Best Beach Reads For Teens & Other YA Readers

The Edge of Summer by Erica George

A contemporary YA romance full of first love, loss and self-discovery — a great YA beach book and summer read for teens! Plus a great summer setting!

This one is about a teen who experiences the loss of her best friend and decides to complete the list of things they wanted to do the summer before college together on her own to honor her friend — including a marine biology internship on Cape Cod.

As she grieves and tries to heal during this summer of new beginnings and saving humpback whales, she finds herself distracted by a local lifeguard who she catches feelings for though and finds herself with competing and mixed up feeling priorities.

Perfect for : fans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson

Sometime In Summer by Katrina Leno

A great beach read for younger teens — especially good summer read for 13 year olds or 14 year olds. A summer vibes book with a hint of magic and really captures coming into those teen years well.

This coming of age story is about a young girl who is convinced she has the worst luck in the world — her parents are getting divorced, her bff isn’t talking to her and the family bookstore has to be sold.

When she and her mom are set to spend their summer at the cottage her mom used to spend her childhood summers, she expects more bad luck to follow. Instead she finds a few surprises, and a life-changing summer, in store for her.

Perfect for : teen readers looking for a book that feels like a love letter to summer (and books!)

Never Coming Home by Kate Williams

A page-turning Agatha Christie inspired mystery for Gen Z!

This one is about an exclusive island resort where ten of America’s hottest teen influencers have been invited to stay to be the first to experience the island and all it has to offer. Everyone assumes they are here because their influence but soon it becomes apparent it’s really a trap

Soon they realize, as things get murdery, that this might all be a trap and their secrets they keep might just be why they have been invited here and someone is out for revenge.

Perfect for : readers looking for a page-turning beach read full of twists

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

When I read this one I immediately felt like it was the perfect YA summer read! The hint of mystery/scavenger hunt type, wild-goose-chase Shara sent them on kept me turning the pages and the characters totally charmed me. Plus the messiness of being a teenager and trying to figure out who you are and what you actually want — especially in a small Southern town– was just *chef’s kiss*!

Perfect for : readers wanting a fun and slightly mysterious summer read full of queer characters, self-discovery and authenticity.

See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

A little time loop rom-com for your summer reading list about two college freshman reliving their first (disastrous) day of university over and over again and must work together to figure a way out of it.

I also totally recommend Today, Tonight & Tomorrow by this author for a quick and fun beach read, too!

Perfect for : fans of Russian Doll and Palm Springs

Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West

Kasie West has been a staple when it comes to beach reads for teens! This one is a YA summer-set read that is also a road trip book (a fave trope of mine in young adult books!).

It’s about a teenage girl who is excited to be reunited with her best friend, who moved away years ago, when their families have a joint cross country family road trip planned for the summer. What she doesn’t expect, though they’ve been more distant that close lately, is how he coldly seems like he’d rather be anywhere else besides this road trip with her. So, she decides to give it back to him but, as the miles tick by and they spend more time together, their destination might land somewhere more on the side of romance.

Perfect for : readers wanting a sweet romance with a summer-long road trip to add to the summer vibes

Only A Monster by Vanessa Len

It might not be your typical beach read but if you just need a page-turning book with a little time travel, romance. morally grayness and family secrets — this one is the only to pack in your beach bag!

It’s about a girl who is spending her summer with her eclectic extended family and finds romance with a co-worker at her job. Summer couldn’t be off to a better start!

That is, until she finds out that her family is part of a long line of monsters and the boy she is crushing on is a monster slayer.

And that’s when everything hits the fan and she finds herself entangled in a world she never knew that was a part of her family history and she’ll have to battle her crush with her newfound nemesis from a rival monster family.

Perfect for : readers who need some fantastical or magical elements in their beach read

The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther

Every summer Meredith’s family spends time in Martha’s Vineyard but this year is the first time back after losing her sister.

Things will be even more overwhelming, in addition to facing this place without her sister, with her huge family all converging there for her cousin’s summer wedding and the fact she was dumped two weeks before and now finds herself dateless.

An annual family-wide summer game of Assassin, in honor of her sister, brings the perfect distraction and fun — and a groomsman she tries really hard not to fall for as the two team up in a semi-alliance to get further in the game.

Super fun summer read filled with a big & wonderful family, lots of kissing and a whole lot of heart.

Perfect for :fans of summer-time faves like Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han and Morgan Matson

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

This book couldn’t be anymore full of summer vibes. Caution — have ice cream handy whilst reading! Summer + friendships + romance + ice cream!!

This one is about a teenager who has finally worked her way to Head Girl at her coveted summertime job at Meade Creamery which has a long-standing tradition of hiring only local girls ever since the war when all the men went away.

She can’t wait to spend the summer with her friends in her lakeside town. But before the season even gets started everything is turned upside down and the saving the ice cream shop becomes the mission : a tall order considering nobody has the recipes for the ice cream and with all the changes that the owner’s great nephew is trying to make to keep the shop open.

Perfect for : readers looking for a summer romance full of friendship, ice cream and feminism

Meet Me At Midnight by Jessica Pennington

Two teens have spent six summers together at the lake engaged in a love/hate relationship and an epic prank war.

This summer, the summer after senior year, they are planning for the most epic summer until their little feud goes a little too far and their families get kicked out of their summer rentals.

In desperate need of a new place to stay since its the middle of summer, the families decide to rent a large house together.

The two plan for a cease fire in an effort to combine pranking forces and get back at the woman who kicked their families out — a plan that has them spending more time together and realizing just how much the two have in common when they aren’t trying to take the other down.

Perfect for : fans of a good hate-to-love romance with A+ chemistry

Where The Rhythm Takes You By Sarah Dass

This Tobago-set book is going to make you want to book a flight to the Caribbean! A modern day loose retelling of Persuasion has a vivid sun-splashed setting, a second chance romance and is full of adventures featuring a whole wonderful cast of characters. Could not have adored this one more as we watch the two main characters come back into each other’s life after their friendship dissolved and they both went their separate ways.

Perfect for : readers looking for a non-US set adventure that features a vivid setting

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Ah, this book (and the other two in this contemporary series) will infuse summertime into your veins so of course it makes for a great beach book. It’s light & airy with bits of emotion — plus it is set in Italy.

!It’s about a teen who moves abroad to Italy to fulfill her mother’s dying wish — that she gets to know the father she never knew about after 16 years.

But it’s not until she’s given her mother’s journal that she finds herself discovering the city in her mother’s footsteps (with a charming boy!) and unearthing a long-kept secret that will change everything about what she thought she knew about her family and life.

Perfect for : who loved Anna and the French Kiss

Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider

One of those books that has that perfect summer vibe to really put you into the beach reading mood whether you are at the beach or not.

Set in Hawaii, this realistic teen fiction book is about a teen name Sloane who embarks on her yearly summer trip to Hawaii to spend the summer with her mom and brother as per her parent’s custody arrangement. Her summer escape couldn’t come at a better time after she learns an unthinkable betrayal from her boyfriend and her best friend.

Hoping to forget about everything back home, despite them both trying to explain themselves, she plans to distract herself with a carefree summer of fun with her summer friends and plenty of adventure.

Perfect for : readers looking for a summery read with a vivid setting and full of heart

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

This cute road trip rom-com is perfect for your beach bag this year!

Secret road trip for a forbidden ballet audition for a dream dance conservatory spot + an annoying neighbor (and his dog!) who hitch a ride by threatening to snitch about the whole secret road trip = all the makings for a fun romcom for the summer.

An absolute delight this fluffy romcom was with hate to love romance vibes.

Perfect for :fans of light romcoms and road trips

Cool For The Summer by Dahlia Adler

A perfect summer read for teens to kick off the season! A bit of a loose spin on Grease but make it queer!

It’s the first day of senior year and things couldn’t be going more well for our main character, Lara, as the guy she has been pining over for years is suddenly noticing and interested in her. A bit of a shock but not as shocking as watching the girl she had a summer fling with, and thought she’d never see again, walk through the doors of her school and making her question everything she thought she wanted.

A really fun book of self-discovery, interspersed with flashbacks to the summer, that really is the perfect book to throw in your beach tote.

Perfect for : readers looking for a fun, queer summer romance

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

This book is the epitome of a great YA beach read to me — a classic fave! It contains a wonderful romance and a family you are never going to forget! I don’t want to give too much of this one away but just trust me on this one — get swept away in this story of first love and family!

Perfect for :fans of Sarah Dessen and just really heartfelt & real romances you’ll get swept up in

XOXO by Axie Oh

A young cello prodigy with carefully crafted future plans has a night of spontaneity with a boy she meets in her uncle’s karaoke bar before he leaves the city.

Months later, Jenny and her mom end up moving to South Korea to take care of her grandmother and Jenny is enrolled in a prestigious arts academy boarding school where she meets her mysterious guy from the karaoke bar.

That guy? A super popular idol in a K-pop group who isn’t allowed to date.

Lighthearted, sweet and a perfect book to get swept up in this summer!

Perfect for :lovers of Kpop and daydreamers who have played out their own celeb romance in their dreamscape

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

I don’t know if actual teens will get the same excitement as I did when I picked up this book knowing it was a YA spin on You’ve Got Mail (do teens know this movie??) but let me tell you this one did not disappoint on that front if that’s something that excites you.

However, regardless of your You’ve Got Mail knowledge, this summertime romance will delight readers of all ages looking for a great YA romance.

It’s about a girl who heads to the west coast to live with her dad — a move that has her living in the same California surf town as her online crush who she only knows as Alex. The two have bonded over their obsession with film and movies but she is reluctant to tell her crush she’s there.

Instead she tries to suss out, with clues, who he might be. In between trying to figure out who her online crush is, she takes a job at a tourist trap museum and ends up starting to catch feelings for her newfound work nemesis which make her start to get a little bit confused about her feelings for Alex.

Seriously, the perfect summer read for teens (and those of us who are not quite so teen anymore but really love YA still!).

Perfect for : readers looking for something something swoonworthy and with depth

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

I know, I know I have two Grease-inspired YA books on this list but oh it makes for the best of stories for your beach bag.

In this one it’s about a teen named Ollie who had a fling with a boy named Will that he met over the summer but who seems to go MIA on text once the summer is over.

Circumstances change and Ollie finds himself starting a new school in the Fall — the same school Will goes to. He’s excited to be reunited with Will until he gets to school and sees that the Will he met in the summer is not the same Will at school — two of the biggest differences being that he’s definitely not out at school and he’s definitely not the Prince Charming he spent the summer with.

Perfect for : fans of Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda (or Love, Simon if you’ve watched it but not read it)

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

This book is seriously so fun and the perfect teen summer read!

This one is about a teen who, after getting herself in a bit of trouble after a prank gone too far, ends up being sentenced to working on her dad’s food truck all summer instead of the summer she had planned.

But her co-workers — a cute guy as well as her classmate and arch nemesis Rose — end up surprising her over the course of the summer as well as the fact she actually starts to enjoy being part of her father’s business.

You’ll love watching the MC grow over the course of the summer alongside some fun and romance but I especially loved watching her relationships (especially with her dad) change over the course of the summer.

Perfect for : readers looking for something that is heartwarming, funny and features a feisty heroine with a strong personality — oh and lots of foodie descriptions that will have you craving tacos!!

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

The Princess Diaries but make it Japanese royalty!

This one is about a Japanese American teen, raised by her single mom, who finally finds a clue to who her father is — the Crown Prince of Japan. In a whirlwind, she’s whisked off to spend some time with him and experience life as a royal.

A fun fairy tale type story with romance but also some great exploration of culture, diaspora and belonging as the main character feels like she never quite belongs in America as a Japanese American and not Japanese enough while in Japan and tries to figure out where she truly belongs.

Perfect for : readers who love royal stories a la Princess Diaries that feel like fairy tales

If You Are Looking For A Juicy, High Drama Read

American Royals by Katharine McGee

The American Royals series is the perfect YA beach read ESPECIALLY because once you devour the first one there are two more to have ready after!

Fall into an alternate world where history didn’t have George Washington becoming president but instead offered the role of KING of America and now, two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington is still on the throne.

A frothy royal read full of drama, intrigue, romance and more as you slip into the world of a re-imagined America and the children within the Royal Family.

Don’t expect the world-building to be too serious on this re-imagining and all the what-ifs of history that would have come after but it is a perfect escape of a read!

Perfect for : readers looking for a soapy royal romp meets Gossip Girl vibes

Burn For Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

You might be familiar with Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty series (soon to be a show!) and that is the ultimate teen summer read that I read over a decade ago but I think you’d be remiss not to add this one she’s co-written to your summer reading list.

It has a different vibe than that series but it is engrossing as we watch these 3 teen girls, who are totally unlikely allies, end up on a collusion course causing them to band together to get some revenge on people who hurt them.A bit of a darker vibe for your beach reading pleasure but this trilogy will be exactly what you need!

Perfect for : people looking for juicy revenge stories (and a book that is part of a series so you can binge on vacation)

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

An absolute addictive read about an 18 year old girl whose parents, thrusting her in the direction of their dreams for her, send her off to Taiwan to study Mandarin (among other things) for the summer.

Little do her parents, and the other adults who send their kids there, know that this program ends up being a bit of a summer-long party where there is much freedom to party, hookup and have minimal adult supervision.

Ever takes the chance to rebel a bit from her parents strict hand on her life and has herself a wild summer full of fun, drama and lots of cute guys.

It’s frivolous and drama-filled (a la things like Gossip Girl) but also surprisingly weaves in some thoughtful topics to explore.

Perfect for:fans of high drama (think like Gossip Girl meets Crazy Rich Asians)

Books That Might Require Some Tissues

Start Here by Trish Doller

If you don’t mind shedding a couple tears, this one might be for you! Two friends go on a life-changing summer sailing trip, that they were supposed to go on with their other best friend, as they deal with the grief of losing her before and following the list she left behind for them. Adventure, self-discovery and explorations of grief and friendships.

Perfect for:readers who love stories of grief and loss that have a bucket list/adventure type element to them

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

While this book just truly injects summertime at a lake into your veins, it also will make you cry buckets as the main character is grappling with her father actively dying from cancer as they return for one last summer at their lake house. This book impacted me on such a personal level from lived in experience — that feeling of this summer ripe in front of you, and those very real things like love and friendship and figuring out who you are, but dealing with something so heavy and life-changing all at the same time.

You can read my letter I wrote to Morgan Matson after reading this book.

Perfect for: readers who can handle a beautiful and heartbreaking read about grief, hope in the face of grief and second chances

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

In between grabbing more tissues, this book will absolutely transport you to the beach town (and very real) of Crystal Cove when a young girl ends up having to move to the very beach town where her parents met and fell in love but also a painful place full of secrets and her mother’s history — her mother who died when she was seven. This one is about family and healing mostly but also has a romance and a cast of wonderful characters.

CW: suicide and parental death

You can check out my review of Moonglass. It’s definitely one of those underrated gems you might have missed out on when it came out and is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen.

Perfect for: readers who want to be able to hear the sound of the waves crashing and see the sunrise from a cozy beach cottage (but also won’t mind feeling the tears roll down their cheeks)

How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao

Close friends at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when they are blackmailed, by someone who calls themselves The Proctor, when their ex-best friend turns up dead and everything thinks they know something or are involved in some way.

Perfect for: fans looking to fill the Pretty Little Liars void and who couldn’t get enough of Gossip Girls

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson

This is one fantastic murder mystery — truly top tier of YA mysteries/thrillers! It is about a girl who decides to choose, for her senior year project topic, a closed case of an infamous murder that happened in town 5 years ago. The police and the town were unanimous in their declaration of Sal Singh as the murderer of a local teenager named Andie but Pippa is not so sure. Her suspicions only grow as she digs further into the case and discovers secrets she’s sure some in town want to keep secret at any cost.

Perfect for: true crime podcast addicts

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This one is so riveting! It’s about a down on her luck teen who, out of the blue, gets a huge inheritance from a billionaire that she doesn’t even know or understand why he’s left virtually his whole fortune to her. The catch? She has to move into the sprawling Hawthorne House, a house full of labyrinths & riddles and clues, and the family still lives there including his four grandsons who are convinced she’s a con woman and are just as much in shock as she is. Left with riddles and clues to figure out what she was the chosen heir, Avery and the boys try to put the puzzle together.

Perfect for: fans of Knives Out