Summer Skin

Gr 10 Up—Set at a university in Brisbane, Australia against the backdrop of booze, hookups, friendship, and rivalries, this steamy YA centers around Mitch and Jess's relationship. Jess lives in Unity Dorm and starts the school year seeking to avenge her friend, Farren, by humiliating the guys in the Knights Dorm who livestreamed Farren having sex. She meets Mitch, a Knight, and in their first encounter dyes his hair pink, starting a bizarre romance. They have multiple sexual encounters, and both carry baggage from previous relationships. During school break, they move to tentative boyfriend and girlfriend status. After returning to college, their new relationship flounders when a member of the Knights learns about them, and Mitch retreats. Jess narrates the story, and all the conflict that comes from her relationship with Mitch—guilt for betraying a friend by sleeping with the "enemy," and slowly learning what happened to Mitch the previous year that started him on a path of change. Jess, Mitch, their friends, and everyone's messy relationships are realistic and relatable to many older teens. The details of college life, from part-time jobs to playlists, parties, and cramming for exams will resonate with most readers. Jess and Mitch end on a hopeful note, but the journey there was painful for both of them.