- General Recommendations
- Staff-Created List
Quick Reads for Teens
Short books or books that feel short because they're page turners,
StaffLibrary Staff
Santa Monica Public Library
User from Santa Monica Public Library

18 items
- A short powerful book dealing with mental health, addiction, with texting featuring prominently.
- A group of basketball players and cheerleaders crash on a deserted island on their way home from an away game. The teammates work together to find a way to survive with little food and water, by searching the island, fishing, hunting and gathering…
- Be prepared to think you know what’s going on, only to have the rug pulled out from under you every few pages. Each revelation in the plot pulls the reader in and encourages them to keep going until the final scene.
- This novel blends fantasy with supernatural horror, romance, and humor. Each of Mica’s three friends are unique and entertaining. The romance between Rage and Mica is sweet and the perfect antidote to her rushed relationship with Sam. The Satanic…
- The nine romance stories in this collection have a little something for everyone: fairy tales, fantasy adjacent, contemporary realism, queer, and nerdy.
- This one has mass appeal with its blend of genres: romance, cultural lore, paranormal, mystery, and fairy tale.
- What if you had to relive the worst Valentine's Day of your life over and over again? In this homage to Groundhog Day, our heroine keeps trying to get things right so she can have the best Valentine's Day.
- At Urban Promise Prep school for boys it is understood the young men will follow rules in order to succeed and Principal Moore is well respected, but what's happening behind the school doors is a different story. When Principal Moore is murdered, 3…
- Micah Summers wants a boyfriend, but approaching a boy makes him extremely anxious. Instead, he draws potential boyfriends in fantastical settings and anonymously shares them on his Insta-loves Instagram account. He’s drawn 99 boys and is looking…
- The combination of a sweet “first love” story, healing from trauma and finding who you are make this a compelling and engrossing read. Reluctant readers will fall for both Dani and Prince because they’re written so realistically. All their flaws and…
- Fun modern magical fantasy with a delightful LGBTQIA+ enemies to lovers - love story.
- A powerful story of abuse told in verse.
- A classic written by a teen for teens that takes place in the mid-century. Brief and raw and holds up.
- A short startling psychological thriller.
- This short novel will break your heart, but you won't want to stop reading it.
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