Now that summer is just around the corner and the weather is getting warmer, the time has almost come for us to be exempt from school and spend time under the sun. While soaking in those beautiful rays, here are ten must-read books to fill up your summer. These books can all be found at libraries nearby such as the WA Wright Library, or at the town’s JV Fletcher Library, which has different summer programs for teens with prizes as enticement.

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a romance novel set in the fictional town of Cousins Beach, Massachusetts. The book is about a girl named Belly who is caught in a love triangle between two brothers, with whom she spent every summer at their beach house. However, this summer is different. Belly experiences her first love, but also her first heartbreak. The novel takes readers through Belly’s experiences at the beach house throughout the summer, through the Fourth of July, beach bonfires, and a drive-in movie date, making it perfect for a summer read. 

2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing is a murder mystery novel set during late summer in the 1960s and takes place in the marshes of North Carolina.  In the small town of Berkley Coves, there are constant rumors about the “Marsh Girl”, a misunderstood girl named Kya, who lives in the isolated marsh after her family abandoned her at a young age. She learns to survive on her own and learns lessons through nature. As she grows older, she falls in love with two young men from town. After the handsome, talk-of-the-town Chase Andrews’ body is found in the swamp, all eyes are turned to Kya. Where the Crawdads Sing takes readers through the past and present of Kya’s life and is the perfect mystery read for the summer.

3. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Written in an interview-style format, the book is comprised entirely of dialogue from the characters in the book to the interviewer, with no descriptions. Daisy Jones and the Six is a book unlike any other. The book occurs in 1960s downtown Los Angeles and follows a rock band called The Six, which is soon joined by coming-of-age, rising popstar, Daisy Jones. Daisy Jones and the Six follows Daisy as she clashes with the brooding band lead, Billy Dunne. While the topic of summer does not appear in the book, the book has a wonderful summery feel.

4. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

Heart Bones is a young adult (YA) romance novel about two young adults who find themselves spending the summer on a peninsula in Texas as neighbors. The main character, Beyah is forced to stay with her father who she barely knows since her mother died. She’s lived a life of poverty and neglect. This summer is the bridge between the future she built for herself and leaving a past she’d rather forget. Samson is from a wealthy and privileged family. They are complete opposites and can not stand each other, but there’s an intense connection between them that just can’t be ignored. Heart Bones is raw and honest, and has many beautiful layers.

5. You Have a Match by Emma Lord

You Have a Match is a contemporary novel about a girl named Abby who takes a DNA test only to find out that she has an older sister who her parents gave up for adoption. Her sister is shiny-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, who is the complete opposite of her. Abby decides to meet up with her sister at a summer camp and figure out why her parents gave Savannah up for adoption. You Have a Match is a perfect, lighthearted, easy read filled with laughter and endless entertainment.

6. The Summer of Broken Rules by K. L. Walther

After Meredith Fox lost her sister, Claire, she shuts everyone out. However, the annual family vacation to Martha’s Vineyard seems like the perfect place for her to reconnect. This summer, her extended family is getting ready for a big summer wedding, and Meredith is excited to participate in the traditional family game of assassin that will happen during the week of wedding festivities. Meredith forms an assassin alliance with a cute groomsman and she falls in love with him. The Summer of Broken Rules is a contemporary romance inspired by pop star sensation Taylor Swift’s songs, and a wholesome, feel-good, beachy summer read.

7. The Lake by Natasha Preston

The Lake is a summer camp thriller about Esme and Kayla, two girls who return to their childhood summer camp to work as counselors-in-training. However, they have a dark secret that they are hoping to put in the past. But as the summer goes on, the secret they’ve buried for so many years starts to resurface. Creepy incidents keep happening around the camp, and Esme tries in every way to convince herself that someone else is responsible for the creepy incidents but in reality, she knows exactly who is causing the trouble. The book is a total page-turner that will grab your attention. Filled with twists and turns, The Lake’s descriptions are written so well that you will feel like you’re in the summer camp with all of the characters.

8. Sunkissed by Kaisie West

Sunkissed is a swoony contemporary romance novel where the main character, Avery, is dragged to a remote family camp for two months with her parents and social-media-obsessed sister after her best friend betrayed her. Avery doesn’t know who she is anymore, and she just wants to be home again. But she meets Brooks, a mysterious, frustratingly charming member of the staff, who is off-limits. Over the summer, Avery learns about herself and her passions. Brooks offers her the chance of a lifetime and she must figure out how far is she willing to go to find out what she wants and who she wants to be. Sunkissed is perfect for any music-lover and will warm your heart.

9. When We Had Summer by Jennifer Castle

For every year since they can remember, Daniella, her cousin Carly, and their friends Penny and Lainie have spent their summers together at the Jersey Shore in the town of Ocean Park Heights. They always create and complete a summer bucket list, which ranges from tasks that are silly to practically impossible, and it’s the highlight of the summer. But Carly, the mastermind of the bucket lists and the friend that holds the group together, passes away during the winter. When We Had Summer takes readers through the summer as the friend group tries to process Carley’s death. The group is falling apart — until Daniella finds one last bucket list Carly wrote for them for this summer. When We Had Summer is raw, tender, and a beautiful summer read.

10. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One True Loves is a breathtaking romance novel about Emma Blair, a young woman who marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. She travels around the world with Jesse, escaping the expectations of their parents and the people in their Massachusetts hometown. But Jesse is on a helicopter in the Pacific on their one-year wedding anniversary and the helicopter disappears. Emma moves back in with her parents and years later, runs into an old friend named Sam in her thirties. Emma and Sam are now happily engaged, until Jesse is found alive. Emma now has to decide between her husband and her fiancé, and figure out her one true love. One True Loves is an uplifting, yet devastating read.