A guide to finding the right book to entertain your summer fantasies

There are 64 days of summer vacation, until school starts again just to end. So, the annual problem of our generation is finding a good way to spend it. Like maybe… reading a book.

For Halloween, I wrote an article about books to give you the creeps; now, I want to recommend books for this summer. When summer arrives, and you are sitting in your house without a school-related worry in the world and a bunch of time in your hands, you will wonder what to do. You could play a sport, watch a movie, or, like me, read a book. However, you may not always know what to read. That’s why I will be leaving you the 5 perfect summer book recommendations.

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

This is a book series that follows Belly, a 16-year-old girl who loves summer for one reason: going to the beach with her mom’s best friend and her sons. Since she was a baby, she would go with her family and spend the summer there, along with the others, the Fishers. But, because she was the only girl, and the youngest she was excluded most of the time. Now, however, she is 16 and is finally included in her brother’s group. Because of this, she begins to capture her friends’ attention. This is a perfect book to read in the summer because you are able to feel the summer atmosphere perfectly, and thoroughly enjoy it as though you were on the beach with Belly as well. In addition, a TV adaptation will be coming out on Netflix on June 17, 2022.

Image credit: Trailer of The Summer I turned Pretty. Jeremiah Fisher dancing with Belly, her “best friend.”

2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars is another great story based upon the long-awaited greatness of summer vacation. It uncovers the secrets about the great Sinclair family, a seemingly perfect and put-together family that everyone wishes to be a part of to obtain an ounce of its glory. However, the family isn’t what it seems. Throughout the book, we are exposed to utterly appalling plot twists that will make your mouths hang open.

Book cover of We Were Liars shows the majestic Sinclair family swimming in their beach, before they knew the depth of their reality.

3. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Who says summer is all about the whimsical? If you prefer thrillers, Mexican Gothic is perfect for you. It centers around a woman, Noemi, in 1950s Mexico who visits her ill cousin, one that claims to be in need of saving from her husband. Her cousin was dragged into a dangerous family, and Noemi must save her, battling the old patriarch’s interest in young Noemi, and threats from the menacing husband. As Noemi's stay grows in length, she uncovers the blood and violence behind the walls of that house. This book was the Goodreads Choice 2020 Winner, highly recommended if you are looking for a page-turner. The picture of Noemi in her cousin’s house; portrays how she must remain put together despite every dark secret she learns.

4. 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

This book explored the mysteries that lay behind our atmosphere. In 172 Hours on the Moon NASA is in dire need of information and funds, thus, sends three random teenagers to acquire these two factors. When they arrive, however, it is definitely not what they expected. Now, they are in contact with the sinister. Maybe there was a reason NASA hadn’t sent anyone to the moon for more than forty years. As these inexplicable events unfoil, the story begins to advance, and the question still ponders: will they return?

This image shows how the reality of what the moon really is changes for the teenagers who took this journey. Before, it was an exciting and far-away unknown, but then, it changed to a horrifying vastness.

5. All my Rage by Sabaa Tahir

Before, in Pakistan, Misbah and Toufic lived through an arranged marriage. Now, in California, Salahudin and Noor are living through a friendship-shattering fight. The four character’s lives intertwine as they strive to save something that is very dear to them all, and they soon find the answer to all of their problems.

Book cover of All My Rage, Sabaa Tahir is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, known for writing heartbreaking stories, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

As we enter the summer vacation we’ve all been waiting for, set a goal: finish a book before school starts! That way you can commence the habit of reading and set foot in worlds unlike ours. My question for you is: which book will you pick?