13 must-read June YA book releases to start your summer off right

My Eyes Are Up Here – Laura Zimmermann

This insightful, contemporary book about a high school sophomore struggling to reclaim her sense of self after her bra size expands rapidly one summer is a story that every female reader will instantly relate to. Now a size 32H, Greer Walsh wears nothing but oversize sweatshirts and tries to hide from everyone around her. She’s given up on the prospect of boys entirely, convinced they can’t see beyond her cup size.

All that changes, however, thanks to the arrival of new student Jackson Oates in town, and Greer’s decision to join the JV volleyball team, where she finds the group of supportive female friends she’s always needed. As Greer finds her voice and learns to love her “girls” (she calls them Mavis and Maude), she realizes that there are still people willing to see her for who she really is. And the story is by turns hilarious, heartbreaking and totally, completely honest, perfect for those who liked recent novels like Frankly in Love.

The official synopsis describes it as follows.

"A “monomial” is a simple algebraic expression consisting of a single term. 30H, for example. Fifteen-year-old Greer Walsh hasn’t been fazed by basic algebra since fifth grade, but for the last year, 30H has felt like an unsolvable equation – one that’s made her world a very small, very lonely place. 30H is her bra size – or it was the last time anyone checked. She stopped letting people get that close to her with a tape measure a while ago. Ever since everything changed the summer before ninth grade, Greer has felt out of control. She can’t control her first impressions, the whispers that follow, or the stares that linger after. The best she can do is put on her faithful XXL sweatshirt and let her posture – and her expectations for other people – slump. But people – strangers and friends – seem strangely determined to remind her that life is not supposed to be this way. Despite carefully avoiding physical contact and anything tighter than a puffy coat, Greer finds an unexpected community on the volleyball squad, the team that hugs between every point and wears a uniform “so tight it can squeeze out tears.” And then there’s Jackson Oates, newly arrived at her school and maybe actually more interested in her banter than her breasts."

My Eyes Are Up Here is available on June 23rd.