These addictive reads are perfect if you’ve got a bookworm in your house.
Reading has been our saving grace during the pandemic.
Books have kept us company and made those dreary days of lockdown that little bit more entertaining. Luckily enough, teenagers have been reading more than ever during the past few months. Between COVID-19 restrictions and BookTok, teens are being exposed to books more than ever, which is quite a wonderful thing.
As we near the new school year, it is the perfect time to get teenagers into a good reading groove again. Reading has so many incredible benefits and it is bound to help ease them back into study mode when September rolls around again.
I’ve gathered up five of the best Young Adult Fiction reads that teens won’t be able to put down this summer.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people… In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
This author writes about grief in the rawest and most emotive way. It sinks right into your heart and will stick with you for days after reading.
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Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott and Mikki Daughtry
Can you love someone you can never touch? Stella Grant likes to be in control – even though her totally out-of-control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions. The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen, and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals. Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment. What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?
This has also been made into the most emotional and harrowing movie. It’s on Netflix and is the perfect, eye-opening watch after the pandemic.
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Breathless by Jennifer Niven
You were my first. Not just sex, although that was part of it, but the first to look past everything else into me.
Some of the names and places have been changed, but the story is true. Claudine Henry was not supposed to spend her summer on this remote island off the coast of Georgia. She was supposed to be on a road trip with her best friend, spending every last minute together before they go to college. But after her father makes a shock announcement, she is exiled with her shaken mother, with no phone service and no one she knows. She is completely cut off. Until she meets Jeremiah. Free-spirited, mysterious and beautiful, their chemistry is immediate and irresistible. They both know that whatever they have can only last the summer, but maybe one summer is enough…
The ultimate summer read from the queen of Young Adult Fiction. Jennifer Niven will transport you to this island. You’ll be completely swept away in this complicated love story.
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Evie is disillusioned about love ever since her dad left her mum for another woman – she’s even throwing out her beloved romance novel collection. When she’s given a copy of a book called Instructions for Dancing, and follows a note inside to a dilapidated dance studio, she discovers she has a strange and unwelcome gift. When a couple kisses in front of her, she can see their whole relationship play out – from the moment they first catch each other’s eye to the last bitter moments of their break-up. For Evie, it confirms everything she thinks she knows about love – that it doesn’t last. But at the dance studio, she meets X – tall, dreadlocked, fascinating – and they start to learn to dance, together. Can X help break the spell that Evie is under? Can he change Evie’s mind about love?
Nicola Yoon crafts the most stunning, honest, and moving YA novels. She manages to cover such heavy topics delicately and makes you feel like you’re part of the character’s world.
The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan
Sometimes I want to tear off my clothes And show them I’m the same Underneath – Maybe better. Life is lonely for Kasienka. She misses her old home in Poland, her mother’s heart is breaking, and at her new English school friends are scarce. But when someone new swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there is more than one way to stay afloat. The Irish author’s novel is bound to move you, especially for readers going through the highs and lows of first love.
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