YA Beach Reads: The Rest of the Story, Fame, Fate and the First Kiss, Rayne and Delilah's Midnite Matinee, When Summer Ends

Summer is here and it's time for beach read recommendations.  Several popular authors have new books out, including Sarah Dessen (Once and For All 2017), one of my all-time favorite authors.  Her latest, The Rest of the Story, focuses on a young teen, who finds herself staying with her deceased mother's family, whom she hasn't seen for years, at their low budget lakeside motel. Fame, Fate and the First Kiss by Kasie West (Love, Life and the List) follows Lacey Barnes, an aspiring actress who has just been cast opposite a teen heartthrob in a new zombie film. Rayne and Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner (The Serpent King) introduces Josie and Delia who host a public access cable TV show featuring hokey horror movies. Finally, When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington (Love Songs and Other Lies) explores the relationship between Aiden, a star pitcher who is losing his vision, and Olivia, an aspiring journalist with an absentee mother, as they work together at his family's boat rental business for the summer. 

In The Rest of the Story  anxiety-ridden Emma Saylor Payne is thrown for a loop when she is sent to stay with her dead mother's family on North Lake, while her dad is on his honeymoon with his new wife and her paternal grandmother is on a cruise.  Emma's parents met on North Lake when he was teaching sailing lessons at Lake North, the ritzy side of the lake.  Her mother, who grew up on the working-class side of the lake at her family's low budget motel, was a beautiful, but troubled woman.  She had never gotten over the accidental death of her best friend Chris, and after years of struggle with addiction, died of an overdose. Emma, who is called Saylor by her mother's family, finds herself enjoying working at the motel and flirting with Roo, Chris's son who was her childhood friend. As she gets to know her cousins, she realizes that the class conflict between the kids on the two sides of the lake hasn't changed much since her parents were there.  Learning about her mother's wild teenage years and the time she herself spent at the lake before her mother died, Emma enjoys a summer of self-discovery, uncovering family secrets and experiencing first love.  This terrific addition to Dessen's repertoire of books exploring social class, family relationships and budding romance is a must read this summer.
Fame, Fate and the First Kiss introduces Lacey Barnes, who gets a shot at stardom, when she is chosen to co-star with action-hero Grant James in a zombie movie. Grant, whose last film received vicious reviews, is looking to redeem his reputation with a solid hit.  Lacey moves to LA to live with her dad, who is not as supportive of her career as she would like.  He hires Donavan Lake, a straight-laced judgmental peer tutor, to make sure she is doing her homework.  Meanwhile, her onscreen chemistry with Grant is lackluster. (Could it be all the zombie makeup she has to wear?) and someone on the set seems to be sabotaging her on social media.  When she tries to figure out who it is, she turns to Donavan for help finding the saboteur.  Her female co-star Amanda, who is coaching her on kissing techniques, tells her to imagine kissing someone she likes when shooting scenes with Grant, and much to her dismay Lacey finds herself thinking about Donavan. Excerpts from the Dancing Graves movie script are peppered throughout the story to give the reader insight into the film.  This fun romantic comedy, filled with West's trademark witty repartee between Lacey and Donavan, is sure to be a hit with fans of wholesome teen romance. 
Josie (Rayne) and Delia (Delilah) are the hosts of Rayne and Delilah's Midnite Matinee, a public access cable TV show in Jackson, Tennessee, which features hokey horror movies, interspersed with the girls' humorous banter and silly skits. Josie, who hopes to pursue a career in television, has an opportunity to take an internship with the Food Network, but struggles with her feelings of loyalty to Delia. Delia is passionate about resurrecting the old horror movies she watched with her absentee father as a kid.  She secretly hopes he will someday see the show and reconnect with her.  When Lawson, a young MMA fighter, guest stars with his beagle on the show, Josie finds herself falling for him.  The three head to Orlando for the ShiverCon festival, where they plan to meet with legendary horror host Jack Devine, who might help them gain a wider audience. Delia also hopes to find her father, who is supposedly in Orlando.  Written from alternating perspectives, the novel paints a picture of two colorful characters, whose witty banter and heartfelt angst about the future makes them an unforgettable pair.
Told from dual first-person perspectives, When Summer Ends follows the lives of high school star pitcher Aiden, who is secretly dealing with a vision impairment, and aspiring journalist Olivia, who did not get the summer newspaper internship she was hoping for and is nursing her first heartbreak.  Securing a job at his family vacation boat rental store on Lake Michigan, Olivia begins to heal as she and Aiden work side by side and begin an innocent flirtation.  Then her absentee mother arrives in town, just as her custodial aunt tells her they are moving to Arizona for her senior year.  Aiden, who quit the baseball team at the end of their junior year without any explanation, confides in Olivia that he is losing his vision, which puts an end to his pitching aspirations. He now is focusing on his passion for art, but his high school teammates, including Olivia's ex, who are unaware of his diagnosis, won't stop pestering him about rejoining the team.  Olivia and Aiden decide to live summer by chance, using coin flips and rock, paper, scissors to make important decisions. They begin to fall in love as they each explore new possibilities, including a life together.  These two sympathetic characters will keep readers engaged and rooting for them until the very last page.