2025 Summer Reading Guide: Teen Edition
July 8, 2025 § Leave a comment
I’m wrapping up my better-late-than-never Summer Reading Guide with a post for the teens! I’ve got twelve fantastic new YA picks for you, all of which published in the first half of this year. (Please note that none are graphic novels because I already included my two favorites in the Graphic Novels installment.) If you’ve got young teens, I also encourage you to check out some of the 10+ titles in my Middle Grade installment.
In this list you’ll find fiction and nonfiction, thrillers and romances, historical fiction and contemporary coming-of-age stories. What I admittedly didn’t do a great job of vetting for you is fantasy. I’m not including sequels here, which is why you won’t see Sunrise on the Reaping (but it’s soooo good), but I’ve heard Ava Reid’s Fable for the End of the World is the queer dystopian book we didn’t know we needed, and Divine Rivals fans have also been loving Laura Steven’s Our Infinite Fates.
I’ve read and loved all of these, with the exception of one I haven’t gotten to yet but my daughter adored; I indicate which one it is below. Some of these (Everything is Poison; Death in the Jungle; Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between; Under the Same Stars) have tremendous crossover appeal for adults, so I encourage you to add them to your own TBR list as well!
Onwards! Remember that summer break comes with a chance at new routines, fresh starts, and screen-free trips, all of which can jump start reading for fun.
« Read the rest of this entry »2025 Summer Reading Guide: The Graphic Novels (ages 8-12 & 12+)
June 27, 2025 § Leave a comment
I’m back with another installment of this year’s Summer Reading Guide and this one is dedicated to graphic novels! It always bears repeating that graphic novels aren’t just what many of today’s kids prefer to read, they’re also helping to build the stamina for reading that is in increasingly short supply in this age of digital media and instant gratification. Lean in, I implore you!
I’m particularly proud of this list, because I’ve been generally less-than-enthused with graphic novels in the past year or so. The storylines, especially in contemporary realistic fiction, have started to feel painfully similar (and less and less well written). The YA graphic novels are just downright weird. I could go on, but I’m merely making the point that I am really, really excited about the titles I’ve picked below. These needles in the haystack feel fresh in the best sense, with unique storylines, stunning art, or twists on old favorites. Or, if they aren’t introducing anything new, they’re at least doing it as well as the Greats who made graphic novels so attractive to these kids in the first place.
Nine of the books below are for the middle-grade audience (ages 8-12), while two are for teens (Dan in Green Gables and Alanna). (If you’re looking for graphic novels for the 6-9 set, check out this earlier post.) I hope your kids love them all.
« Read the rest of this entry »2025 Summer Reading Guide: For the Middle-Grade Readers (Ages 8-14)
June 24, 2025 § Leave a comment
And we’re back with the second installment of this year’s Summer Reading Guide! This time I’ve got twelve new middle-grade standalones or series starters that I have read and heartily endorse for today’s picky elementary and tween readers! Included in this list are some titles that fall inside the traditional 8-12 years window and others that skew 10+.
As with all the installments of this year’s Summer Guide, my reviews are shorter than in the past BUT I’ve also linked to any full reviews that I’ve done on Instagram. Where illustrations play a key role in enhancing the story, I also include some interior shots.
« Read the rest of this entry »2025 Summer Reading Guide: For the Emerging Readers (Ages 5-10)
June 11, 2025 § Leave a comment
Let me begin by apologizing to those of you who follow me here, as my almost full-time work at the bookstore these days has meant that I am much less present on this platform that I used to be. As many of you know, I continue to be very active on Instagram (@thebookmommy), posting several reviews each week, but I know that many of you have moved away from social media, and I also understand that! I’m not quite sure what the future of this blog will be, but I do know many of you have reached out asking if I would please at least continue to share my Summer Reading Guide and Holiday Gift Guides, and so here I am with the first installment of this year’s Summer Reading Guide (better late than never?). My reviews won’t be quite as long as in years’ past, though I will link to longer reviews that I’ve done so far on Instagram and pop in periodically to add links.
My 2025 Summer Reading Guide is pretty close to the one that has already launched at Old Town Books—and which I spearhead each year. I’m fortunate to have amazing colleagues at the bookstore who help me read for the guides, and I’ll often prioritize reading things that they’ve loved. But I also can’t get through everything, so there are some books on the shop’s guide that are not in my personal guide, simply because I only ever recommend books that I have personally read (and loved, of course).
This first installment highlights my favorite new short chapter books and early graphic novels for emerging readers. Note that these are all standalone titles or first in a series, but you should absolutely go back and read past guides because many of those books now have sequels out!
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What to Read to Your Kids 