Romance
Who doesn’t love a good romance? First there’s love, then heartbreak, then, if we’re lucky… a happy ending! These books are guaranteed to heat up your summer.

Weepers
Warning! Sad books ahead. May cause sniffling, crying, and nose-blowing. But sometimes we all just need a good cry. So pick up one of these tearjerkers, a box of Kleenex, and some ice cream to go with it!

Classics
So much better than broccoli, but still good for you! Broaden your mind, your horizons and your knowledge of literature with one of these great classics. There’s a reason people have been reading them for so long.

Humour
What’s funnier, laughing until you cry or rolling on the floor laughing? You be the judge with one of these so-funny-milk-just-might-squirt-out-of-your-nose books.

Mystery
Tired of CSI repeats but still craving a good mystery? Try your hand at solving one of these plot-twisting, brain-crunching whodunits.

Adventure
Want to know what it’s like to get lost in the wilderness, chased by an international drug cartel, or defend your country from bioterrorists, all without leaving your comfy couch? This is the list for you! After all, you’ll need some great adventure story to tell your friends when you get back to school.

Sci-Fi
Space, the final literary frontier. You have to admire authors who invent not only characters and stories from scratch, but entire worlds as well. After all, who knows what the future holds?

Fantasy
Okay folks, we just have to accept that there won’t be another Harry Potter book for at least another year. In the meantime, you can reread The Lord of the Rings for the eighth time, or check out another terrific fantasy book from this list.

Non-Fiction
Why non-fiction? What could be more terrifying, thrilling, or heartbreaking than real life? Who could resist such intriguing stories? Where will you find these books, if not the library? And just when did non-fiction writing become so much more than just the 5 W’s?

Get Graphic
Incredible art and incredible storytelling are combined in graphic novels. Superheroes, fantasy, biographies, adventure, manga… there’s something here for everyone!

Chick Lit
Sounds a little bit like bubblegum and that’s not too far off. A little bit of humour, a little bit of romance, and a lot of shopping go into the mix in these books. It is summer after all, who wants to get too serious?

Lad Lit
Let’s hear it for male equality! If chicks can have funny, realistic, but none-too-serious books, so can the lads!

Historical Fiction
Explore any era in the last 10,000 or so years of human history, without an expensive time machine. Or a boring textbook, for that matter. Isn’t it amazing how much pain and suffering summer reading can save you?

Horror and Supernatural
Vampires. Werewolves. Zombies. Slithering things in the dark. Rats. Lots and lots and lots of rats. Crawling flesh. Chills up your spine. If these things don’t make you hide under your pillow, you’re a braver soul than I. Spirits from beyond, voices from the grave and yes, vampire romance. Get your fix of spooky, eerie, and downright strange here.

Diaries and Letters
Ever had delusions that your private, personal journal would become a bestseller? Well sometimes it actually happens! Okay to tell the truth, most of these books are made-up, but you never know.

Other Languages
It’s your summer, read in any language you want!

Thrillers
Guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your beach towel, these reads are not for the faint of heart. Just make sure your ready for that crazy twist at the end!

Canadian
They say write what you know, so why not read what you know? Great stories from the best Canadian authors out there. And the neatest thing is that some of them just might live in your very own backyard! Although you’d think you’d have noticed that tent they pitched before now.

Teen Angst
You know those people who tell you these are the best years of your life? They should be sentenced to a summer of reading books on this list. Not because they’re bad, just a good reminder of how sometimes being a teenager means pain, anguish, and torment. So go ahead, wallow!

Younger Teens

Queer Lit