Visit the Right Coast in These 7 East Coast–Set YAs

Maine: Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink, by Stephanie Kate Strohm
Libby is a history nerd, obsessed with all things fashion, Jane Austen, and historical romance. The summer before her senior year, the Minnesota native travels to Maine to intern at an 18th-century living history museum on Maine pioneers, where she’s in charge of the girls’ day camp. There, she encounters everything from cute sailors to smart locals to crazy roommates to possible hauntings. It’s a romantic comedy that keeps you guessing, while needlepoint, hearth cooking, and fun historical factoids set the stage. And nothing says East Coast like a living history museum.

New Hampshire: Tides, by Betsy Cornwell
Set on a small island off the coast of New Hampshire with a very East Coast lighthouse keeper’s cottage, Tides exists somewhere on the border of fantasy and reality. Noah and his adoptive sister, Lo, set off to spend their summer with their grandmother, where their contemporary problems quickly meet up with Irish selkie lore. After Noah attempts to save a mysterious girl named Mara from drowning, he discovers her true selkie nature. Their chance encounter leads to romance, mystery, and suspense, as they search for Mara’s missing sister. Noah and Lo attempt to help the selkies as they confront truths about their culture and what it means to be different.

Massachusetts: Witch Child, by Celia Rees
After Mary’s grandmother is executed for witchcraft in 17th-century England, she travels across the Atlantic to land in a small Puritan town north of Boston. She hoped to make a new life among the pilgrims, where her healing skills make her a valuable member of the community…until people start growing suspicious of her gift. Her tale is told from the pages of a centuries-old diary found hidden inside an old quilt that’s been pieced back together. The diary entries, in which Mary freely admits to being a witch, grab you, as she struggles to survive in a time where starvation and suspicion run rampant.

Connecticut: Prom and Prejudice, by Elizabeth Eulberg
It’s almost prom time at a posh Connecticut boarding school, which means it’s time to lock down your prom date. Lizzie Bennet is not part of the upper crust—she doesn’t have wealth or designer clothes or very many friends, for that matter. But when her friend Jane begins a tentative romance with a Mr. Charles Bingley, Lizzie is forced to endure Charles’s snobby friend, a Mr. Will Darcy. It’s a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, updating the dialogue and setting for a modern audience. East Coast boarding school + prom + Jane Austen = a super posh romance filled with fun and heart.

New York: Great, by Sara Benincasa
If you’ve ever wondered what The Great Gatsby would be like set in the modern-day Hamptons, wonder no more. In this contemporary retelling, Naomi becomes entangled in all the drama and romance of the rich people’s playground, while spending a summer there with her social-climbing, Food Network star mother. When wealthy and mysterious fashion blogger Jacinta moves into the mansion next door, lavish parties and scandal abound, as Jacinta’s obsession with Naomi’s friend Delilah is revealed. It features all the indulgence and drama and many major plot points of the original, but the story stays fresh with updated twists, genderflipping, and cultural references.

New Jersey: Jersey Angel, by Beth Ann Bauman
The summer before her senior year, 17-year-old Angel spends her days hanging out and working on the Jersey Shore. Not one to deny herself pleasure, Angel focuses on the fun of it all, without too much thought about what her future will entail. Her best friend, Inggy, is basically her opposite, and plans to spend her summer touring colleges. When Angel’s long-time on-again/off-again boyfriend becomes off for the final time, Angel finds comfort with Inggy’s long-time steady boyfriend. But summer doesn’t last forever, and when school starts up again, Angel is forced to confront the consequences of her carefree ways.

Delaware: The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls, by Julie Schumacher
Adrienne planned for an epic summer in Canada, but a leg injury forces her to cancel her summer plans and stay at home in West New Hope, Delaware. And just to make it all worse, her mother has decided she’ll join a mother-daughter book club with girls she would never choose to hang out with. Armed with a summer reading list of some amazing classics, the girls and their moms dive into a summer of literary references and rebellion. The story is written in the form of an essay by Adrienne, as she explains how the books (and the summer) changed her. This book is what happens when The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets The Breakfast Club meets your local mother-daughter book club.