Adult & Teen Summer Reading Challenge 2024

Welcome to our Adult and Teen Summer Reading Program.  This summer we’re focused on letting you choose your own summer adventure. 

Pick up your activity log at any of our Lakeland Public Libraries and start earning tickets to be entered into one of our three grand prizes to be given away at the end of summer. 

You can earn tickets in three ways:

• Complete a Reading Challenge

  Reading is the foundation of our summer programs, and this year we’re letting you choose your summer reading adventure.

  You can select titles from our summer reading suggestions, which includes books for both adults and teens, fiction and non-fiction. 

  Or, if you’re looking for something more laid back, just tell us the title of the book you’re reading.

  Pick up your reading log at any Lakeland Library location or download a PDF version of the Adult & Teen Summer Reading Log to print.

  For each week you read, write the title of the book on the line provided.  The same title can be used for more than one week.  If you spent time reading or listening to audiobooks during the week, it counts.

  Bring your log into any Lakeland Library and we will stamp your log and give you a ticket to fill out for one of our three grand prizes.

  There are eight weeks of summer reading.  That’s eight chances to earn a ticket!

• Summer Reading Recommendations

  Looking for some inspiration for adventure reads? We’ve put together a list of recommended titles to get you started.

  • Week 1: Heroes

    Fiction 

    Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center 

    Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes 

    We Could Be Heroes by Michael Chen 

    No Middle Name: Jack Reacher, The Complete Collected Short Stories by Lee Child 

    The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo 

    Upgrade by Blake Crouch 

    Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 

    The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

    Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman 

    Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 

    The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix 

    Dune by Frank Herbert 

    Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally 

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 

    Hero by Thomas Perry 

    Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse 

    The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 

    Vicious by Victoria Schwab 

    The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 

    An Everyday Hero by Laura Trentham 

     

     

    Non Fiction 

    The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell  

    A Call for Revolution: A Vision for the Future by the Dalai Lama XIV 

    She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar  

    Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand 

    Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship and Sacrifice by Adam Makos 

    The Hero Code: Lessons Learned From Lives Well Lived by Admiral William McRaven  

    Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11 by Joseph Pfeifer 

    I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai  

     

     

    Young Adult  

    Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

    Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan: The True Story of How the Iconic Superhero Battled the Men of Hate by Rick Bower 

    Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

    How to Date a Superhero (And Not Die Trying) by Christina Fernandez 

    Not Your Sidekick by CJ Lee 

    Renegades by Marissa Meyer 

    Carry On by Rainbow Rowell 

    Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson 

    Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao 

    Okoye to the people by Ibi Aanu Zoboi 

  • Week 2: Videogames

    Fiction 

    In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander 

    Chrysalis by Lincoln Child 

    Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

    Recursion by Blake Crouch 

    The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver 

    Game On by Janet Evanovich 

    Neuromancer by William Gibson 

    1Q84 by Haruk Murakami 

    The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson  

    The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut 

    The Passengers by John Marrs 

    Otherworld by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller 

    Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park 

    88 Names by Matt Ruff 

    Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 

    Daemon by Daniel Suarez 

    Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

     

     

    Non Fiction 

    Uncertainty in Games by Greg Costikyan 

    Game On! : Video Game History from Pong and Pac-man to Mario, Minecraft, and More by Dustin Hansen 

    Console Wars : Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris 

    The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley 

    The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2 : Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the Billion-Dollar Battle to Shape Modern Gaming by Steve Kent 

    Dawn of the New Everything: Encounters with Reality and Virtual Reality by Jaron Lanier 

    Art of Atari by Tim Lapetino 

    Critical Hits : Writers Playing Video Games by Robert J. Lennon 

     

     

    Young Adult  

    Girl Gone Viral by Arvni Ahmadi 
    Enders Game by Orson Scott Card 
    At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson 
    Warcross by Marie Lu 
    Slay by Brittney Morris 
    Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani 
    Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith 
    Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q Sutanto 
    These Deadly Games by Diana Urban 

  • Week 3: Forests

    Fiction 

    The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
    Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong
    Through the Woods: Stories by Emily Carroll
    Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
    Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
    A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
    In the Woods by Tana French
    Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin
    The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
    The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
    Force of Nature by Jane Harper
    Weyward by Emilia Hart
    The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
    Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
    North Woods by Daniel Mason
    Uprooted by Naomi Novik
    Burning Bright by Nicholas Petrie
    The Overstory by Richard Powers
    The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
    Bear With Me Now by Katie Shepard
    Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan
    The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker  

     

    Non Fiction 

    A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
    The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
    Forest Bathing: The Rejuvenating Practice of Shinrin Yoku by Hector Garcia
    The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship With Our Wild Neighbors by Erika Howsare
    Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
    Last Child in the Woods : Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
    The Total Outdoorsman Manual by Edward T. Nickens
    Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Likes to Walk Outside by Nick Offerman
    Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
    Walden by Henry David Thoreau
    The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohllenben

     

     

    Young Adult  

    The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
    The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
    The Counselors by Jessica Goodman
    The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson
    The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
    The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
    You Have a Match by Emma Lord
    Wilder Girls by Rory Power
    The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
    Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells

  • Week 4: Space

    Fiction 

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
    The City in the Middle of Day and Night by Charlie Jane Anders
    Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin
    Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes 
    Red Rising by Pierce Brown
    The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
    Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis Chen
    Dune by Frank Herbert
    The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
    The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
    The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
    The Three-Body Problem by CixinLiu 
    A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
    Winter's Orbit by EverinaMaxwell 
    Binti by NnediOkorafor 
    To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
    Old Man's War by John Scalzi
    The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
    Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
    Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
    Space Opera by Catherynne Valente
    The Martian by Andy Weir
    Network Effect by Martha Wells 

     

    Non Fiction
    The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World by Sean Carroll
    The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush
    Rocket Boys: A Memoir by Homer H. Hickam
    Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
    Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger
    Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
    The Planets by DavaSobel 
    How to Astronaut: An Insider's Guide to Leaving Planet Earth by Terry Virts

     

    Young Adult  
    Feed by M.T. Anderson
    Black Hole Sun by David MacinnisGill 
    Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman
    Cinder by Marissa Meyer
    The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
    Across the Universe by Beth Revis
    Divergent by Veronica Roth
    Scythe by Neal Shusterman
    The 5th Wave by Richard Yancey 

  • Week 5: Fairy Tales/Myths

    Fiction 

    When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill 

    The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
    The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
    Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
    The Binding by Bridget Collins
    Stardust by Neil Gaiman
    The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
    Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
    Fairy Tale by Stephen King
    Thorn Hedge by T. Kingfisher
    Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
    Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
    Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren
    The Changeling by Victor LaValle
    Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
    Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin
    Circe by Madeline Miller
    A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
    Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
    The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
    Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
    Nocturne by Alyssa Wees
    For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
    

     

     

    Non Fiction 

    Meet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City by Mark Adams
    Bulfinch's Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
    Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
    Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers by Matt Kaplan
    The Dragon Keeper's Handbook by Shawn MacKinzie
    The World of Lore: Monsterous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar
    Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner

     

     

    Young Adult  

    Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews
    Red Hood by Elana Arnold
    Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
    Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
    The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
    Beastly by Alex Finn
    Gilded by Marissa Meyer
    The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
    Hunted by Meagan Spooner
    Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
    Bone Spindle by Leslile Vedder

  • Week 6: Oceans

    Fiction 

    A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
    Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten
    Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
    The Folly of the World by Jesse Bullington
    Float Plan by Trish Doller
    The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor
    At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
    Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
    House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
    Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
    American Mermaid by Julia Langbein
    Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell
    Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T.J. Newman
    Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
    Deep Fathom by James Rollins
    Ocean Prey by John Sanford
    The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
    The Deep by Rivers Solomon
    Beyond That the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash
    Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
    The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor
    The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
    Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
    The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs
    The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, et al
    

     

     

    Non Fiction 

    The Blue Wonder: Why the Sea Glows, Fish Sing, and Other Astonishing Insights From the Ocean by Frauke Bagusche
    The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
    The World is Blue: How Our Fate and The Ocean's Are One by Sylvia Earle
    Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
    The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
    Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
    The Soul of an Octopus: A Joyful Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
    Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves by James Nestor
    In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
    Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures by Nick Pyenson
    
    

     

     

    Young Adult  

    Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
    Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
    To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
    House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig
    Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
    The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
    Seafire by Natalie Parker
    These Rebel Waves by Kate Rudd
    Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
    The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

  • Week 7: Time Travel

    Fiction 

    The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
    The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
    Kindred by Octavia Butler
    Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen
    Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
    This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mahtar & Max Gladstone
    Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
    Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald
    The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
    Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness
    Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
    The Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
    Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
    One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
    Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
    The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
    The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
    In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
    Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
    This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
    The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
    The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
    The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner
    

     

     

    Non Fiction 

    Dinosaurs Rediscovered by Michael J. Benton
    How to Build a Time Machine: The Real Science of Time Travel by Brian Clegg
    Time Travel and Warp Drives: A Scientific Guide to Shortcuts Through Time and Space by Allen Everett
    Time Travel: A History by James Gleick
    The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
    How it Began: A Time Traveler's Guide to the Universe by Chris Impey
    Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration in to the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku
    Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane
    How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe
    Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe by Lee Smolin
    
    
    

    Young Adult  

    Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg
    Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
    A Thousand Pieces of You by Tavia Gilbert
    Throwback by Maurene Goo
    The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
    Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson
    Stealing Infinity by Alyson Noel
    Opposite of Always by Justin Reynolds
    Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
    The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk
    
    

  • Week 8: Arctic/Survival

    Fiction 

    Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
    Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child
    Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton
    Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik
    A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson
    To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
    The White Road by Sarah Lotz
    The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister
    Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
    Breathless by Amy McCulloch
    The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
    Under a Pole Star by Stef Penney
    Arctic Sea by David Poyer
    Ice Hunt by James Rollins
    Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
    The Terror by Dan Simmons
    Sun at Midnight by Rosie Thomas
    With Love, From Cold World by Alicia Thompson
    All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes
    City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita
     

     

    Non Fiction 

    Alone in Antarctica: The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice by Felicity Aston
    Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks – A Cool History of a Hot Commodity by Amy Brady
    Antarctica Cruising Guide by Peter Carey and Craig Franklin
    The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850 by Brian Fagan
    The Ice at the End of the World by Jon Gertner
    Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk by Buddy Levy
    Icebound; Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer
    The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
    In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the U.S.S. Jeannette by Hampton Sides
    Glaciers: The Politics of Ice by Jorge Daniel Taillant
    Kingdom of Frost: How the Cryosphere Shapes Life on Earth by Bjorn Vassnes
    
    
    Young Adult  

    The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett
    Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
    The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
    Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore
    Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle
    Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
    Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
    Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards
    Snowglobe by Soyoung Park
    Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
    
    
    

• Attend a Summer Program for Adults & Teens

  Join us for these in-person events and earn up to three tickets for our grand prize drawing.

  Game Day with Adventure Trivia 
  Saturday, June 15 @ 2 pm at the Main Library
  All ages, but children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.

  Come play with us at the library, bring your family and friends. Maybe you’ll make some new friends while you play. We have the classics, as well as some games that you may not have tried before; from Apples to Apples to Zombie Dice, we have you covered!

  This month includes a special Adventure Trivia segment.

  No registration required.

   

  Adult & Teen Crafting: Diamond Panting Mandala Bookmarks 
  Saturday, June 29 @ 2 pm at the Larry R. Jackson Branch Library
  For adults and teens aged 13 and up.

  Join us for an adventure in crafting as we diamond paint mandala bookmarks.

  Diamond painting is like paint-by-numbers, but using tiny, different colored gems. We'll provide all the materials for you to create your own mandala corner bookmark.

  Registration is required and opens on Sat, June 22 @ 2 pm

   

  Adventure Bingo 
  Saturday, July 13 @ pm at the Main Library
  For adults and teens aged 13 and up.

  Step into the realms of fictional worlds and famous destinations as we travel beyond the Lakeland Public Library’s walls for an exciting afternoon of Adventure Bingo. Upon arrival, you will receive your adventure-themed bingo cards.
  No registration required.

• Join the PCLC's Mining Mayhem

  There’s no reason kids should have all the fun this summer.

  Visit select Polk County libraries and pick up a mining map. Explore their biomes and complete a challenge to earn a prize and add a sticker to your map.

  Collect all Lakeland stickers and earn up to 3 entries into our grand prize drawing.

  Collect them county-wide to be entered into the PCLC grand prize drawing for tickets to Legoland!

• Prizes

  You can pick up an activity log at any Lakeland Library. Each activity you complete earns you an entry ticket into a drawing for one of three grand prizes.
  This year’s prizes are:

  An all-new Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet 
  With an octa-core processor that performs 25% faster than the previous generation and 3 GB RAM, you can seamlessly move between your favorite apps. The 10.1” Full HD display with 1920 x 1200 resolution shows off your entertainment in vibrant clarity, whether you want to stream, read, listen, or play.

  Annual Membership pass to Bok Tower Gardens for Two 
  This membership pass includes unlimited admission for two to Bok Tower Gardens for a year. 
  Members also receive discounts at Blue Palmetto Café and the Shop at Bok, advanced notice and reduced admission for special events and programs, reciprocal privileges at 300+ gardens, museums, and attractions.

  A Gift Card to the Joinery 
  The Joinery is a modern artisan food hall on the banks of Lake Mirror in downtown Lakeland. This digital gift card can be used throughout The Joinery (excluding pop-ups).

  Participants will have the choice of applying their tickets to the prize of their choice.

  The contest closes on Friday, July 26th.
  Drawings will take place on Thursday, August 1st.

  The Adult & Teen Summer Reading Challenge is for participants aged 13 and up. Participants younger than 18 years old must have their parent’s permission to receive the prize, should they be selected as a winner.

  Children 12 and younger are invited to check out our Kid’s Summer Reading Program.