Recommendations based on "The Summer Boy A Novel"

** Shortlisted for the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction **** An Evening Standard ‘One to Watch in 2023 **** An Independent ‘Best Romantic Summer Reads' **** A Book of the Month pick for Diva, Irish Examiner, Novellic & Sainsbury’s Magazine **** A Most Anticipated pick for PinkNews & Queer on the Street **It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend.Lucy begins to make sense of herself during a long hot summer, when a spark with her school friend Susannah escalates to an all-consuming infatuation, and, very quickly, to a desperate and devastating love.Fearful of rejection from her small and conservative community, Lucy begins living a double life, hiding the most honest parts of herself in stolen moments with Susannah.But with the end of school and the opportunity to leave Crossmore looming, Lucy must choose between two places, two people and two futures, each as terrifying as the other. Neither will be easy, but only one will offer her happiness.Sunburn is an astute and tender portrayal of first love, adolescent anxiety and the realities of growing up in a small town where tradition holds people tightly in its grasp. An atmospheric sapphic love story and coming-of-age novel with the intensity of Megan Nolan's Acts of Desperation, the long hot summer of André Aciman's Call Me By Your Name and the female friendships of Anna Hope's Expectation.‘A tender and heartfelt coming-of-age tale’ – Heat‘A compassionate take on the push and pull between what's expected and what is felt’ – Herald‘A deeply moving, heartfelt love story’ – Daily Mail‘Lucy tells her story in a true, compelling voice, with an eye for minutiae, quaint apercus, and confidences that make her account moving and convincing’ – SAGA Magazine‘Tender and poignant... Ideal reading for the last month of summer’ – Diva'Intense and all-consuming - like the first love it describes - Sunburn transported me to the heart of summer and the heady days of late adolescence. I won't soon forget Chloe Michelle Howarth's addictive, lushly written debut' - Laura Sims'Capturing all the intensity of first love, blended with the claustrophobia of small-town life, this debut, inspired by real experience, is tender and raw' - The Bookseller'A beautiful coming of age love novel written with an insightful poetical prose, rich with religious allegory and texture which underscores the transformative, spiritual power of first love explored' - Scene Magazine

A Hallmark Original Series!New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods proves once more that home is always where the heart is.Falling for “Maddening Moira” O’Malley was the unexpected highlight of Luke O’Brien’s Dublin holiday. So when she pays a surprise visit to Chesapeake Shores, Luke is thrilled…at first. A fling with this wild Irish rose is one thing, but forever? Maybe someday, but not when he’s totally focused on establishing a business that will prove his mettle to his overachieving family.Given Luke’s reaction, Moira has some soul-searching of her own to do. Scarred by her father’s abandonment, she wonders if Luke, with his playboy past, is truly the family man she longs for. Adding to her dilemma, she’s offered an amazing chance at a dream career of her own.Deep down, though, Moira knows home is the real prize, and that love can be every bit as enchanted as a summer garden.

Discover the gripping new YA thriller from the bestselling author of The One Memory of Flora Banks and This Summer's Secret.Two girls meet on a train journey.One of them - privileged, chaotic - is heading to an exclusive Swiss rehab centre following months of partying and living wildly.The other - who couldn't be more different - is down to her last penny, running away.When they get off the train they are both pretending to be the other. Just for a short period, of course. Just until the rehab stint is over . . .

Olivia Jefferson has always been a good little automaton. At least, that's what her best friend Angela had always told her. She was a dutiful daughter, straight A student, and a devoted friend. 
But when Angela dies at seventeen of terminal brain cancer, Olivia's automaton life gets turned upside down. She made a promise that she would finish Angela's bucket list for her.
 But number one is to go on the scariest ride at the County Fair, Hell's Hurricane, and number two is to go on a Grand Adventure. Both seem impossible. 
So when a pretty, blue eyed carnie boy offers her a place on the carnival for the summer, she couldn't possibly go, right? Deciding to abandon her well planned future, Olivia follows the carnival along the bottom States, from Florida to LA. What she learns as she works her way through Angela's bucket list will make her reexamine her dreams, her beliefs and make her really question: Who is Olivia Jefferson?

The forecast calls for a first crush after Stevie makes a wish for something new and daring in this authentic, funny Sisters Club adventure. As the middle sister in a family with three girls, Stevie Reel doesn’t know much about boys, and that’s always been just fine with her. But lately, things have been changing: kids at school are starting to pair up, and Owen, the new boy in her Earth Science class, seems to have his sights set on Stevie. The trouble is, Stevie doesn’t want a boyfriend- she’s not even sure she’s ready to have a boy friend. And her sisters, who know exactly where they stand on the issue of boys, are no help: drama queen Alex is busy trying to orchestrate a perfect, Romeo-and-Juliet-style first kiss from her heartthrob, Scott Towel (er, Howell), while Joey can’t understand why anyone would like a boy better than a frog anyway. If only figuring out boys were as easy as predicting the weather!

Three girls, three trips, one amazing summer! Samantha Macintosh isn't excited about spending the whole summer apart from her best friends, Liza and Mina. But she can't help being excited about a seaside vacation, complete with fun in the sun, carnivals, surfing lessons -- and more than a few surprises! This is one beach vacation full of unexpected twists and turns. Can Sam make it a summer to remember?

Just when Bluebell thought her crazy family were behaving normally, her parents make an announcement that could turn everything upside down. If only Zoran, their au pair, would come back to live with them. Unfortunately he's too busy teaching guitar to his new protege, Zachary Smith. Blue is jealous at first, until Zach starts helping her little sister with a secret project and becomes a regular visitor at the Gadsby house. Then Zach goes missing. Blue needs her family to pull together if they're going to find him.

This charming story about three California sisters spending the summer on Cape Cod is perfect for fans of The Penderwicks—as a starred ALA Booklist review raved—and The Mother-Daughter Book Club.Though Marigold, Zinnia, and Lily Silver couldn’t be more different, they’re all excited about summer vacation. Twelve-year-old Marigold is hoping to get her first kiss from her big crush, while Zinnia, eleven, will most likely spend her time in Marigold’s shadow. And five-year-old Lily, though angelic, has a knack for stirring up mischief wherever she goes.But all of their plans come crashing down when the sisters’ parents send them to Cape Cod to visit their Aunt Sunny. Small-town life is not what these LA girls had in mind. They must adjust, however, to things like sharing a room and living without a TV. With the help of Aunt Sunny’s cheery disposition and her yummy brownies, though, the girls are quickly won over, and before Marigold, Zinnie, and Lily know it, they’re cracking lobster shells at clambakes, making new friends, and even organizing a local talent show.Full of moments both humorous and reflective, The Forget-Me-Not Summer is a story about three girls facing their fears, adjusting to change, and learning how to band together as the strongest version of themselves: sisters. Be sure to catch the sequel, The Brightest Stars of Summer, for more fun on Cape Cod!

Come to Sunset Island in Sunset Surf, the exciting 12th book in the bestselling series about Samantha, Emma, and Carrie--away from home in the ultimate summer job. The girls go to San Francisco for the weekend, where Emma falls for Sam's new-found brother Adam. But what about Kurt?

Joey Jordan loves gymnastics: the thrill of performing a backflip on the beam, the cheers of the audience when she sticks a landing. But even with all her talent and style, she's never quite made it to that gold medal stand. Now big changes shake up Joey's life in and out of the gym. Joey wants to break out some daring new beam and floor routines--but she'll have to defy her strict coach to do it. Her best friend, Alex, is thinking about quitting gymnastics for good. And an old friend named Tanner just moved back to town, and he's suddenly gotten very, very cute. Can Joey handle all the challenges coming her way, and make her gold medal summer happen at last? Drawing on her real-life experience as a competitive gymnast, acclaimed novelist Donna Freitas delivers both a terrific gymnastics story and a classic novel about stretching some limits, bending the rules, and finding your balance.