Summertime is beaten by only thunderstorm weather as the most atmospheric time of the year to read. Books can be enjoyed in hammocks, by the pool, or just lying in the grass and soaking up the warmth. I always save my lovable summer Young Adult romances for when school gets out, just to feel the summer breeze in my hammock as the characters do too.
Summer can also get restless or boring without friends and school drama. I take summer as a time to catch up on my yearly reading goal and glide through a few shelves of books for entertainment. Even enjoying just one book on a rainy day, during a road trip, or to have a book to talk about when your English teacher asks makes a lovely addition to your summer. Listen to them on audiobook, use them for a library summer reading challenge, or buddy read them with a friend! The following are recommended as some of the best books I’ve read with a summer setting or an otherwise engaging, lighthearted plot.
Best (Young Adult) Summer Romances
1.“The Falling in Love Montage” by Ciara Smyth
Available at the Omaha Public Library
One of my favorite YA romances, “The Falling in Love Montage” is addicting with its riveting love interest and plot full of summer dates. Saoirse and Ruby meet at a party (chasing a kitten) at the start of their summer before university. They’re both interested in each other, but with tragedy looming over Saoirse and a guaranteed split at the end of the summer, neither believes in starting a relationship. They then embark on a summer of fake dating to fulfill all their hopeless romantic dreams and to help Saoirse contend with her breakup. The separation at the end of the season seems simple but a lot happens that summer.
2. “Ander & Santi Were Here” by Jonny Garza Villa
Available at the Central and Omaha Public Libraries
Again, one of my favorite YA romances in existence, “Ander & Santi” is less of a beach read but still infused with vivid food descriptions, undying love, and summer heat. I loved this book for its vividness all around; it fully immerses you in the love story of Ander, a nonbinary budding muralist, and Santi, a Mexican immigrant who is undocumented, as they navigate love forbidden by circumstance.
Best Summer Series
3. “The Clique” series by Lisi Harrison (14 books plus a summer series)
Available at the Omaha Public Library
Also, the best pick for trashy summer reading, “The Clique” series is a gem for readers who love aimless drama, rich people problems and fashion. I only made my way through six of the 14 books last summer, but each one is easy to pick up and finish in a few sittings. The clique is a group of five middle school girls attending a luscious private school in upstate New York. The series follows Claire’s attempts to be “in” with the clique, and their various middle school crushes, shopping trips and adventures on the new iMac. I read them for the 2000s nostalgia, which is coming back!
4. “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series by Ann Brashares (four books)
Available at the Omaha Public Library
For a more mature, less trashy, but still very 2000s series, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” follows four best friends at the cusp of adulthood and a series of memorable summers, all united by the Traveling Pants. One pair of thrift store jeans magically fits all four perfectly and becomes a lucky charm travelling between the girls throughout the summer. In the jeans, the girls experience first loves, travel to Greece, grow into themselves and ultimately revel in the beauty of their lifelong friendship.
Best Quick Reads
5. “Mexican Whiteboy” by Matt de la Peña
Available at the Central and Omaha Public Libraries
Only around 250 pages, “Mexican Whiteboy” follows Danny Lopez, the son of a white mother and a Mexican-American father, as he spends his summer with his father’s family, sharpening his prodigious baseball talent. Yet, the novel ultimately explores Danny’s unexpected and bittersweet friendship with a neighbor and contends with the different lives each boy will lead.
6. “This One Summer” by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki
Available at the Central and Omaha Public Libraries
Graphic novels can also make a quick read, but “This One Summer” has enough plot to mull over for the entire summer. Rose and Windy go to Awabo Beach every summer; however, this summer promises the girls a glimpse into adulthood and adult problems. It captures the confusion and longing of adolescence perfectly, with the secrets of growing up coming into reach.
Best Book to Keep You Occupied All Summer
7. “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides
Available at the Omaha Public Library
Not only is this book over 500 pages, but it also spans almost a century of a family’s history and decisions culminating in the birth of Cal. Readers follow Cal’s grandparents’ love story and emigration from Greece. Then, after facing America as immigrants in 1920s, Cal’s parents and their lives of military service and hot dog franchises in the 1960s are introduced. The remaining portion of the novel details Cal’s childhood and discovery that made the entire family history relevant. The book will fill your summer with the sheer amount of information to absorb, but the characters are dynamic and propel the story.
Best Book to be Your Only Read This Summer
8. “The View Was Exhausting” by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
Available at the Omaha Public Library
I recommend “The View Was Exhausting” to classmates who want to get back into reading or are occasional readers and want the book they choose to be worth it. A Hollywood romance, the novel has parallels to the shipping (thinking two individuals would make a good couple) and eventual romance of Zendaya and Tom Holland. Fictional actors Win and Leo are constantly shipped together, so they use it to their advantage in an addictive story full of the juiciest parts of Hollywood and years of romantic tension.
Best Book to Cool You Off with Tears
9“More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera
Available at the Omaha Public Library
Silvera is known for “They Both Die at the End,” but his best work lies in his earlier works like “More Happy Than Not.” Aaron Soto lives in the Bronx and expects his summer to be as he always remembers it being: ample time with his girlfriend, running around the apartment buildings with his buddies and finding time to heal from his father’s suicide. Looming in the background is a new, dystopian memory-erasing procedure. In the end, his summer reveals more about his past, his feelings about his friend Thomas, and himself, than Aaron ever could have imag
