I’ve talked about “new adult” books and those books which have tremendous crossover appeal because they’re the kinds of books that YA readers and adult readers would appreciate.  The main characters may be a little bit older — eighteen, nineteen — and they’re no longer in high school. They might be in college or just out of college. I’ve talked at length about “new adult” and how crossovers may or may not fit into the idea of whatever “new adult” is or might become in the future. 

But I haven’t written about those books set in that delicate place between high school and college (or whatever comes after high school in terms of more education or a career). It’s that summer of infinite possibility, where the main character straddles the line of being under the control of someone or something else and where she or he may be able to have complete and total freedom. When high school ends, that summer feels endless, both in a good way and in a bad way. In many ways, this summer is the first true taste of freedom. With that, the challenges of breaking free of the old ways of high school, of being a teenager, and the new challenges of being alone and on your own. 

It isn’t surprising that many of the books I pulled together that take place in this summer between an ending and a beginning take place on the road. The road trip narrative is, in many ways, that exact metaphor played out: you’re navigating the old, moving forward toward something new and exciting/scary. A number of these also feature a summer romance, putting to question not just the idea of a summer fling, but what change and transition plays in attachment and attraction. There’s also a lot of exploration of sexuality — again, I suspect a good deal of that being the change in social pressure, both from the high school environment and from the home environment. What you like and what feels good to you can really emerge in new and interesting ways during this summer. 

This is a small list of YA books that take place in that summer. I’d love to know of more titles that address this time period. I’m not interested in those books which use this time period as part of their time period. I want the books to be solidly set only in this period — so Just One Day wouldn’t count because it then follows through the following school year. I’m particularly interested in male-led stories, too. I have a small number from my memory/notes, but I know there have to be others as well. If there are any adult marketed titles that tackle this summer, lay those on me as well. As usual, my reading leans realistic, but if there are genre titles that fit the topic, leave those in the comments, too. 

All descriptions are from WorldCat.

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler: Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. But as Jude begins to fall for Emilio Vargas, she begins to wonder if her sisters were wrong.

The After Girls by Leah Konen: When their best friend Astrid commits suicide after high school graduation, Ella searches for answers while Sydney tries to dull the pain, and both girls look to uncover Astrid’s dark secrets when they receive a mysterious Facebook message.

With or Without You by Brian Farrey: When eighteen-year-old best friends Evan and Davis of Madison, Wisconsin, join a community center group called “chasers” to gain acceptance and knowledge of gay history, there may be fatal consequences.

A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger: Suffering a hangover from a graduation party, eighteen-year-old Whitley is blindsided by the news that her father has moved into a house with his fiancée, her thirteen-year-old daughter Bailey, and her son Nathan, in whose bed Whitley had awakened that morning.

Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole: The summer after high school graduation and one year after her mother’s tragic death, Anna and her long-time best friend Kat set out on a road trip across the country, armed with camping supplies and a copy of Jack Kerouac’s Dharma Bums, determined to be open to anything that comes their way.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard: Bria, an aspiring artist just graduated from high school, takes off for Central America’s La Ruta Maya, rediscovering her talents and finding love.

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour: Colby’s post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Bev would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe, but when she announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen: During her last summer at home before leaving for college, Emaline begins a whirlwind romance with Theo, an assistant documentary filmmaker who is in town to make a movie.

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney: When his mother dies three weeks before his high school graduation, Danny goes to Tokyo, where his mother had been going for cancer treatments, to learn about the city his mother loved and, with the help of his friends, come to terms with her death.

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle: As high school graduation nears, Wren Gray is surprised to connect with gentle Charlie Parker, a boy with a troubled past who has loved her for years, while she considers displeasing her parents for the first time and changing the plans for her future. This book comes out later in August.

Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando: While living very different lives on opposite coasts, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth and eighteen-year-old Lauren become acquainted by email the summer before they begin rooming together as freshmen at UC-Berkeley. This book comes out at the end of the year, and the story ends when the girls meet one another in person.

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker: Quinn plans to enjoy her summer in Austin, Texas, working for a record company, even though she has to live with her cousin Penny. The description doesn’t tell you a whole lot about much, but it’s set in the summer before Quinn goes to college. Not related to the setting, but I really dig the new cover for this one — it’s a fan-designed cover for the ebook version that Walker just released herself via Kindle (it was published in print by Harper).