With the end of the school year just around the corner, it’s time to check out some summer reading books for girls! Whether you want to go to camp, travel back in time, or swim in the ocean, these books will take you there!
Come See the Fair
When Eva helps mourners contact their loved ones at seances, she knows the truth. She’s not communing with the dead — she’s just telling people what they want to hear. But then a voice does speak to her. And it’s telling her to go to the World’s Fair in Chicago. There, she meets a magician who says he needs her help to bring magic to life. But as the project moves forward, Eva begins to suspect its goals aren’t as noble as they seem.
Fox Point’s Own Gemma Hopper
Gemma loves baseball. But her mom’s gone, and her dad works two jobs, so that leaves her to take care of the house. Between laundry, dishes, and making sure her younger brothers do their homework, not much time remains for her to chase her own dreams. But as she helps her brother practice for his games, she can’t help but wonder if the big leagues could be her ticket out, too, in this graphic novel.
Camp Quiltbag
Twelve-year-old Abigail is thrilled to be going to Camp QUILTBAG. There, she can be herself and freely share her crush on a hot actress with people who will understand. Kai, who does not identify as male or female and uses the pronouns e, em, and eir, is less sure. E would rather stay home and hang with eir best friend all summer. And E definitely doesn’t want to talk about why eir arm is in a sling — following an incident that convinced eir’s parents e needed to be around people who would understand for the summer. After a rocky start, Abigail and Kai make a pact. Kai will help Abigail make friends, and Abigail will help em with the all-camp competition. Along the way, they explore a summer full of crushes, identity, and learning what’s really important.
Lei and the Fire Goddess
Twelve-year-old Lei wants a touristy summer, like her friend who’s visiting Paris. And Hawaii could be the perfect vacation spot — but Lei’s grandmother has different ideas. She thinks Lei should learn more about her Hawaiian heritage, including the Hawaiian gods. Lei’s not interested — at least, not until she picks a flower and angers the fire goddess, Pele. Suddenly, Lei must understand the history and mythology of Hawaii to save her kidnapped best friend and stop lava from destroying her grandmother’s home!
Is It Okay to Pee in the Ocean?
If your summer includes trips to the beach, you may have found yourself wondering, Is it okay to pee in the ocean? What about the swimming pool? The answers might surprise you! (Ocean, yes, swimming pool, no.) But this book is about WAY more than just pee. It’s about what happens in the ocean. And what happens in the sewers. And why swimming pools have that strange smell. (If you think it’s chlorine, you have a surprise in store!) You may never look at bodies of water the same way again.
More Summer Reading Books for Girls
Bex and her brother Davey discover a mysterious underwater statue when a drought dries up the saltmarsh in When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn.
Bee and her sisters hope they can help their ill grandfather by discovering the magic secrets of the three islands behind his home in The Islands of Elsewhere by Heather Fawcett.
McKinley loves her town’s annual Time Hop celebration, which will feature 1993 this summer. Except this year something goes wrong, and McKinley ends up stuck in the real 1993 in Rewind by Lisa Graff.
Two girls spend the summer trying to split up their dating parents in The Sister Split by Auriane Desombre.
When a local woman is murdered, best friends Abbi and Skylar realize a mysterious conversation they witnessed could be a clue in What We Saw by Mary Downing Hahn.
What about you? Do you have favorite summer reading books for girls? Have you read any of the books above? Share in the comments!
(For even MORE summer reading books for girls, check out my previous posts here, here, and here!)