicide note that points blame in the direction of a popular foursome at New Helvetia High with a reputation as “The Thrashers” for the way they have been known to turn on their wannabee classmates.
As police begin to investigate the death, we’re taken deep inside the dynamics of said clique by our narrator, who is also one of its members. Jodi has always felt like a bit of an outsider in the group in the first place, especially since her home life looks nothing like the wealthy ones of her three friends. Now, as she begins to peel back the layers on her friends, the victim, and herself, she (and we!) get more and more confused about how toxic this friendship dynamic is and who exactly is to blame. Who is playing who? Oh, and because Julie Soto is known for her adult romances, there’s a looming love triangle, with a brooding Mr. Darcy type that is absolutely in the running for my favorite character of the year.
Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between
by L.M. Elliott
Ages 14+ (384 pages)
Against the backdrop of Watergate and the Equal Rights Amendment, the Battle of the Sexes and the return of POWs from Vietnam, comes a fascinating mash-up of fiction and non-fiction, where prose chapters are prefaced by pages of photo journalism for context and foreshadowing. L.M. Elliott’s Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between is set across the pivotal year of 1973 and delivered through the (fictional) lens of one of the first female Congressional pages. It feels like the history lesson we all need right now—the parallels to today are jaw-dropping!—but with the emotional heft of a coming-of-age story authentically authored for teens.
Patty Appleton may be one of the first female pages on the Senate floor, where she has a front-row seat to the debates dividing the nation, but she has never seen herself as anything but a future politician’s wife. The women’s movement isn’t exactly a topic of conversation in her conservative family—unless it’s to talk about the so-called threat it poses to traditional family values. Enter Simone, the daughter of Patty’s godmother, with whom Patty spends her weekends across the river in Old Town Alexandria. Simone fiercely identifies as a feminist and is helping her mother canvas for women’s rights. Alongside Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, and Nora Ephron, Patty begins to hone her own curiosity, ambition, and voice, and she begins to take what she’s witnessing on the Hill a lot more seriously.
Nobody in Particular
by Sophie Gonzales
Ages 13+ (352 pages)
I told you there was one book on this list that I have yet to read and Nobody in Particular is it. I’m including it because my daughter inhaled it and told me the list would not be complete without it. Since then, the trade reviews have also been glowing, and with more teens reporting to me that they’ve read and loved it, I think it’s a pretty sure bet that it’s as good and fun as everyone is saying. Plus, who doesn’t love a forbidden romance?
A disgraced princess falls for a fellow student at their all-girls boarding school and attempts to keep their relationship a secret in this swoony, sapphic romance with Young Royals vibes.
Girls With Goals: How Women’s Soccer Took Over the World
by Clelia Castro-Malaspina
Ages 12+ (176 pages)
I can’t believe we’ve had to wait until 2025 to get a book for teens on this topic! Girls With Goals is a deep dive into the rise of women’s soccer, beginning with its start in 19th century England and following the bans, challenges, laws, and astonishing victories that spurred today’s worldwide phenomenon. Special attention is paid to the pioneers, record breakers, and marginalized voices who have paved the way for our teens. Full color photos, mementos, and pull quotes break up the informative yet anecdote-heavy text, making this gold for reluctant readers and sports fans alike.
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