Summer reading lists have been released from all your favorite publishers, authors, and bookstores. While I appreciate and love these lists as much as the next person (just check my Pinterest boards), each book on the list is usually pretty well-known. This is fine, but I found myself thinking one day there should be a list of all great summer reading books, especially those you may not have heard of before. For those of you who felt the same, here is your list (based on my personal opinion):

1. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night."

This book is based on a competition between two magicians. While they don't know it, the two of them are actually in a fight to the death, so naturally, they fall in love. Erin Morgenstern truly blew me out of the water with this one, it's been weeks since I read it and I'm still in love with every word she wrote.

2. Challenger Deep - Neal Shusterman

"Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images. Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny."

This book is based on Shusterman's son's battle with schizophrenia. The art throughout the book was actually created by his son. Caden mentally creates a world in which he is an artist on a boat and ties the people on the boat to people he actually knows. Slowly, you begin to grow confused as Caden does trying to figure out what is real and what is not.

3. Stolen - Lucy Christopher

"She steps away. For just a second. He pays for her drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. To sand and heat. To emptiness and isolation. To nowhere. And expects her to love him."

Lucy Christopher wrote this thrilling novel as a letter from Gemma to Ty. You'll never trust a stranger again, but you'll also be terrified of how much Ty grows on you.

4. Palo Alto - James Franco

James Franco (yes, that James Franco) wrote a collection of stories, some personal experiences and some not, titled Palo Alto and since then a movie (starring James Franco) has been made based off the book. These stories of high school aged teenagers are terrifying, inspiring, and eye-opening all at once.

5. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith

"Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?"

In this novel by Jennifer E. Smith, Hadley and Oliver meet by chance on a transcontinental flight. If you're a fan of travel and want a whimsical whirlwind romance novel for the summer, this book is for you.

6. The Probability of Miracles - Wendy Wunder

"Campbell Cooper has never been in love. And if the doctors are right about her cancer, she'll never have the chance. So when she's told she needs a miracle, her family moves 1,500 miles north to Promise, Maine — a place where amazing, unexplainable events are said to occur — like it or not."

Like it or not, this novel by Wendy Wunder will make you laugh, cry, and feel every emotion in between. If you like anything John Green-related, you'll love this book.