During the summer, instead of spending countless hours just scrolling through your phone, pick up one of these books. They’re exciting, witty and full of adventure.

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Can You Keep a Secret? follows a girl by the name of Emma Corrigan, who accidentally spills all her secrets to a complete stranger on a plane ride back home to London. The only problem is: he’s her new boss.

This book is a very fun, light-hearted chick-lit that is easy to read and I found myself choosing it over using my phone at times. Can You Keep a Secret? will not let you down.

Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Samantha and Cassie have always been best friends. That is, until one day Sam wakes up in the middle of nowhere to find Cassie dead with no recollection of who she is. The story follows Sam as she regains her lost memory and faces the mysterious forces trying to keep her quiet about the nature of Cassie’s death. Don’t Look Back is a very addicting read and I did not want to put this book down. The intensity and the chemistry between the characters are all believable and feel real. Character development is very prominent, as Sam starts to realize who she is and who she has become after the memory loss.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston is a popular girl living the dream, until one night she gets into a car accident and dies, but then wakes up again the next day. Only, it isn’t the next day. It’s the same day all over again, and she has to figure out how and what to change about that particular day to make life move along its course again. Throughout the novel, Oliver does a great job with character development. Samantha is a complex character and as she realizes what kind of a person she is, she learns how little things can affect everyone individually. Before I Fall teaches empathy, bullying awareness and the little things in life that you always go by that you don’t care to think about. This book has now been made into a movie, but I recommend reading the book before watching it on screen.

Every Day by David Levithan

This novel follows a character simply called “A”. “A” is neither a boy or a girl, merely a being who wakes up in someone else’s body everyday, just going through the motions of their life. The story takes a turn when “A” wakes up in the body of a boy named Justin and falls madly in love with his girlfriend. This book explores a very interesting concept and I really enjoyed Levithan’s writing style. The novel is very deep and moving and I loved “living” in the lives of many different people through “A”. It is also another book that is hard to put down.

The Program by Suzanne Young

Taking place in a world where being suicidal is a pandemic, any hint of sadness will land you straight into “The Program”, where they wipe your memories clean until you are just the shell of a human. Sloane leads a fairly normal life, getting by without revealing emotion, until one day her boyfriend James cracks.

The Program has such an interesting concept and the author executed it perfectly. The characters are made in a mysterious yet real way and I could imagine it being a very fun movie. I recommend this book to everyone because it plays into how we may not know what someone else is hiding and the extents you will go to for the person you love.