Summer Reads for Teens

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

The Sunshine State Young Readers Award (SSYRA) Program is a statewide reading motivational program for students in grades 3 through 8. The purpose of the SSYRA Program is to encourage students to read independently for pleasure and to read books that are on, above, and below their reading level in order to improve their reading fluency. Sunshine State books are selected for their wide appeal, literary value, varied genres, curriculum connections, and/or multicultural representation. The SSYRA committee is comprised of 20 qualified school librarians located throughout the state of Florida, subdivided into two committees- grades 3-5 and grades 6-8.

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Teens in Florida read and Florida school librarians know it! The Florida Teens Read (FTR) program is a student- choice reading award program to determine which YA book wins the annual award as the favorite of teens in Florida. The reading list is comprised of fifteen titles that have been chosen by a committee of fourteen school librarians specifically to engage high school students (grades 9 through 12) in reading and reflect their interests as well as represent a variety of genres, formats, reading levels, viewpoints, and ethnic and cultural perspectives.

Updated June 13, 2025
S
St. Lucie County Library System
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Confessions of a class clown
Costner, Arianne
Paper Book
This middle-school class clown's hilarious online videos might get thousands of views . . . but is fame worth the price of friendship? A heartfelt story with multiple perspectives about the challenges of social media. Meet Jack Reynolds. Making people laugh is his life's work....

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Control freaks
Thomas, J.E.
Paper Book
BEST OF THE BEST, BLACK CAUCUS OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION One week. One prize. Seven really weird challenges. The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little... competitive. Okay. They're a LOT competitive. ...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

The fire, the water, and Maudie McGinn
Pla, Sally J.
Paper Book
Neurodivergent Maudie is ready to spend an amazing summer with her dad, but will she find the courage to tell him a terrible secret about life with her mom and new stepdad? This contemporary novel is a must-read for fans of Leslie Connor and Ali Standish. A Schneider Family Book Award winner! ...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

The firefly summer
Matson, Morgan
Paper Book
Three starred reviews! "Heartfelt and hilarious, witty and wise, with indelible characters and laugh-out-loud humor. A fantastic read for any season of the year." --Stuart Gibbs, New York Times bestselling author In New York Times bestselling author...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

The first state of being
Kelly, Erin Entrada
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL A FINALIST FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER INDIE BESTSELLER Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2024 Shelf Awareness Best Books of 2024 for Kids and Teens BookPage Best Middle...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Heroes
Gratz, Alan, 1972- author.
Paper Book
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller! From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Refugee, Ground Zero, and Two Degrees comes this heart-pounding, inventive, and powerful new novel about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor... as only Alan...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

The hoop con
Shah, Amar (Screenwriter)
Paper Book
YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU DON'T PLAY Raam Patel is eager to prove himself ever since he didn't make the middle school's basketball team. So, when Hoop Con comes to town he is determined to be there and take his shot. His big moment proves to be unforgettable... but not in the way he'd hoped....

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

The lost year
Marsh, Katherine
Paper Book
*A National Book Award Finalist* From the author of Nowhere Boy - called "a resistance novel for our times" by The New York Times - comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Shinji Takahashi and the mark of the coatl
Kagawa, Julie
Paper Book
"One cannot fight destiny, boy. Even if one did not ask for it. The idol calls for you, and you must answer its call..." Shinji Takahashi is just an ordinary kid. An ordinary homeschooled smart-alecky kid being raised by his globe-trotting aunt Yui. But when a magical guardian...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Simon sort of says
Bow, Erin
Paper Book
Simon O'Keeffe's biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. Or maybe the alpaca disaster that went viral on YouTube. But the story the whole world wants to tell about Simon is the one he'd do anything to forget: the story in which he's the only...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Another first chance
Couch, Robbie
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets You've Reached Sam, in this "superb...thought-provoking" (Booklist, starred review) speculative young adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couch that explores all the different ways love can live on after...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

The bad ones
Albert, Melissa
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND INDIE BESTSELLER! Bestselling author Melissa Albert returns with The Bad Ones, a supernatural horror novel about four mysterious disappearances in a town haunted by a sinister magical history Goddess, goddess,...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

The kill factor
Oliver, Ben (Science fiction writer) author.
Paper Book
A brand-new game show that offers young criminals the chance at freedom has been greenlit. Little do they know, winning is their only chance at survival. A captivating examination of the dark truths around the criminal justice system, Ben Oliver, critically acclaimed author of The Loop trilogy,...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Star splitter
Kirby, Matthew J., 1976- author.
Paper Book
A 2024 Edgar Award Nominee! Survival and self-determination collide in this haunting, pulse-pounding science fiction novel from Edgar Award-winning author Matthew J. Kirby that spans both space and time. "An intense, read-in-one-sitting kind of ride.″--<...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Rez ball
Graves, Byron
Paper Book
This compelling debut novel by new talent Byron Graves tells the relatable, high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be. These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Stars and smoke
Lu, Marie, 1984- author.
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times bestseller! He's a secret. She's an agent. This mission might just be impossible. A smoldering enemies-to-lovers novel about a global superstar and a hotshot young spy on a collision course with danger&...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Twelfth knight
Follmuth, Alexene Farol
Paper Book
Reese's Book Club Summer YA Pick '24 "YA is a feeling. It's a warm summer day reading in the sun, lots of nostalgia, gushing together over the characters in Twelfth Knight."--Reese Witherspoon From the New York Times bestselling author of...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Wander in the dark
Emill, Jumata
Paper Book
In this pulse-pounding thriller from the author of The Black Queen, two brothers must come together to solve the murder of the most popular girl in school after one of them is caught fleeing the scene of her death. A COSMOPOLITAN BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR

Florida Teen Reads Summer List


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