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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Brick dust and bones
Fournet, M. R.
Paper Book
A Florida Sunshine Award Nominee! A twelve-year-old monster hunter and his flesh-eating mermaid best friend must race against the clock to bring his dead mother back to life in this thrilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of R.L. Stine and Wednesday. ...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Confessions of a class clown
Costner, Arianne
Paper Book
Jack's hilarious online videos might get thousands of views . . . but is fame worth the price of friendship? Now in paperback, the humor of I Funny meets the multiple perspectives of Because of Mr. Terupt. 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

Curlfriends new in town
Miller, Sharee (Illustrator)
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER!   2024 Golden Kite Award Winner * An NPR and New York Public Library Best Book of the Year   "I want to be friends with them all" -- Vashti Harrison, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little...

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

Mid-Air
Williams, Alicia, 1970- author.
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling in this stunning illustrated middle grade novel in verse "full of vulnerability and hope" (...

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
A Newbery Honor Book written by Erin Bow, winner of the Governor General's and TD Children's Literature Awards. Ask Simon O'Keeffe why his family moved to tiny Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, and he'll tell you they were driven out of Omaha by alpacas. In Simon's version of the story, a...

Sunshine State Books for Grades 6-8

Skyriders
Holyoke, Polly
Paper Book
Amazon Best Book of the Month Colorado Children's Book Award List Ohio Buckeye Book Award List Reading the West Award List Wings of Fire meets Skandar and the Unicorn Thief in this epic fantasy adventure set in a world where human...

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

All the fighting parts
Sawyerr, Hannah V.
Paper Book
In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, Hannah V. Sawyerr's All the Fighting Parts is an award-winning, searing, and defiant young adult novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community. Sixteen-year-old...

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

Bring me your midnight
Griffin, Rachel
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches and Wild is the Witch comes a lush romantic fantasy about forbidden love, the choices we make, and the pull between duty and desire. Tana Fairchild's fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Going dark
De la Cruz, Melissa, 1971- author.
Paper Book
"An intense rollercoaster of a thriller and a searing indictment of which victims get our attention and sympathy." -#1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu In this ripped-from-the-headlines Gone Girl meets A Good...

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

Pieces of me a novel
McLaughlin, Kate, 1971- author.
Paper Book
The next gut-punching, compulsively readable Kate McLaughlin novel, about a girl finding strength in not being alone. When eighteen-year-old Dylan wakes up, she's in an apartment she doesn't recognize. The other people there seem to know her, but she doesn't know them -...

Florida Teen Reads Summer List

Ready or not
Porretta, Andi, author, illustrator.
Paper Book
This "bright and bittersweet" (Rainbow Rowell, #1 New York Times bestselling author) graphic novel for fans of Jenny Han and This One Summer follows a group of friends in a post-graduation summer of adventures and offbeat dares. With senior year finally behind them,...

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

Sunrise nights
Zentner, Jeff
Audiobook

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...

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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