Teen or Children's Book: Recommendations for Adult Summer Reading 2025Like this list

20 items

• The Lightning Thief

  Riordan, Rick,

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  After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

• The Princess Bride

  S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

  Goldman, William, 1931-

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  A classic swashbuckling romance retells the tale of a drunken swordsman and a gentle giant who come to the aid of Westley, a handsome farm boy, and Buttercup, a princess in dire need of rescue from the evil schemers surrounding her.

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

  Sáenz, Benjamin Alire

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  Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

• The Mysterious Benedict Society

  Stewart, Trenton Lee

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  After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

• Anne of Green Gables

  Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud), 1874-1942,

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  When Marilla and Matthew decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage they are not sure what to expect. But it's certainly not the imaginative, red-haired little girl who arrives at Green Gables instead.

• The Phantom Tollbooth

  Juster, Norton, 1929-2021,

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  A bored young boy, Milo, drives his small electric car through a toy tollbooth and finds himself in the Land Beyond. A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom.

• Cinder

  Meyer, Marissa,

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  As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world.

• Ender's Game

  Card, Orson Scott,

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  Six-year-old Ender Wiggin and his fellow students at Battle School are being tested and trained to determine whether they possess the abilities to remake the world -- if the world survives an all-out war with an alien enemy.

• The Hunger Games

  Collins, Suzanne,

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  In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Persepolis

  the Story of a Childhood

  Satrapi, Marjane, 1969-

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  The great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor and the daughter of ardent Marxists describes growing up in Tehran in a country plagued by political upheaval and vast contradictions between public and private life.

• Charlotte's Web

  White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks), 1899-1985

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  The story of Wilbur, the pig, smallest of the litter, who is raised by the farmer's daughter, and who finds a friend in Charlotte, the spider.

• Matilda

  Dahl, Roald,

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  Child genius, Matilda, applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.

• The Book Thief

  Zusak, Markus

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  Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

• Out of My Mind

  Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills)

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  A brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

• The Hate U Give

  Thomas, Angie,

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  Caught between her poor neighborhood and her fancy prep school, sixteen-year-old Starr Carter becomes the focus of intimidation and more after witnessing the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a police officer.

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  Chbosky, Stephen

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  Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt.

• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

  DiCamillo, Kate

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  Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories.

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret

  a Novel in Words and Pictures

  Selznick, Brian

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  When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.

• Better Than the Movies

  Painter, Lynn,

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  Enlisting the help of her cute but annoying next-door neighbor in the hope of snagging an unlikely prom date with a crush who has just moved back into town, Liz discovers that she is becoming unexpectedly more attracted to her mischievous new friend.

• Adult Summer Reading 2025

  View on bpl.org

  Visit our webpage to learn more about the Adult Summer Reading Program, which runs from June 1 to August 31.