Top Ten Beach Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers there at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join!

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is our Top Ten Beach Reads. Being from St. Louis, beaches are a little hard to come by, and even if they weren’t, I don’t read a lot of what others would probably call “beach reads”. To me, a beach read is a fun, light contemporary novel, and, well, my “read” stack is sorely lacking in that department. When I do read contemporary books, I tend to gravitate towards those that deal with heavier subjects; not necessarily “issue” books, but not ones that would be called “light” or “fun” either. In other words, that was a really long-winded way of saying I had TONS of trouble with this topic. So here is my (probably unorthodox) list of “beach” reads; I am well aware that I need to read more contemporary books, so if you have some recs that you’d highly recommend, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
This book is just really fun, with a lot of humor. There’s some serious stuff going on, but Audrey is just a really well-done and realistic character.

Gallagher Girls books by Ally Carter
I know the series gets darker, but the first two are definitely light and fun. I love Cammie and her group of girls, and the introduction of Zach. I can’t wait for more Zach!

The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
Percy’s journey through a US where the Greek gods and goddesses still exist is chock full of adventure, humor, and fabulous characters. This is one of my favorite series ever. ♥

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
This one deals with the very serious topic of peer pressure, but there were aspects of this that were fun and carefree, particularly before Stargirl starts to cave to Leo’s whims.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Um, I just really adore Howl and Sophie. There’s a lot of humor in this book, and Sophie is an amazing character. Even though the book is kind of confusing, I still think it qualifies as a beach read.

Croak by Gina Damico
The first book in this series especially is quite light-hearted, which is impressive since our main character is a reaper and death is ever-present. I loved the mix of darkness and levity, which is done quite deftly here.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Maybe it’s the play on words that happens throughout this book, but I found myself cracking up at several points.

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
Again with the darker subject matter, but Eleanor is a fabulous main character. This book was compulsively readable with a great air of mystery and danger.

Confessions of An Angry Girl by Louise Rozett
Oh, this book. Rose is incredibly realistic and dealing with massive issues concerning her dad’s death. It’s not light or fun – even if Rose does make the reader crack up on several occasions. But it’s SO GOOD and, really, you need to read it.

The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar
This was a really unique mix of magic and contemporary fiction, and features a paranormal creature not usually seen in YA: a genie! The romance is very contemporary in feel, while Oliver obviously has magical abilities, considering what he is. So much fun!

So what did you choose this week? Please link me! And make sure you leave any recommendations for light and/or fun contemps!