Young adult romance, LGBTQ+ stories, family conventions, childhood friends becoming lovers, old friends falling out, and time travel are all included in this cute and fluffy summer read list.
Some of these stories are more mature, dealing with professional failure and growing old. Others are more carefree and adolescent, with stories about finding your passion and rebelling against traditional cultural norms. However, they are all stories about finding yourself and discovering love in the summer.
Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen
Loveboat, Taipei is American novelist Abigail Hing Wen’s first novel. Published in 2019, it tells the story of Ever Wong, a Chinese American young girl that defies her parents’ expectations to pursue her one true passion: dancing.
While this story fits into the YA romance category, readers will find that there is a lot more complexity in Wen’s narrative. Secondary characters are treated like multi-dimensional people with their own battles to fight. Mental health issues and cultural norms are also very realistically depicted.
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Published in 2020, The Henna Wars is the Bangladeshi-Irish Adiba Jaigirdar’s debut novel. It tells the story of Nishat, a young Muslim girl who falls in love with her childhood friend, Flávia. And although Nishat does not wish to keep this a secret, she is also afraid of damaging her relationship with her conservative family.
The book deals with issues of bullying, cultural appropriation, and homophobia in a very tactful, yet realistic way.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
This is a more mature story about how Alice, a 40-year-old single woman, has to deal with her father’s last days as he is dying in a hospital bed in New York. Alice has always considered herself to be the complete opposite of her successful father, a bestselling author. And on the night of her birthday, she gets the chance to travel back in time and do it all over again.
Heartfelt and fun, this New York Times bestseller tells a story about love and time travel with a twist.
People we meet on vacation by Emily Henry
Perhaps the one book on the list that best fits the criteria of the beachy read. People we meet on vacation is a sweet and fluffy tale about two best friends who fall in love.
Poppy and Alex are best friends since college. And although now they live geographically far away from one another, they would see each other once a year during a summer trip. Until two years ago, when they had a disagreement so bad that they did not speak to each other again.
The story manages to combine three of the biggest romance tropes—opposites attract, second chance love, and friend to lovers, of course—in an entertaining, albeit sometimes a little over-the-top, but very heartwarming tale.
