8 Gripping Summer Books for High Schoolers to Read

Deja is doing her best to care for her younger brother and sister in Jamaica while their mother earns money in America. Deja is what’s known as a “barrel girl”: her mother regularly sends barrels full of American goods unavailable on the island to provide for her and her siblings. But when her mother is mugged and unable to send supplies, Deja’s not sure what she’s going to do.

Gabriel lives with his aunt, a heroin addict, while running with one of Jamaica’s posses, groups that act as a middleman for drug shipments between South America and the United States, but he wants out of that life. He’s not sure, however, that the head of the posse will let him leave, and he’s heard rumors that he’s about to be set up as a sacrifice to appease local law enforcement.

When Deja, out fishing, comes across an abandoned boat with a dying DEA agent onboard, he begs her to deliver a briefcase filled with half a million American dollars to another agent, and desperate for the reward he promises her, she agrees, throwing herself into a deadly race between the DEA and Gabriel’s posse to recover both the cash and the drugs that were onboard the boat.

The island setting is perfect for summer, and the novel is a high-paced action thriller that alternates between Deja’s and Gabriel’s perspectives. It’s not until the novel ends that we feel confident in whom the two characters can trust, and we’re rooting for the brave and independent Deja the entire way.

The novel does include profanity, something to be aware of when making recommendations to students.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Devin Baez and his family are returning to their cabin at Lake Andreas for the first time since his mother died. They hope to enjoy one last Winter Break before selling the cabin, and while the town is a little more run-down than they remembered (thanks to the new water park on the other side of the lake), they’re eager to relive years of memories at this beloved place.

It’s not long, however, before they run into Julian Seo-Cooke, the youngest member of the family they’ve been bitterly feuding with for years. Julian’s father stole the idea for an invention that Devin’s father came up with, and the families have been at war ever since, culminating in the community’s annual Winter Games.

When Mr. Cooke challenges the Baezes to one last bet over the Winter Games, this time with the Baez family cabin at stake, the Baezes start preparing for war. But then Julian adds an extra complication: he asks Devin to pretend to be his boyfriend since his ex, Liam, is in town.

At first, it’s torture for Devin to pretend to like his rival, but he’s determined to use the position to spy on the family (especially since the Seo-Cookes always plays dirty). It’s not long before he starts to realize there might be more to Julian than he had always assumed, and his feelings for Julian might be a lot more complicated. But can he really trust a Seo-Cooke?

We loved Devin’s voice as a narrator and the banter between the characters: it was light and fun, and we laughed out loud multiple times. But we also loved the story’s surprising depth. Sure, it was a fun lake romance, but there were so many complex dynamics going on within the Baez and Seo-Cooke families that made the novel more than just a light romance. 

Devin, his twin sister, and Julian are all in the midst of transitioning to adulthood. Their insecurities about their future and whether they can actually succeed on the roads they’ve set out for themselves capture the blend of anxiety and hope that characterizes this transition, and we think many students will relate to the characters.

We’re also thrilled to discover Joy Revolution, an imprint of Penguin Random House led by David and Nicola Yoon, that is devoted to discovering and sharing love stories for young adults starring and authored by people of color. It turns out one of our favorites from last year (Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute) is one of their titles, and we’ll eagerly have our eye out to see what’s next from them!

Thank you NetGalley, Joy Revolution, and Random House Children’s for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Addie and her family have long had a complicated relationship with the Montgomery family. Addie, her sister Fiona, and her brother Davy live in the middle-class community of Bier’s End full-time, while the wealthy Montgomery family lives in the city, only coming into Bier’s End for the summer. They grew up together as childhood friends and playmates (and sometimes enemies) before eventually forming romantic connections: Fiona and Thatcher, Addie and Seth, Davy and Marion.

Fiona died a year ago, her body discovered at the bottom of a ravine, while Addie was hooking up with Seth in a nearby clearing in the woods. Between that and the fact that Addie’s last words to Fiona were said in anger, Addie carries a lot of guilt with her. She’s also publicly blamed Thatcher for Fiona’s death, heightening the tensions between her and the Montgomery family.

But shortly after the Montgomery family shows up in Bier’s End for the summer, Thatcher is discovered dead at the bottom of the same ravine where Fiona was found. Addie finds herself reconnecting with Seth as they work together to figure out what really happened to Fiona and Thatcher, and the more Addie digs, the more family secrets she discovers—about both families—leading her to wonder whether she can truly trust Seth, even as she finds herself attracted to him once again.

This was a solid summer mystery, full of suspense (and a little bit of romance) that will appeal to your mystery fans. We liked Addie and were eager to learn what truly happened to her family through all the ups and downs of her investigation. We also enjoyed a subplot where Addie reconnects with an old friend and ex-boyfriend: she has to process her own hurt but also her realizations that, perhaps, she hasn’t been entirely fair to these old friends and isn’t truly better off without them.

The novel’s inclusion of profanity, teen drinking, and references to sex makes it more appropriate for high school students than middle school students.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Nancy Paulsen Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Lilah feels trapped between two worlds. She has hearing loss, which means she doesn’t quite fit in with the hearing world, but she can hear and primarily relies on lip reading rather than sign language, which means she doesn’t quite feel like she fits in with the deaf community either.

Desperate for change, Lilah signs up to be a counselor at the summer camp for the deaf and blind she loved so much as a kid. She hopes it will be a chance to immerse herself in deaf culture and practice her sign language, but it’s a lot more complicated than she was expecting!

Not only are there quite a few cute boys (British lifeguards and Isaac, another counselor who helps Lilah improve her signing), lots of children to wrangle, and a YouTuber who’s famous for her ASL videos even though she herself isn’t deaf, but Lilah finds out the camp is desperate for funding if it’s going to continue operating.

We loved learning more about the nuances of Deaf culture, which is significantly more complicated than we had realized, and while the novel is a cute summer romance and a chance for Lilah to mature, it also offers readers many opportunities to recognize how difficult it can be for those with hearing loss to navigate the world around them.

Cassie and her friends graduate from high school (finally!), but within weeks, their tight-knit friend group is already drifting apart. Cassie will be staying in New York and working at her family’s restaurant while Nico goes to music school in London, Aaron starts his freshman year at Harvard, and Marcy moves to San Francisco to pursue her career as an artist. Cassie is desperate to make the most of their last summer together, but between Nico’s new girlfriend, Aaron’s Harvard prep, and Marcy’s desire to experiment with new friend groups and identities, it’s nearly impossible for Cassie to get anyone to commit to plans.

In desperation, Cassie challenges her friends to a game of Risky Slips, where they all write dares on slips of paper, drop them in a paper coffee cup, and take turns drawing a dare to complete.

The dares certainly make for a memorable summer, but they don’t stop everyone from growing up and preparing for their futures, and each member of the friend group has to wrestle with this reality. Cassie, in particular, has to grapple with her insecurities about being left behind while everyone moves on. These are real feelings: our students graduate, vowing to be friends forever, but their adult lives quickly pull them in different directions. And while many YA novels focus on eager preparations for college, some of our students will see themselves in Cassie, taking a year off for a wide variety of reasons.

We think your students will find the four friends in this graphic novel highly relatable, but the after-high-school focus and inclusion of some profanity and teen partying probably make this a better recommendation for high school students.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Atheneum Books for Young Readers for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Jesse, Chloe, and Ava have been best friends for as long as they can remember: their families rent neighboring houses each summer. And Jesse is in love with both Chloe and Ava . . . at least when the book opens.

Jesse quickly develops romantic feelings for Chloe while realizing his attraction to Ava is just physical, but as he and Chloe spend more time together, the trio’s dynamic shifts, and Jesse is afraid their friendship won’t survive.

On top of the changing relationship dynamics, the three friends have a lot to deal with outside of their idyllic summers. Chloe is trying to help her family start a business, Ava’s mother is dying of cancer, and Jesse’s parents are on the verge of divorce. When summer ends and they’re all forced to return to the “real world,” they have a lot to work through.

To make a challenging year even worse, the COVID pandemic hits in March, and the families find themselves quarantining at their summer houses to get out of New York City. The pandemic adds even more challenges to an already difficult situation, and Jesse’s not sure any of them will recover.

We really enjoyed this novel—it captures the “escapist” feel of summer, the challenging dynamics of childhood friendships that morph into something more over time, and the painful family conflicts that many of us face, whether it’s in our own families or in those of the friends we support. But the characters learn not to shy away from hard realities and that, perhaps, facing reality can be more rewarding in the long run.

There is some profanity and teen drinking to be aware of when making recommendations to students.

Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Brandy is in a panic. Summer is here, and she’s just been accepted to the Lucerne School of Nursing, the accomplishment her mother has been dreaming of for years. But Brandy hasn’t had the courage to tell her mom that she has no interest in medicine. Her passion is for art, specifically street art full of “colors and bold strokes and cute chibi characters.”

When her mom sends her to the mall to buy a dress for their celebratory dinner that night, Brandy runs into her classmate, Ben Nolan, who is on the brink of becoming a famous film actor . . . and who has tortured Brandy for years, in part by regularly stealing tater tots off her lunch tray.

But somehow this day is different. Brandy’s defenses are down, Ben’s got worries of his own, and they end up spending the day together. And when Brandy’s friend Shai invites Ben to join them at the town carnival that night, they start an adventurous evening that forces Brandy to reevaluate both her feelings for Ben and her unwillingness to fight for the life she wants.

We loved this one. It is such a fun love story and welcome-to-summer story, but it also captures the post-senior-year angst of having to make real decisions that will impact the rest of your life, decisions that don’t always line up with what your parents want for you. Brandy, Ben, and Shai (and Shai’s daughter Elsa) are a delight, and we enjoyed our evening at the carnival!

While there is a scene of teen drinking, this is overall a sweet love story that will be appropriate for a wide range of students (and we love finding YA romance books that we’re comfortable recommending from the front of the classroom—they’re not always easy to find).

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch loves speeding around Sugar Island in the Jeep that was gifted to her and her twin sister Pauline by their Auntie Daunis (yep, from Firekeeper’s Daughter, which we highly recommend!). But when Perry crashes the Jeep into a tree to narrowly avoid a black bear, Auntie Daunis forces her to take a position as a summer internship for the Ojibwe Tribe to work off the cost of the repairs. So much for her Summer of Slack, which she fully intended to spend fishing.

Perry is placed with the eccentric Cooper Turtle, who oversees the museum at the Sugar Island Cultural Learning Center. After a first day spent cleaning all the glass cases in the museum, Perry is ready to quit, but then Cooper takes her to a meeting at a local college to discuss the repatriation of Ojibwe remains under NAGPRA. When she sees her ancestors’ bones and sacred belongings stored unceremoniously in dusty boxes, an anger ignites in her that develops over the course of the summer into a passion for seeing her tribe’s artifacts and remains returned.

There are, however, plenty of dirty secrets that threaten to derail her efforts, and she has a lot to learn about the means mattering just as much as the ends.

This book has a little bit of everything—romance, mystery, coming-of-age story—but what we appreciated most was the thoughtful insight into the significant failure of the US government and institutions to repatriate Native American remains and artifacts to their tribes. Boulley weaves in a storyline involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, crafting a layered story “about the need to control Indigenous bodies—both in the past and today” (391). There’s a lot going on (and it does feel a bit overcomplicated at times), but overall, this is a rich and moving novel that, at its heart, is about Perry’s growth into a fierce young woman with a purpose.

The novel does include profanity and references to sexual assault (not depicted), which should be considered when making recommendations to students.