Teen Summer Reading List (Ages 13 – 18)

Need summer reading ideas for your teenage readers? This list is meant for all teenagers, 8th grade through 12th grade, 13 years old to 18 years old, which means some books have mature themes and some don’t.

Note: This post has not been updated since 2019, since I’m not reading YA as frequently. I plan to find a teen advisory committee when I can.

I have read MOST but not all of these books, so there will be some that I’m recommending based on the recommendations of teenagers that I know, including my own. Because of that, I haven’t indicated which books might be more mature than others as I usually do. Please use your best judgment.

SHOP this list on Amazon.

Find more books that I recommend for teens or to see reviews for most of the books on this list, visit all my YA BOOK recommendations for teens list.

You might also like to read all summer reading lists by grade level.

Teen Summer Reading List (Ages 13+)

Fantasy, Paranormal, & Sci-Fi YA Books

• Woven In Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez
• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
• The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
• The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
• A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
• Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
• The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King
• Renegades by Marissa Meyer
• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
• Red Rising by Pierce Brown
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• Virch by Laura Resau

Adventure & Mystery YA Booklist

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
• The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
• Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter
• Girl, Stolen by April Henry
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
• Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley
• Cherub by Robert Muchamore
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
• Wolf by Wolf  by Ryan Graudin
• The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Realistic Summer Reading for Teens

• Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
• Home Home by Lisa Allen-Agostini
• 180 Seconds by Jessica Park
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
• Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (graphic novel)

Historical Fiction & History Summer Reading for Teens

• Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
• The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
• Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalo
• Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gatz
• Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin
• A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
• Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend by Karen Blumenthal

Romance Summer Reading for Teens

• Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
• The Selection by Kiera Cass
• To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (graphic novel)

Dystopian Summer Reading for Teens

• Ashfall by Mike Mullin
• Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• The Program by Suzanne Young
• Legend by Marie Lu
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

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Also Read:

YA Book List