Several weeks prior to my entrance into kindergarten, my mother signed me up for a summer reading program at our local library. It was during this crucial period of time that I fell head-over-heels in love with books. Between the beckoning call of the endless supply of paperbacks and the enticement of attending the regularly scheduled activities, I spent the majority of my summer days at the Altoona Area Public Library. Fifteen years have passed, but I still participate in the program and am excited for the 2016 season to begin.
The program has allowed me to explore a variety of novels, my favorites being from the Fantasy/Science-Fiction genre. Do not get me wrong—I love reading Nicholas Sparks, Sarah Dessen, John Green and Susane Colasanti as much as the next hopeless romantic! However, other genres and authors have profound products to offer outside of the typical “I-can’t-believe-he/she-just-did-that! Why?Oh-why?Oh-why, did-that-have-to-happen?!” love story. With that being said, I have listed 20 of my favorite summer reads for you to enjoy in between your go-to mushy-gushy love stories...OK...I can't lie to you! There are a couple of those on this list, too!!! Happy reading! P.S. I would like to thank Google Books for providing a synopsis of each novel on their site.
1. "Asylum" trilogy
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Prequel, trilogy, and three novellas: #1 "Escape from Asylum" (prequel); #2 "Asylum"; #3 "The Scarlets" (first novella); #4 "Sanctum"; #5 "The Bone Artists" (second novella); #6 "Catacomb"; #7 "The Warden" (third novella).
- Synopsis of "Asylum" : Madeleine Roux's New York Times bestselling "Asylum" is a thrilling and creepy photo-illustrated novel that Publishers Weekly called, "A strong YA debut that reveals the enduring impact of buried trauma on a place." Featuring found photographs from real asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, "Asylum" is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity, perfect for fans of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children."
For 16-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm—formerly a psychiatric hospital. As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because Brookline was no ordinary mental hospital, and there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
2. "The Caster Chronicles"
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Series and a novella: #1 "Beautiful Creatures"; #2 "Beautiful Darkness"; #3 "Dream Dark" (novella); #4 "Beautiful Chaos"; #5 "Beautiful Redemption."
- Synopsis of "Beautiful Creatures" : There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
3. "Cryer’s Cross"
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer's Cross, Montana, but she also longs for something more. She knows the chances of going to school in New York are small, but she's not the type to give up easily. Even though it will mean leaving Nico, the world's sweetest boyfriend, behind.
But when Cryer's Cross is rocked by unspeakable tragedy, Kendall shoves her dreams aside and focuses on just one goal: help find her missing friends. Even if it means spending time with the one boy she shouldn't get close to... the one boy who makes her question everything she feels for Nico.
Determined to help and to stay true to the boy she's always loved, Kendall keeps up the search--and stumbles upon some frightening local history. She knows she can't stop digging, but Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried....
“'Cryer's Cross' is an eerie, gripping, totally addictive, breathtaking whirl of a book with an ending that left me haunted for days. Lisa McMann has done it again—this book is un-put-down-able!” –Alyson Noël, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of the "Immortals" series.
"A brilliant, engaging, scary piece of fiction. Every word had me sliding closer to the edge of my seat and gripping the cover tighter and tighter. There are books in the world that make you question your reality and the things that go bump in the night--this is one of them." –Heather Brewer, New York Times bestselling author of the "Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" series.
4. "Fifty Shades" Trilogy
- Genre: Realistic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Trilogy: #1 "Fifty Shades of Grey"; #2 "Fifty Shades Darker"' #3 "Fifty Shade Freed"; #4 "Grey" ("Fifty Shades of Grey" through Christians’ eyes).
- Synopsis of "Fifty Shades of Grey" : Ana is an inexperienced college student tasked with interviewing enigmatic billionaire Christian Grey. But what starts as business quickly becomes an unconventional romance. Swept up in Christian's glamorous lifestyle, Ana soon finds another side to him as she discovers his secrets and explores her own dark desires. What results is a thrilling, all-consuming romance as Christian and Ana test the limits they will go to for their relationship.
5. "The Forgetting"
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction with a touch of Realistic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: Georgie's new heart saved her life...but now she's losing her mind.
"An eerie mystery wrapped in a heart-wrenching romance—will leave you breathless!" — Gretchen McNeil, author of "TEN" and the "Don't Get Mad" series.
When Georgie Kendrick wakes up after a heart transplant she feels...different. The organ beating in her chest isn't in tune with the rest of her body. Like it still belongs to someone else. Someone with terrible memories...memories that are slowly replacing her own. A dark room, a man in the shadows, the sharp taste of adrenaline these are her donor's final memories. Pieces of a deadly puzzle. And if Georgie doesn't want them to be the last thing she remembers, she has to find out the truth behind her donor's death...before she loses herself completely.
Fans of Lisa McMann and April Henry will devour this edgy, gripping thriller with a twist readers won't see coming!
6. "Go Set a Watchman"
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Sequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird"
- Synopsis: A historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel—the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Originally written in the mid-1950s, "Go Set a Witchman" was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before "To Kill a Mockingbird." Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.
"Go Set a Watchman" features many of the characters from "To Kill a Mockingbird" some 20 years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her.
Exploring how the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird are adjusting to the turbulent events transforming mid-1950s America, "Go Set a Watchman" casts a fascinating new light on Harper Lee’s enduring classic. Moving, funny and compelling, it stands as a magnificent novel in its own right.
7. "Huge"
- Genre: Realistic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: Sixteen-year-olds Wilhelmina and April meet at Wellness Springs, a posh fat camp in California.
Wil is not happy to be there! Her parents own a chain of gyms and see their overweight daughter as a PR disaster; so she plans not to lose a pound all summer in order to get back at them.
April, on the other hand, can't believe her luck. She's been saving for a whole year to come to Wellness Springs after she saw it featured in Teen Vogue. She can't wait to work off her excess weight, and then bring on the guys!
Assigned to be roommates and work-out partners, the girls hate each other from the start. And things get worse when they both go after the same guy.
Can Wil make it through the summer, and finally be accepted by her parents? Will April ever find someone willing to be a real boyfriend, even though she may never be skinny? A funny and poignant novel about friendship and self-acceptance.
8. "Hush, Hush" Saga
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Series: #1 "Hush, Hush"; #2 "Crescendo"; #3 "Silence"; #4 "Finale"
- Synopsis of "Hush, Hush" : Nora finds forbidden love with her fallen angel, in the first installment of the New York Timesbestselling "Hush, Hush" saga.
Nora Grey is responsible and smart and not inclined to be reckless. Her first mistake was falling for Patch.
Patch has made countless mistakes and has a past that could be called anything but harmless. The best thing he ever did was fall for Nora
After getting paired together in biology, all Nora wants to do is stay away from Patch, but he always seems to be two steps ahead of her. She can feel his eyes on her even when he is nowhere around. She feels him nearby even when she is alone in her bedroom. And when her attraction can be denied no longer, she learns the secret about who Patch is and what led him to her, as well as the dark path he is about to lead her down. Despite all the questions she has about his past, in the end, there may be only one question they can ask each other: How far are you willing to fall?
9. "Jerk, California"
- Genre: Realistic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: This Schneider Family Book Award winner changed the face of Tourette's syndrome for modern teens. Wrought with tension, romance, and hope, "Jerk, California" tells the story of Sam, who sets out on a cross-country quest to learn the truth about his family and his inherited Tourette's Syndrome, along the way finding both love and acceptance.
10. "Me Before You"
- Genre: Realistic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Followed by "After You"
- Synopsis: The New York Times bestseller, soon to be a major motion picture; U.S. release on June 3, 2016.
They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose...
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident.
Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel, and now, he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, and bossy; but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A love story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars," "Me Before You" brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common. A heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, "What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?"
11. "Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children" Trilogy
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Trilogy: #1 "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"; #2 "Hollow City"; #3 "Library of Souls"
- Synopsis of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" :The #1 New York Times Best Seller is soon to be a major motion picture from visionary director Tim Burton, starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Judi Dench.
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in "MIss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.
As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets 16-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
“A tense, moving, and wondrously strange first novel. The photographs and text work together brilliantly to create an unforgettable story.”—John Green, New York Times best-selling author of "The Fault in Our Stars"
“With its 'X-Men: First Class' meets-time-travel story line, David Lynchian imagery, and rich, eerie detail, it’s no wonder "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"has been snapped up by Twentieth Century Fox. B+.”— Entertainment Weekly
“‘Peculiar’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Riggs’ chilling, wondrous novel is already headed to the movies.”— People
“You’ll love it if you want a good thriller for the summer. It’s a mystery, and you’ll race to solve it before Jacob figures it out for himself.”— Seventeen
12. "Nightlight: A Parody"
- Genre: Comedic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him–which I assumed was wildly out of his control–that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.
And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon’s hilarious send-up of Twilight.
Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strange events–Edwart leaves his tater tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!–Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?
Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.
13. "Pretty Little Devils"
- Genre: Dramatic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: Hazel Stone wants nothing more than to be a part of the hottest clique in school, the "Pretty Little Devils," but she’s stuck at a lunch table full of high school C-listers. Hazel has resigned herself to life as a nobody—when suddenly everything changes. The PLDs invite Hazel to one of the group’s famous parties, held at the site of one of their babysitting jobs. Before Hazel knows it, she’s in with the in crowd—and she couldn’t be more thrilled!
But nothing turns out the way she expects. Especially when one her classmates becomes jealous of her newfound status— deadly jealous.
Author Nancy Holder weaves a wicked tale about the price of popularity, and having the kind of friends some girls would just die for.
14. "Shades of London" Series
- Genre: Dramatic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Series and novella: #1 "The Name of the Star"; #2 "The Madness Underneath"; #3 "The Boy in the Smoke" (novella); #4 "The Shadow Cabinet"
- Synopsis of "The Name of the Star" : The day that Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city, killings mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper spree of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him--the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target. In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.
15. "The Shadowhunter Chronicles"
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Multiple Series/SANs: #1 "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"; #2 "TMI: City of Ashes"; #3 "TMI: City of Glass"; #4 "The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel"; #5 "TID: Clockwork Prince"; #6 "TID: Clockwork Princess"; #7 "TMI: City of Fallen Angels"; #8 "TMI: City of Lost Souls"; #7 "TMI: City of Heavenly Fire"; #8 "The Bane Chronicles"; #9 "Shadowhunter Academy"; #10 "The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight" (this series is unfinished). A new series, "Last Hours," will be released in 2017. "Shadowhunter's Codex" may be read at any given time.
- Synopsis of "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" : Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked,” -- Entertainment Weekly.
When15-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within 24 hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...
Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
16. "Splintered" Series
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Trilogy: #1 "Splintered"; #2 "Unhinged"; #3 "Ensnared" (novella); Ensnared; #4 "Untamed"
- Synopsis of "Splintered" : Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother's mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa must face her worst fears and step through the mirror to find the origins of the curse. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice's tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice's mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy-but-suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
17. "That was Then, This is Now"
- Genre: Historic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Companion to "The Outsiders"
- Synopsis: Companion to "The Outsiders," "That was Then, This is Now" is S. E. Hinton’s moving portrait of the bond between best friends Bryon and Mark and the tensions that develop between them as they begin to grow up and grow apart.
18. "Thirteen Reasons Why"
- Genre: Realistic Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: SAN
- Synopsis: You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are 13 reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.
Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.
19. "Touch" Novels
- Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Series: #1 "Deadly Little Secrets"; #2 "Deadly Little Lies"; #3 "Deadly Little Games"; #4 "Deadly LIttle Voices"; #5 "Deadly Little Lessons."
- Synopsis of "Deadly Little Secret" : Some secrets shouldn't be kept... Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary. Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia.
20. "Wake" Trilogy
- Genre: Fantasy/Science-Fiction
- Stand-Alone Novel or Series: Trilogy: #1 "Wake"; #2 "Fade," #3 "Gone"
- Synopsis of Wake: For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams at any given moment is getting tired. Especially the falling dreams, and the standing-in-front-of-the-class-naked ones. But then there are the nightmares, the ones that chill her to the bone… like the one where she is in a strange house…in a dirty kitchen…and a sinister monster that edges ever closer. This is the nightmare that she keeps falling into, the one where, for the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant…
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
Reading these novels may make you feel as though love is an open door...
Once again, happy reading!
