2021 Teen Summer Reading List

This week, I'm sharing my annual summer reading list for teens.  It includes books of all genres -- mystery, science fiction, romance, fantasy, etc.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

When Jeremy Johnson Johnson's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate, Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown.

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson

In 1888 New York City, sixteen-year-old governess Verity Newton agrees to become a spy, whatever the risk, after learning that the man for whom she has feelings sympathizes with rebels developing non-magical sources of power, via steam engines, in hopes of gaining freedom from British rule.

Hiding by Henry Turner

When a teen boy who excels at being unseen finds himself hiding in his ex-girlfriend's house, he uncovers carefully concealed truths about her, her family, and himself.

Twin Daggers by MarcyKate Connolly

Before she can rescue her twin sister, sixteen-year-old magic-wielding spy Aissa must choose between pursuing revenge against the ruling Technocrats or abandoning her mission and trusting her sworn enemies.

We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss 

Toby and Luke are best friends, bound by a goal of leaving their hometown for Luke's wrestling scholarship, but a series of events during their senior year will test their resolve.

More Books --

36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant

The Afterward by E.K. Johnson

All Is Fair by Dee Garretson

The Companion by Kate Alender

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Divided Fire by Jennifer San Filippo
Frankly in Love by David Yoon

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl & Melissa de la Cruz
Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron

The Liar's Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson
Lifestyles of Gods & Monsters by Emily Roberson

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

The Secret Life of Kitty Granger by G.D. Falksen

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan

We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund
We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through July 23, 2021.

2020 Teen Summer Reading List

Here it is . . . the annual summer reading list for teens.  Try one of our favorites on the list . . .

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
Every October, Cara and her family inexplicably suffer bruises, broken bones, and worse. Is it coincidence? Or a curse? As Cara begins to look closer, the mysteries only multiply and deepen.

Dig by A.S. King
Five white teenage cousins who are struggling with the failures and racial ignorance of their dysfunctional parents and their wealthy grandparents, reunite for Easter.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
To get away from her pregnant stepmother in New York City, fifteen-year-old Daisy goes to England to stay with her aunt and cousins, with whom she instantly bonds, but soon war breaks out and rips apart the family while devastating the land.


More Books --
19 Love Songs by David Levithan
All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick
Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins
Infinity Son by Adam Silvera
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
The Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shah
The Lovely War by Julie Berry
The Raft by S.A. Bodeen
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
The Similars by Rebecca Hanover
Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
Stronger, Faster, More Beautiful by Arwen Dayton
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk


Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through August 21, 2020.

Imagine A Story: A Summer Reading Picture Book List

An imagination is a great thing!  These books all tells about characters with good imaginations.  Here are a few of my favorites . . .

For Just One Day by Laura Leuck

After guessing the identity of each animal before turning the page, the reader pretends to be a porcupine, bear, crocodile, and bumblebee.

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

After helping her mother weed, water, and chase the rabbits from their garden, a young girl imagines her dream garden complete with jellybean bushes, chocolate rabbits, and tomatoes the size of beach balls.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

To an imaginative little bunny, a box is not always just a box.

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

A ladybug invites the reader to play a game of "let's pretend."

Snowman All Year by Caralyn Buehner

A child imagines what it would be like if a snowman, made of magical snow, could be a companion throughout the year.

More Stories --

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

Chicken in Space by Adam Lehrhaupt

Claymates by Dav Petty

Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds

If I Were a Jungle Animal by Amanda Ellery

If Waffles Were Boys by Charise Mericle Harper

The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen

A Long Way by Katherine Ayres

Maybe a Bear Ate It by Robie H. Harris

Old Bear by Kevin Henkes

On My Way to the Bath by Sarah Maizes

Still a Gorilla by Kim Norman

That's How! by Christoph Niemann

Vroom! by Barbara McClintock

A Wild Cowboy by Danna Smith

You Are a Lion! and Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

Check out the Imagine a Story picture book display at the Arnold Branch through August 10, 2020.

2019 Summer Reading List for Teens

This week, I'm sharing some recommended books for teens to read this summer . . . .

Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
In her debut novel, cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks pens a sensitive and funny Romeo and Juliet tale about modern romance, geek royalty, and what it takes to heal the long-festering scars of the past (Spoiler Alert: love).

White Rose by Kip Wilson
Tells the story of Sophie Scholl, a young German college student who challenges the Nazi regime during World War II as part of the White Rose, a non-violent resistance group.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl
After an alien attack devastates the Earth, pilot and future astronaut Clover Martinez bands with seven other teens in a struggle to survive.

The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett
After getting away with murder, Grant Tavish plans his own form of justice, but before he can act upon it a cave system collapse traps him and four other teenagers miles below the surface, where they soon discover that they aren't alone.

Dig by A.S. King
Five white teenage cousins who are struggling with the failures and racial ignorance of their dysfunctional parents and their wealthy grandparents, reunite for Easter.


More Books --
And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle
Dive Smack by Demetra Brodsky
Girls on the Line by Jennie Liu
I, Claudia by Mary McCoy
Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden
Isle of Blood and Stone by Makila Lucier
Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Now You See Her by Lisa Leighton
Pride by Ibi Aanu Zoboi
Relative Strangers by Paula Garner
Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor
The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotick by David Arnold
To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin
We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett
When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas
White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig
Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through July 12, 2019.

Summer Reading List for Teens

This week, I'm sharing some of my recommended teen books to read this summer . . .

The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares
On alternating weeks, Sasha and Ray vacation in the beach house their parents refused to give up after their divorce, but they never meet until one summer when their lives and those of their siblings intersect in ways none of them could have imagined.

Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer
When a number of Mara Carlyle's fellow high school students spontaneously combust, the FBI and a swarm of journalists descend upon her suburban New Jersey town in the search for answers.

The Button War by Avi
When World War I descends upon a tiny Polish village, seven boys launch their own deadly battle for the right to be crowned king of the land.

Away We Go by Emil Ostovski
Youths infected with the fatal Peter Pan Virus are sent to Westing Academy where Noah Falls pins his affections on a boy who does not reciprocate, and soon tarnishes his other relationships and increases his feelings of self-loathing.

Ship It by Britta Lundin
Told from two viewpoints, Forest, a television actor who needs more fans, and Claire, a teen fan fiction blogger, are teamed to raise his profile despite their disagreement over whether his character is gay.


More Books --
Bound by Blood and Sand by Becky Allen
Brightwood by Tania Unsworth
Bull by David Elliott
Down and Across: A Novel by Arvin Ahmadi
Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales
Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan
Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen
The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude
The Names They Give Us by Emery Lord
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
Rocks Fall Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar
A Season of Greatly Daring by Ellen Emerson White
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone
Velocity by Chris Wooding
What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy
White Road of the Moon by Rachel Neumeier
Who Killed Christopher Goodman? by Allan Wolf

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through August 10, 2018.

2016 Summer Reading List for Teens

Every year, the Arnold Branch comes up with a summer reading list for teens.  These are a mix of classic teen books along with new teen books that highly reviewed.  Here is this year's summer reading list for teens . . . .

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
The best friend of a kid with superhuman qualities endeavors to have a life of his own that is both normal and extraordinary in the face of constant world-shaking challenges, threats against his school, and an elusive pretty girl.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."

Emily's Dress and Other Missing Things by Kathryn Burak
A new girl in Amherst, Massachusetts, comes to terms with her mother's suicide and her best friend's disappearance with the help of Emily Dickinson's poetry--and her dress.

Star Crossed by Elizabeth Bunce
In a kingdom dominated by religious intolerance, sixteen-year-old Digger, a street thief, has always avoided attention, but when she learns that her friends are plotting against the throne she must decide whether to join them or turn them in.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath struggles to survive on her own in her first year of college while avoiding a surly roommate, bonding with a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words, and worrying about her fragile father.


More Teen Books --
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith
Character, Driven by David Lubar
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond
The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma
The Wolf by Steven Herrick
The Year of the Beast by Cecil Castelucci & Nate Powell

Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through July 22, 2016.

Teen Summer Reading List - 2015

Every year, I like to come up with a list of books that I recommend teens at the library to read during the summer.  Here is the 2015 list . . . .

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

Emily's Dress and Other Missing Things by Kathryn Burak
A new girl in Amherst, Massachusetts, comes to terms with her mother's suicide and her best friend's disappearance with the help of Emily Dickinson's poetry--and her dress.

Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn by Sarah Miller
Fifteen-year-old Gideon Rayburn becomes torn between two girls during his first year at a prestigious New England prep school--gorgeous Pilar Benitez-Jones and cute, smart Molly McGarry--and feels pressure to impress his two roommates with his choice.


More Recommended Reads for Teens --
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger
Mothership by Martin Leicht
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Wait for Me by An Na
William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through July 17, 2015.

Summer Reading for Teens, Part 4

Here are some more great summer reads for teens . . .

Man Made Boy by John Skovron
Tired of being sheltered from humans, seventeen-year-old Boy, son of Frankenstein's monster and the Bride of Frankenstein, runs away from home and embarks on a wild road trip that takes him across the country and deep into the heart of America.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Sixteen-year-old Min Green writes a letter to Ed Slaterton in which she breaks up with him, documenting their relationship and how items in the accompanying box, from bottle caps to a cookbook, foretell the end.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Betrothed to the demon who rules her country and trained all her life to kill him, seventeen-year-old Nyx Triskelion must now fulfill her destiny and move to the castle to be his wife.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
Tired of being known as "the gay kid", Rafe Goldberg decides to assume a new persona when he comes east and enters an elite Massachusetts prep school--but trying to deny his identity has both complications and unexpected consequences.

Summer Reading for Teens, Part 3

Some more great teen books perfect for summer reading . . .

Itch: The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunter by Simon Mayo
When fourteen-year-old Itchingham "Itch" Lofte discovers a new radioactive element, he must use all of his wits and scientific knowledge to stop a top-secret government agency, his greedy teacher, and an evil corporation from getting hold of it.

Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub
After the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, mysterious figures in Verona are determined to reignite the feud between the Montagues and Capulets, so, for the sake of peace, the Prince orders Romeo's best friend Benvolio to marry Juliet's cousin Rosaline.

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger
Three teenagers in Boston narrate their experiences of a year of new friendships, first loves, and coming into their own.

Emily's Dress and Other Mising Things by Kathryn Burak
A new girl in Amherst, Massachusetts, comes to terms with her mother's suicide and her best friend's disappearance with the help of Emily Dickinson's poetry--and her dress.

Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers
In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts--and aviolent destiny.

Summer Reading for Teens, Part 2

Here are a few more great books on our teen summer reading list . . .

 All Good Children by Catherine Austen
Seventeen-year-old prankster Maxwell Connors tries to maintain his identity in a mid-twenty-first century world where the children of his elite corporate town of New Middletown are treated with a drug to turn them into obedient, well-mannered citizens.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
During her last summer at home before leaving for college, Emaline begins a whirlwind romance with Theo, an assistant documentary filmmaker who is in town to make a movie.

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
An aristocratic girl who is a member of a warmongering and enslaving empire purchases a slave, an act that sets in motion a rebellion that might overthrow her world as well as her heart.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

Summer Reading for Teens

One of our most popular displays each year at the library, is the recommended summer reading books for teens.  Here are some of the books we recommend this year . . .

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
A sixteen-year-old boy wrestling with depression and anxiety tries to cope by writing poems, reciting Walt Whitman, hugging trees, and figuring out why his sister has been kicked out of the house.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Following a stray football to the other side of a wall where there is a secret, Standish Treadwell discovers astonishing truths about a moon landing that the overseeing Motherland, a ruthless regime, is determined to hide.

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
In this twist on Edgar Allen Poe's gothic short story, a wealthy teenaged girl who can afford a special mask to protect her from the plague that decimated humanity in the mid-1800s, falls in love, becomes caught up in a conspiracy to overthrow an oppressive government, and faces the threat of a new plague.

Survive by Alex Morel
A troubled girl is stranded in an arctic winter terrain after a plane crash and must fight for survival with the only other boy left alive.

Summer Reading List for Teens

Are you looking for a good teen book to read this summer?  Here is the Arnold Branch's Teen Summer Reading List. . .

Airman by Eoin Colfer
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
           by Benjamin Saenz
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Every Day by David Levithan
Firebirds Rising: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction 
            and Fantasy edited by Sharyn November
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
In Darkness by Nick Lake
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn
A Northern Light: A Novel by Jennifer Donnelly
Railsea by China Mieville
Ship Breaker: A Novel by Paolo Bacigalupi
Sorcery & Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castelucci & Nate Powell