Need a book to read during summer vacation? Here are some filled with summer adventures!

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Best Friends, Bikinis, and other Summer Catastrophes by Kristi Wientge

Twelve-year-old Alex plans to spend her summer building a treehouse with her best friend Will, but her summer seems ruined when Will experiences his first crush. Now Alex is wrangling up summer jobs and keeping tabs on the new girl, hoping that in completing their treehouse, she can keep from losing her best friend and her summer from falling apart.

The forget-me-not summer by Leila Howland

When their parents, a screenwriter and a film editor, go off on summer projects, Marigold, twelve, Zinnia, eleven, and Lily, five, must visit their Great Aunt Sunny in Cape Cod, where they learn much about themselves and each other and grow closer than ever.

The Mending Summer by Ali Standish

Georgia can almost feel her heart cracking a little more every day. While Mama is struggling to keep the family afloat, Georgia is sent to stay with her mysterious great aunt in her old country house. Soon, lonely Georgia meets Angela, a girl with secrets of her own, and they discover a magical lake. At first, the lake offers a thrilling escape, but as things grow worse at home, a troubled boy appears at the lake and the magic threatens to spiral out of control.

How to Become A Planet by Nicole Melleby

After an entire summer trying to figure out how to go back to being the person she was before her depression and anxiety diagnosis, twelve-year-old Pluto finds out--with the help of the Hayden Planetarium hotline, a new tutor, and a new friend--that there is no old or new Pluto, there's just Pluto, growing up.

Saltwater Secrets by Cindy Callaghan

Half-sisters Stella and Josie love spending summers together at the beach, but things are harder this year, especially when new business owners exploit the natural habitat, endangering marine life and people, as well.

A Summer of Sundays by Lindsay Eland

Almost-twelve-year-old Sunday Fowler is a middle-of-the-middle child, and it's the absolute worst. But standing out is hard work when you have to help repair an old library and make sure your siblings don't steal your new best friend—or ruin all your plans. Then Sunday finds something in the library's basement that might make her so famous no one will forget her name ever again.

Sunkissed by Jenny McLachlan

Kat can't believe her family is sending her to Sweden for the summer. Without her friends Bea and Betty, or even a phone signal, can Kat make it on her own? In a land of saunas and summer sun, Kat soon realizes she has nowhere to hide. It's time to let go of what she thinks people want her to be, so she can embrace who she really is.

A Swirl of Ocean by Melissa Sarno

A decade after her caregiver finds her alone on the beach, twelve-year-old Summer begins wondering where she came from, until a frightening experience in the ocean triggers dreams of a strangely familiar girl in another reality.

Welcome to Dog Beach by Lisa Greenwald

Twelve-year-old Remy loves the traditions of Sea Gate, the island where her family spends every summer vacation, but after her grandmother and a special dog die, and her relationship with best friends Bennett and Micayla changes, Remy takes comfort in the company of the island's Dog Beach--where she hatches a plan to bring her friends closer and recapture the Sea Gate magic.

 Have you signed up for the Summer Reading Program yet? Do so here!

   Youth Services Assistant Librarian Claire 

Looking for something to do when the summer heat's got you beat? Looking to take a break from video games? Here are some journal prompts to keep the old brain stimulated while school's out!

By the way, don't worry about word count or anything like that -- express yourself how you want, as much as you want. And there are no real rules here -- you can do as many or as few of these as you like.

1.Describe your perfect summer day, from start to finish. It doesn't have to be a real day, just something that sounds perfect to you.

2. Describe how you feel now that school's ending. Do you feel happy? Sad? A little bit of both?

3. If you had the magical ability to make it one season forever, which season would you pick, and why?

4. Write a haiku about a memory from a past summer.

5. Who are you most excited to spend time with this summer?

6. Are you an indoors person or an outdoors person? Or both? Why do you think that is?

7. List three things you'd like to accomplish this summer.

8. What's your favorite summertime treat? Ice cream? Watermelon? Something else?

9. Do you like to stay up late during the summer? If so, what to you do? If you don't like to stay up, describe why!

10. Take a little walk outside -- make sure it's safe first! -- and describe the world around you, focusing on your five senses. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Taste? Feel?

11. If you could have a picnic with any person, alive or dead, who would it be, and why? What would you take with you on your picnic?

12. Take some lyrics from five of your favorite songs and use them to write a poem.

13. Imagine you're a tour guide for your town or community. What sights do you point out? Why are they important to the community? Why are they important to you?

14. Write a short story about an exciting event that gets interrupted by a sudden rainstorm. How do things change? How do people react?

15. If you could go on vacation to any fictional location, where would it be and why? What kinds of things would you need to pack?

16. Next time you're out in nature, take a photo of something that interests or excites you -- a cocoon, an old tree, a fish, etc. Now write a story based on the picture you just took.

17. Write an acrostic poem about your favorite ice cream flavor. If you don't eat ice cream, use candy. If you don't eat candy, use fruit or another snack!

18. Write a review for the movie you most enjoyed watching this summer.

19. Now write a review for the movie you least enjoyed.

20. As summer draws to a close, reflect on the time you had. Are you sad to see summer end, to go back to school? Or are you excited? Maybe a little bit of both?

Looking for recommendations? Fill out our form to get a custom list of reads or a Book Bundle for pickup.

  Youth Services Librarian Chris