12 Books to Read After You Finish The Summer I Turned Pretty
Updated: Sep. 13, 2023From teen coming-of-age stories to adult romances, these are the best books like The Summer I Turned Pretty
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Summer reading at its best
Anyone who’s read Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty series knows two things: The novels are impossible to put down, and they’ll leave you with a major book hangover. If you’ve already read The Summer I Turned Pretty books in order and are looking for more books like The Summer I Turned Pretty, you could stream the Amazon Prime series of the same name. But let’s be real: You finished that already.
Sure, a second season is underway, but you’ll have to wait until July 14 to start streaming it, and it won’t wrap up until mid-August. Thankfully, there are plenty of summer books and beach reads similar to the blockbuster teen book series to keep you busy in the interim.
To help you sate your craving for books like The Summer I Turned Pretty, we scoured shelves for novels with similar summertime vibes, coming-of-age storylines or compelling romances. We’ve found YA novels and adult titles (think of them as grown-up versions of Han’s series) from some of readers’ favorite authors, including Emily Henry, Morgan Matson and Gloria Chao. This list of the best books for The Summer I Turned Pretty fans will have you turning pages and lost in stories all summer long.
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1. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Publication date: May 3, 2016
Andie’s carefully constructed plans have imploded, thanks to the scandal keeping her congressman father home for the summer. As she picks up dog-walking gigs instead of heading off to her expected premed program, she’s forced to recalibrate her expectations of what these sunny months will hold. Like Belly, Andie works through big emotions as things fall apart with some of the adults in her life, and like Belly, she, too, finds herself falling for a cute boy. A feel-good book practically made for summer, The Unexpected Everything will capture your heart and put you in the mood for summer fun.
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2. Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters
Publication date: March 15, 2022
For Isaac, this summer marks the last time he and his best friend, Diego, will be together—after that, it’s off to college in the fall. So he plans to spend the time they have left together at Legends Con and at Teen Pride. Unfortunately, his old crush, Davi, makes an appearance, distracting Isaac during the ticket sale window and making him lose out on the tickets. When Diego finds out about Isaac’s error—and his evolving relationship with Davi—everything about Isaac’s epic summer turns messy. Complicated love triangles, summer sunshine and queer romance make Right Where I Left You shine.
3. Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson
Publication date: July 6, 2021
The Farmland Music and Arts Festival is the perfect venue for some great summer melodies, and that’s exactly what’s awaiting Olivia and Toni. Olivia is fresh off a breakup and looking for a new start; Toni is still grieving her late musician-turned-roadie father and hoping to find a connection at the festival that was so important to him. The teens find each other, and in the swarm of messy feelings that follow, they might just find what they’ve been looking for. Summer connections abound in Rise to the Sun, just as they do in The Summer I Turned Pretty. And if you’re someone who loves to jam out (when you’re not listening to your favorite audiobooks, that is), this is the book for you.
4. Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
Publication date: Nov. 10, 2020
If the fake-dating trope is your romance novel go-to, you’ll fall for Gloria Chao’s Rent a Boyfriend. Chloe is about to introduce her boyfriend to her parents … and meet him for the first time. See, she hired Drew from Rent for Your ‘Rents, hoping to avoid further pressure from her parents to accept a proposal from Hongbo, a wealthy young bachelor from their community. Naturally, things get complicated when real feelings bloom between Drew and Chloe. For readers who love Jenny Han and are looking for even more Asian American authors, Chao is a great choice; she writes light, fun YA contemporaries.
5. Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
Publication date: Feb. 8, 2022
Ophelia Rojas has the heart of a romantic and an endless stream of crushes on boys. So this thing she feels for Talia Sanchez? It’s kind of rocking her world—and throwing everything she’s ever believed about her sexuality into question. If you’re looking for books like The Summer I Turned Pretty, check out Ophelia After All. It’s another impeccable coming-of-age narrative focused on a girl rediscovering herself and her emotions while tackling crushes and identity. In other words, it’s the perfect teen book for summer.
6. Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno
Publication date: Oct. 19, 2021
The summer before senior year isn’t exactly the easy, breezy vacation it should be. Ever since Lou’s sister gave up her Princeton scholarship to have a baby, their mother’s expectations have landed squarely on Lou’s shoulders. But her sights are on another set of expectations: those she’d had for herself as a kid while crafting a bucket list with Sam, her next-door neighbor and former best friend. Inspired by the recently uncovered list, Lou is determined to accomplish the goals her younger self set, and Sam joins in on the fun. Like your favorite teen TV shows and books like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Nina Moreno’s gorgeous summertime YA book explores deep feelings and the evolution of childhood friends to lovers.
7. One True Loves by Elise Bryant
Publication date: Jan. 4, 2022
Lenore’s parents expect her to have everything about her future plotted out. As they remind her, “Black kids have to be 110% prepared.” But before she heads off to NYU, where she’ll remain “undecided” until she gets even the slightest idea of what she wants to do with her life, her family is heading on a Mediterranean cruise. The last thing she expects is for her parents to bond with another family—a family with a hopeless romantic for a son (who just so happens to be her age). Readers looking for books about teens falling in love while traveling or stories of romance on the high seas will fall for One True Loves.
8. One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
Publication date: March 1, 2022
Katy’s on a trip to Positano, Italy, but it’s not the vacation she was expecting. Originally planned as a mother-daughter trip to the town her mom visited the summer before meeting Katy’s father, it is now, after her mother’s death, a solo vacation. Sounds like the setup for a typical women’s fiction story, right? Well, there’s a twist: Katy runs into the version of her mother who had taken the trip decades ago. Impossibly, she’s alive and a thirtysomething, just like Katy. As the One Italian Summer book unfolds and Katy gets to experience a whole new side of the mother she lost, readers are immersed in a touching story about mothers and daughters, grief and love. If you’ve been looking for some books to catch up on before they become movies, this is a great one to check out—especially if you want to see how the magic of summer changes everything for Katy, just as it did for The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Belly.
9. An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adrianna Herrera
Publication date: May 30, 2023
It’s Manuela’s last summer of freedom before her marriage—a marriage that, to be clear, is not her idea. So she’s heading to Paris to show her paintings at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. While she’s there, she runs into Cora, Duchess of Sundridge, who is hoping to purchase some of Manuela’s land. Manuela has no intention of selling the land—that is, until she realizes she can offer it to Cora in exchange for a summer to remember. Before she’s doomed to a loveless marriage, she can fill her days with art and nights with passion. One of the year’s can’t-miss romantic historical fiction books, Adrianna Herrera’s An Island Princess Starts a Scandal will appeal to anyone who loves reading about vacations filled with complicated romance (aka books like The Summer I Turned Pretty) but wants a grown-up version with a little spice.
10. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Publication date: May 3, 2022
The month of August is supposed to be set aside for sisterly bonding. That’s why literary agent Nora took a break from the big city to pal around Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, with her younger sis. But Charlie, a brooding editor she’s had some not-so-great encounters with, is also in Sunshine Falls, putting a damper on her time away. As the rivals run into each other, over and over again, they find themselves reworking the stories they’ve told themselves about each other. You may be tempted to reach for Beach Read this summer—it’s another bingeable Emily Henry romance novel, and the title does prove it’s a great warm-weather novel. But Book Lovers is a great pick for anyone looking for books like The Summer I Turned Pretty: Like Belly, Nora is rediscovering a person she’s known for a long time, and falling for him in the process.
11. The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
Publication date: Feb. 28, 2023
Aspiring children’s book editor Lily is trying to move on after being ghosted by the fantasy author she’d been corresponding with via email. And that starts with getting a date for her sister’s wedding. The perfect plus-one? Her hot new neighbor, Nick, who, unbeknownst to her, happens to be the author who fell in love with her over email. Fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty love triangle will experience the same intense emotions related to falling in love. Except in The Neighbor Favor, Lily’s love interests are, well, the same guy. It’s the perfect novel for bookish types who love reading and books about books.
12. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Publication date: May 10, 2022
Growing up, Persephone and Sam spent six summers together at Barry’s Bay until everything fell apart. Now, a decade later, she’s returning for Sam’s mother’s funeral—and realizing that the past she left behind won’t stay buried forever, especially when there’s still a connection between her and Sam. Like The Summer I Turned Pretty, the Every Summer After book sees characters with deep emotional histories connecting in a new way. If you love Elin Hilderbrand books or made-for-summer stories, this second-chance romance will serve up swoons with a side of nostalgia.
