Sure it’s not summer yet, but let’s admit it… we’re counting down the days until school lets out. Until then, let’s spend some time picking out some summer reads. Try one of these if you want to get ready to read by the ocean, lay by the pool, or just chillax with a great book!

SERIES:

Jenny Han’s Summer series

• The Summer I Turned Pretty
• Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different.
   
• It’s Not Summer Without You
• Teenaged Isobel "Belly" Conklin, whose life revolves around spending the summer at her mother's best friend's beach house, reflects on the tragic events of the past year that changed her life forever.
   
• We’ll Always Have Summer
• The summer after her first year of college, Isobel "Belly" Conklin is faced with a choice between Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher, brothers she has always loved, when Jeremiah proposes marriage and Conrad confesses that he still loves her.

Hailey Abbott’s Summer Boys series

Summer Boys

Cousins Ella, Beth, and Jamie are at their family's beach house for the summer and first kisses, last dances, new loves, and old flames all add up to one unforgettable summer

Next Summer

On vacation again together, three cousins share their family's beach house and find a whole new selection of boys--and the problems that go along with dating them.

After Summer

As summer draws to a close, friends Beth, Ella, and Kelsi wonder if their summer romances will last through the school year.

Last Summer

The Tuttle girls make the most of their last summer at Pebble Beach before heading off to college.

Hailey Abbott’s Summer Girls series

Summer Girls
Cousins Jessica, Lara, and Greer, aged fifteen to sixteen, approach their family summer at a Maine beach cottage with very different attitudes, but all look forward to meeting new boys and having some fun.

Girls in Love
Jessica, Lara, and Greer spend their summer in Maine flirting with and hooking up with boys and soaking up the sun.

Lisi Harrison’s Clique Summer Collection

Massie

When Massie is kicked out of her exclusive riding camp and her parents insist that she get a summer job, she becomes the highest-selling Be Pretty Cosmetics girl ever by ignoring the company's philosophy.

Dylan
Joining her mother on a business trip to Hawaii, Dylan plans to work on her self-esteem and getting her mother's attention, but instead finds herself pursuing a rich, attractive boy who only has eyes for a bad-girl tennis star.

Alicia

Alicia travels back to Spain for her summer vacation, and when she learns that the newest pop sensation is in town searching for someone to star in his new video, Alicia vows to get cast, but in order to land the job, she will have to beat out her beautiful cousins.

Kristen
As the only member of the Pretty Committee clique not going on an exotic summer vacation, middle-schooler Kristen might just find romance sticking around to tutor math and attend a secret summer school for gifted students.

Claire
Back in Orlando for the summer, twelve-year-old Claire has difficulty connecting with her former best friends, but decides to prove her loyalty by entering Kissimmee's Miss Kiss beauty pageant.

Kim Harrington’s Clarity Books

Clarity
Sixteen-year-old Clare Fern, a member of a family of psychics, helps the mayor and a skeptical detective solve a murder in a Cape Cod town during the height of tourist season--with her brother a prime suspect.

Perception

Trying to decide between her old boyfriend, who betrayed her but wants her back, and the new boy with whom there are definite sparks, Cape Cod high school junior and psychic Clare is puzzled by a secret admirer even as she tries to solve the mystery of a classmate who has suddenly disappeared.

STAND ALONE TITLES:

Don Calame’s Swim the Fly

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's goal is to see a real-live naked girl for the first time. Given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date this is quite a challenge. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team.

Brent Crawford’s Carter’s Big Break

Fourteen-year-old Will Carter's summer gets off to a bad start when his girlfriend leaves him, but then he is cast opposite a major star, Hilary Idaho, in a small movie being filmed in his town and things start looking up.

It's Not Summer Without You / Jenny Han

Okay, I'm not quite ready to write another book review, but I just had to post this:

Last week I read Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty.

This week I finished the second book in her Summer series, It's Not Summer Without You. I am not much for series, but I couldn't help myself! I breezed through both books and enjoyed every minute! You know you're reading a good book when you look forward to reading it and make a point of taking reading breaks throughout the day or at least once a day (because sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day).

There's one last book in Han's Summer series called We'll Always Have Summer and I am going to try to wait until next summer to read it. I feel that it's only appropriate that I save the finale for actual summer-time. It'll be a definite good read that I can look forward to.

For now here are the books that are in my possibly next pile:

An Abundance of Katherines / John Green
Batman: R.I.P. / Grant Morrison
New Ultimates: Thor Reborn / Jeph Loeb
Wolverine, Weapon X Vol. 2, Insane in the Brain / Jason Aaron

The Summer I Turned Pretty / Jenny Han

TITLE: The Summer I Turned Pretty
AUTHOR: Jenny Han
OWNED BY CCLS? Yes.

Belly, her older brother Steven, and her mother have been spending their summers at Cousins Beach ever since she can remember. They stay at Susannah's house (her mother's best friend) along with Susannah's two sons Conrad and Jeremiah. Every summer the boys go out and do fun things while Belly is often left at the house to hang out by herself. As Belly gets older she vies for Conrad's attention and is miffed when he not only does not give it to her, but goes out of his way to ignore her. The Summer I Turned Pretty is a great summer read about unrequited love, summer romance, and everything that a teen (or adult) could want in a summer. This book is sure to keep you counting down 'til summer break and looking forward to Belly & Conrad & Jeremiah's next summer @ Cousins Beach.

M's Verdict: Great read! If you're looking for something to read by the beach (or in the fall while pretending it's still summer) this is a great book for you. If you like Sarah Dessen and need something new--try out Jenny--it's well worth it and I guarantee that if you read this book, you'll go on to read book #2 and 3 in the series (#2--It's Not Summer Without You, #3--We'll Always Have Summer).

For biographical information or to stay posted on Jenny Han's upcoming books, check out her website:

http://www.dearjennyhan.com/