Unearth a Story: 2026 Summer Reading Young Adult Book List

Great new summer reads for teens ages 13 and above.

Updated April 17, 2026
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Call me Iggy
Aguirre, Jorge Augusto
Paper Book
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the YearWinner of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics Iggy is an Ohio-born Colombian American teen who's got a pretty easygoing life . . . for now....
Vesuvius
Biehn, Cass
Paper Book
This thrilling historical fantasy set days before Mount Vesuvius destroys Pompeii is a meet cute with an explosive fallout. This limited First Edition hardcover includes metallic foil on the jacket and a hidden illustrated case! An exploration of ambition and...
Toxic summer
Charm, Derek
Paper Book
"Laugh-out-loud humor and wildly fun" --Booklist "A good choice for teen readers looking for a fun, LGBTQIA+, high-octane romp." --School Library Journal Perfect summer plans become a nightmare beach party in this slimy, spooky, madcap summer mystery from...
Dreamover
Diaz, Dani
Paper Book
In this captivating debut YA graphic novel, two best friends becoming more than friends feels like a dream come true. But when one sleepover literally turns into a dream, will they ever want to wake up again? Amber's a headstrong goofball with a temper. Nico's a shy, self...
Cruel Summer (the Taylors Version #2)
Eulberg, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Four girls, all named Taylor, make for one unforgettable friendship! International bestseller Elizabeth Eulberg follows four stories of first love, friendship, and heartbreak. Don't miss the sister novel, Jen Calonita's The Taylors! The Taylors -- Teffy, Tay, TS, and Taylor -...
The Darkness Greeted Her
Ferko, Christina
Paper Book
Yellowjackets meets Smile in this atmospheric sapphic horror debut, in which a group of troubled girls are stalked through the Appalachian wilderness by a frightening monster that feeds on their deepest fears. Penny's abusive father is dead...but she still hears his voice in her head,...
It's not summer without you
Han, Jenny.
Paper Book
Now a blockbuster original series on Prime Video! Will Belly choose Jeremiah or Conrad? Belly finds out what comes after falling in love in this follow-up to The Summer I Turned Pretty from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I've Loved...
The summer I turned pretty
Han, Jenny.
Paper Book
Now a blockbuster original series on Prime Video! Will Belly choose Jeremiah or Conrad? Belly has an unforgettable summer in this stunning start to the Summer I Turned Pretty series from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I've Loved Before...
When I Was Death
Henderson, Alexis
Paper Book
A teenage girl must do Death's bidding to uncover the secrets of her sister's disappearance in this haunting young adult novel by the author of The Year of the Witching. "A searing portrayal of girlhood, at once sparkling and violently dark."--Goldy Moldavsky, New York...
What the river knows : a novel
Iban?ez, Isabel, (Novelist)
Paper Book
The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez's lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race. Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera...
We were warned
Ichaso, Chelsea
Paper Book
Everyone knows the legend of Fairport Village: twenty-five years ago, a shocking murder closed the place down. This year, the ruins will be bulldozed at last. But tonight, it's not too late to die. All her life, Eden Stafford has heard the lore about the abandoned beach resort at the edge...
The American dream? : a journey on Route 66 discovering dinosaur statues, muffler men, and the perfect breakfast burrito
Khor, Shing Yin,
Paper Book
As a child growing up in Malaysia, Shing Yin Khor had two very different ideas of what "America" meant. The first looked a lot like Hollywood, full of beautiful people, sunlight, and freeways. The second looked more like The Grapes of Wrath--a nightmare landscape filled with impoverished...
They All Had a Fear
Leathers, Michele
A past. A debt. A reckoning. A murder. After her aunt's death, Winter Covington and her mother inherit her beach house in a quiet seaside town. Unfortunately for them, they arrive just as dead bodies begin washing up on shore. Both residents and tourists are terrorized by the...
The Roommate Arrangement
Markum, Samantha
Paper Book
When Blair accidentally becomes college roommates with her brother's best friend, sparks fly in this hilarious rom-com from bestselling author Samantha Markum, perfect for fans of Lynn Painter and Emma Lord. Blair might be a little type-A, but she never thought of herself as...
Meet Me Under the Lights
Miller, Cassie
A Romeo & Juliet-inspired small-town baseball romance where the son and daughter of two rival families must decide if their love is worth the risk. High school junior Eliza Crowley is known as the Princess of Fairfield, a farm town in North Carolina that loves two things-...
The stripe and the star
Myers, Makenna J.
Paper Book
Between her parents' divorce and being dragged to rural Arizona to help clean her grandpa's house, fifteen-year-old Stella Shaw knows she's in for a miserable summer break. But when her grandpa takes her to watch a roller derby bout, she can't help but be amazed by the hard-hitting sport. And when...
If We Never End
Namey, Laura Taylor
Paper Book
You've Reached Sam meets If I Stay in this epic romance spanning life and death, from New York Times bestselling author Laura Taylor Namey. Sylvie Castellano is used to goodbyes. Every summer, her friends leave to vacation at faraway beaches and her...
One piece. Volumes 13, 14, 15
Oda, Eiichiro
Paper Book
Join Monkey D. Luffy and his swashbuckling crew in their search for the ultimate treasure, the One Piece. As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, an enchanted Devil Fruit that gave him...
Every hidden thing
Oppel, Kenneth
Paper Book
The hunt for a dinosaur skeleton buried in the Badlands, bitter rivalries, and a forbidden romance come together in this beautifully written new novel that's Romeo and Juliet meets Indiana Jones. Somewhere in the Badlands, embedded deep in centuries-buried rock and sand,...
Slow Burn
Rutter, Bethany
Paper Book
A sporty, feel-good, body-positive rom-com pits a plus-size teen against her bullies to prove what she already knows--that she has exactly the right stuff. Sixteen-year-old Ruby has worked hard to be happy in her body, even when other people--including her brother and her PE...
The dead of summer
La Sala, Ryan
Paper Book
A heart-pounding thriller told in a mix of narrative voices and found documents from the bestselling author of The Honeys, perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson, E. Lockhart, Karen McManus, and Rory Powers! Two Days Before Ollie Veltman is finally coming home...
Sundown Girls
Stratton, L S
Paper Book
In the tradition of Jordan Peele and Tiffany Jackson's The Weight of Blood, a YA thriller about a Black teen whose fight for survival forces a small southern vacation town to face its dark history of racial violence. * "A riveting, emotionally resonant thriller ...
The Summer of Second Chances (Deluxe Edition)
Walther, K L
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules comes a YA second chance summer romance about holding onto memories, making new ones, learning to let go, and unexpectedly falling in love. *** Olivia Lupo...
Audre & Bash are just friends
Williams, Tia
Paper Book
Scorching-hot summer. Scorching-hot chemistry. Two teens can't forget they're just friends in this sweet, funny, electrifying romance from New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams--perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.    Meet...

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