Summer is for adventuring, traveling, lounging, and, for once, reading more than the pedantic textbooks of the school year. Yes, summer literature often brings to mind the light, quickly digested "beach read," but if you're looking for something a little more substantial but still wholly summer, here are five picks to fill the dog days.

1. "The Sky is Everywhere" by Jandy Nelson

Like summer, Jandy Nelson's "The Sky is Everywhere" feels long and short at the same time. Written in the poetic voice of protagonist Lenny interspersed with actual poetry, this novel deals a juxtaposition of the heavy topics of grief that follows the loss of a loved one coupled with the heart fluttering experience of a first summer love. It's a lyrical read filled with endearing characters and details that will add color to your summer, wherever you are.

2. "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

The ever-quotable John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines" delivers a characteristically smart, funny, and poignant story wrapped up in a summer road trip novel that is heart achingly cute. The novel follows protagonist Colin who was a prodigy, but isn't a genius, and is trying to figure out what life is if not something to do remarkable things with. Throw in a love for anagrams, a snappy best friend, and a city that's famous for making tampon strings and you've got yourself the abundance of fun that is Green's summer novel.

3. "The Moon and More" by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is known for her easy to read beach reads, but "The Moon and More" showcases life on the ever present beach town that dominates so many summer reads from a different perspective-- Emaline, a full time resident of the small town of Colby. "The Moon and More" is a marriage of the light, sunshine-y air of impermanence that makes summer novels so readable and a harder, more solid exploration of the realities that lie between adolescence and adulthood. It deals with an interesting question: is being comfortable the same thing as being happy?

4. "We Were Liars, E. Lockhart

If you like books that sound like poetry, you'll love "We Were Liars." John Green describes the novel as, "'Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable." and I agree. The novel is dark -- it deals with mental health issues on the part of the protagonist, Cady, as well as the tensions and undercurrents that run through families of money. It's the kind of book that you speed through with a furrowed brow until the very end leaves you struggling to regain balance.

5. "Is Everyone Hanging out without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by Mindy Kaling

A little nonfiction to round this list out, "Is Everyone Hanging out without Me (And other concerns)" is as adorable as the woman who wrote it. Kaling writes this memoir in characteristic wit and humor that'll leave you smiling. For me, an awkward Indian girl, Kaling's book warranted a "same" on every other page and a laugh in between. As summer starts winding down, this is the perfect blend of fun and inspiration to make the most of the fall to come.