Summers to remember: teen reading
The holidays are here and we're celebrating with this list of our favourite books about unforgettable summers.
From love stories to dark comedy, these are all tales of memorable and life-changing summer adventures that any teenager will love.
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A Gathering Light
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Interest level: 12-14
Reading age: 12+
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A Gathering Light
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Interest level: 12-14
Reading age: 12+
Mattie is entrusted by a female guest at the hotel where she works with some letters and instructed to burn them. The next day the…
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How I Live Now
Author: Meg Rosoff
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
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How I Live Now
Author: Meg Rosoff
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
Fifteen-year-old New Yorker Daisy is sent to England to spend a summer with her unconventional cousins
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I Capture the Castle
Author: Dodie Smith
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
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I Capture the Castle
Author: Dodie Smith
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
17-year-old Cassandra lives an eccentric existence with her bohemian family in a crumbling castle in the English countryside, in t…
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White Crow
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 10+
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White Crow
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 10+
City girl Rebecca, spending the summer in a remote East Anglian seaside village, encounters Ferelith, a Goth who lives in a commun…
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The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 11+
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The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 11+
What at first appears to be a frothy beach read ends up tackling some tough issues and exploring both the joys and sorrows which c…
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Jackdaw Summer
Author: David Almond
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 8+
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Jackdaw Summer
Author: David Almond
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 8+
Fate leads Liam to find an abandoned baby and as a result his life becomes entwined with that of Oliver, an African boy seeking as…
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One Silver Summer
Author: Rachel Hickman
Interest level: 11-15
Reading age: 11+
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One Silver Summer
Author: Rachel Hickman
Interest level: 11-15
Reading age: 11+
Set in the dramatic landscape of wild Cornwall, this 21st-century take on first love stars a prince, a grief-stricken girl, beauti…
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Everybody Jam
Author: Ali Lewis
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
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Everybody Jam
Author: Ali Lewis
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Set during a long, hot summer, this is an unflinching look at life on a cattle station in the Australian outback as a family tries…
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A Beautiful Lie
Author: Irfan Master
Interest level: 11-13
Reading age: 11+
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A Beautiful Lie
Author: Irfan Master
Interest level: 11-13
Reading age: 11+
Set in India during the summer of 1947, A Beautiful Lie follows the tumultuous events of the Partition of India through the eyes o…
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Swim the Fly
Author: Don Calame
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
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Swim the Fly
Author: Don Calame
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 13+
Matt, Coop and Sean have been friends forever. Each summer, they set themselves a goal, and this year tops the lot - they mu…
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Black Rabbit Summer
Author: Kevin Brooks
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
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Black Rabbit Summer
Author: Kevin Brooks
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Addictive, complex and incredibly compelling
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How Hard Can Love Be?
Author: Holly Bourne
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 8+
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How Hard Can Love Be?
Author: Holly Bourne
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 8+
Working at a US summer camp, Amber meets Kyle, the all-American boy. He can't seriously be interested in her - can he? Written wit…
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Why We Took the Car
Author: Wolfgang Herrndorf Translator: Tim Mohr
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 9+
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Why We Took the Car
Author: Wolfgang Herrndorf Translator: Tim Mohr
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 9+
Mike and Tschik take off in a 'borrowed' Lada for a summer road trip.
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Dear Dylan
Author: Siobhan Curham
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 11+
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Dear Dylan
Author: Siobhan Curham
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 11+
A tender-hearted and funny teenage novel about the power of even the most unlikely friendships, with a wonderfully effervescent an…
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Dead End in Norvelt
Author: Jack Gantos
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 10+
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Dead End in Norvelt
Author: Jack Gantos
Interest level: 11+
Reading age: 10+
In a small town populated by larger-than-life characters, truth meets fantasy as this hilarious, semi-autobiographical novel chart…
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Lying About Last Summer
Author: Sue Wallman
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
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Lying About Last Summer
Author: Sue Wallman
Interest level: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Last summer, Skye had lots of friends, was part of the swim team and lived in a nice big house. But then her sister Luisa died in …
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Since You've Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 8+
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Since You've Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Interest level: 13+
Reading age: 8+
This is the perfect summer read about friendship, romance and self-discovery, written with real understanding and humour.
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