Spring into Summer Reading!

Trees are blooming, birds are singing...it's perfect weather for reading outside!

And since spring is finally here, we can start dreaming up ambitious summer reading lists, right? When I was growing up, May was filled with dreams of marathon Harry Potter reading sessions (anticipating the release of a new book), backpacks full of new books from the library, and competing with my friends to get the most books read before school started again in August.

This summer, I'm catching up on my teen reads. Of course I've read The Hunger Games (but who says I can't read it again?), I've yet to read a Sarah Dessen novel (any recommendations?), Divergent is still a mystery to me, and my copy of The Fault in Our Stars is gathering dust under my textbooks. Time to get reading!

I'm scouring YALSA's 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults list for ideas, too. I'd like to give Libba Bray's new book, The Diviners, a try, and I've been hearing lots of great things about Shadow and Bone, the first book in the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo.

Want help finding great books to read this summer? Check out Goodread's Popular Summer 2013 list, NPR's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels, the top ten of the Best Fiction for Young Adults list, or the Iowa High School Book Award nominee list. Craving some nonfiction? Check out YALSA's Nonfiction Award winners and nominees.