Hi friends! I’m back to the blog after a short break (well, maybe you haven’t noticed!) and, once again, back with this kind of ambitious idea I got stuck in my mind. Today, I wanted to try and pair up YA books to read based on your favorite aesthetics.
Because sometimes, you want to read a book according to vibes ✨, aesthetics, you know, these kind of images running around in your mind, that you see on your Pinterest feed, that makes you want to dream.
Wait…. now, you might ask:
What does aesthetic mean?
According to my friend Merriam-Webster:
The noun aesthetic is often found used in its plural form. In the plural form, aesthetics can refer to the theory of art and beauty—and in particular the question of what makes something beautiful or interesting to regard.
Lately, it’s more synonymous with vibes, personal style, lifestyles… Everyone has their own aesthetics definition but, for the sake of this blog post, I’m going with these kind of moodboards and pairing them up with some books I feel like are a good fit with these.
I hope you’ll all enjoy it! 🥰
Dark Academia
🔎 keywords: coffee, poetry, classical litterature, writing, studying, black, beige, boarding school, secret societies, mystery, murder…
My book recommendation
A Lesson in Vengeance, Victoria Lee
Felicity returns to her campus perched in the Catskills Mountains, a year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. In these walls haunted by spirits of old students, surrounded by dark magic, Felicity’s trying to leave the past behind. Yet, when Ellis, a new student interested in the dark school’s past, comes to ask for her help to write her book, Felicity agrees.
Sapphic dark academia, stunning atmosphere, suspense: A Lesson in Vengeance was a great, great read if you’re a fan of all the dark academia vibes.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Preppy
🔎 keywords: upper class families, sororities, elitism, taylored-suits, fancy cars, rosé…
My book recommendation
Clique Bait, Ann Valett
Last year, Chloe’s best friend was ruined by the most popular students at her high school, the clique. This year, Chloe intends on getting her revenge, infiltrating the clique and uncovering their secrets…
Definitely a great, drama-filled read for fans of Gossip Girl. This fits the Preppy, rich-kids aesthetics so much, with a hint of suspense and a bit of revenge. Loved it.
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Theatre Academia
🔎 keywords: backstage, scripts, costumes, chandeliers, curtains, rehearsals, ambition, Shakespeare, flowers…
My book recommendation
Always Never Yours, Austin Siegemund-Broka & Emily Wibberley
Focused on her goal of directing theatre, Megan’s carefully planned life crumbles when she’s cast as Juliet in the upcoming Romeo and Juliet adaptation at her high school. A role she can’t back out of, because her dream school requires acting credit.
This book is a perfect mix of theatre academia, slow-burning romance, complex family relationships and a bold, fantastic main character you’ll fall for. One of my favorite books!
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Skater
🔎 keywords: skateboards, being true to yourself, carefree, casual, sneakers, adventures…
My book recommendation
Girl out of Water, Laura Silverman
Anise’s summer plans (surf, fish tacos and bonfires, in a nutshell) are ruined when her aunt has an accident. Leaving Santa Cruz for Nebraska, she now needs to spend the entire summer caring for her three younger cousins. There, she meets Lincoln, a charismatic skater…
This is a heartwarming story about finding yourself away from home, with such wonderful characters and skater vibes. I just loved it so much.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Royalcore
🔎 keywords: castles, gemstones, corsets, wax seals, silk, elegance, fine china dinnerware, chandeliers, tiaras…
My book recommendation
The Belles, Dhonielle Clayton
In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles control beauty and beauty rules everything. Camellia wants to be the favorite, chosen by the palace to tend to the royal family… once at court, though, she discovers that behind all the beauty and glitter, dark secrets linger…
An exciting, unique story with a fantastic world-building, all the royal vibes and a hint of darkness getting darker and darker as you read on… I really enjoyed that one!
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Cosy
🔎 keywords: blankets, pillows, reading, baking pastries, pajamas, warm drinks, warm wolly socks…
My book recommendation
One Way or Another, Kara McDowell
When I think about cosy, I think about this book. Paige Collins is paralyzed whenever she need to make any kind of decision. When she’s uncertain about going to her best friend’s mountain cabin for Christmas, or to New York city… fate steps in and her life splits in two, allowing her to live these two possibilities…
I loved the anxiety representation in this one, but I also found this book to be such a cosy read. With all the mountain cabin feels, baked goods and soft romance, I feel it’s the perfect read.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Cottagecore
🔎 keywords: flowers, picnics, garden, tea, flowing light dresses, countryside, slow living…
My book recommendation
The Secret of a Heart Note, Stacey Lee
Cottagecore gives me all the living in the middle of plants, slow life and flowery kind of vibes. I immediately thought about The Secret of a Heart Note!
This book is about Mimosa, one of the last aromateurs left on the planet: she uses her sense of smell to mix perfumes and creates elixirs to help people falling in love. All she wants, though, is a normal high school experience…
This is such a heartwarming story filled with emotions, scents and a whole lot of love.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Granola Girl
🔎 keywords: nature, wanderlust, independence, journaling, warm jackets, outdoor adventures…
My book recommendation
Destination Anywhere, Sara Barnard
The whole Granola Girl aesthetic is about being adventurous, going on a journey with nature and overall being a visual storyteller, as well. I recently learned about this and Destination Anywhere is just the perfect fit.
After a terrible year, Peyton takes her sketchpad, her backpack and buys a one-way ticket across the world, hoping to heal away from everything she’s ever known. Told between now and then, this story is about friendship, finding yourself again and it brings you on a trip to Canada that makes you want to hop on a plane, as well.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Softie
🔎 keywords: soft pastels, day dresses, outing with friends, tea, baking, relaxing, romance…
My book recommendation
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, Laura Taylor Namey
After a couple of bad events, Lila’s parents send her to spend the summer across the Atlantic, in England with family friends. Lost away from home, Lila meets Orion Maxwell, who appoints himself as her tour guide…
Tea, English countryside, Cuban pastries, adorable romance, friendships and family vibes: this book is soft and wonderful and I adore it.
Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Beach
🔎 keywords: surfing, sand, summer romance, laughter, midnight swims, sunset, camera, summer houses, family…
My book recommendation
The Summer of Broken Rules, K.L. Walther
Meredith’s going back to Martha’s Vineyard for the first time since her sister’s passing. Between her big family being reunited, grieving her best friend, meeting a cute groomsman and handling an Assassin’s game, the summer is going to be busy…
If you love beachy vibes, you’ll love this book so much. It has all the summer feels, really and it’s a perfect read for that time of the year.
Find on Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
You might also enjoy: 26 Summer-Themed YA Books To Read This Summer
BONUS: my WIP’s aesthetics
Here are some helpful resources about aesthetics, used in the making of this post:
Hours of work went into the making of this blog post. If you enjoyed it, please consider tipping me on ko-fi 💛
📌 Pin YA Books To Read Based on Your Favorite Aesthetics on Pinterest!
What are some of your favorite aesthetics? Any of these speak to you more than others? Do you have any recommendations for these aesthetics?
Did you read any of these books? I’d LOVE to hear from you in comments!!
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This post is everything! I’d say I’m more of a beach girl, which is perfect because you know I have been wanting to read The Summer of Broken Rules!
Aaaah thank you so, so much Kristin, so happy you enjoyed it! I hope you’ll get a chance to read that book soon 🙂
I loved this! Definitely want to read A Lesson In Vengeance soon 🙂
Ahh thank you so much! I hope you will love it 🙂
I’m somewhere in between cottage core, theatre academia, but also cozy lol! So I will definitely be checking out those books in particular! The cozy aesthetic especially made me really excited for the upcoming chilly weather.
Yay! I hope you’ll love the books when you can read them, Emily! 😀
I LOVED this post!! This puts some of the books in a whole other perspective and makes me want to read them right away! It’s such a great idea 🙂 I love natural aesthetics, especially forestcore, cottagecore & fairycore, they are so right up my alley 😀
Ahh thank you so much, Kat, so happy you enjoyed it! I hope you’ll check out the books 😀
This was such a fun post! So that’s what granola girl means. It was said in a book I was reading and I was like whut does that mean?!?!? 😂
Omg The Secret of a Heart Note!!! I LOVE that book! I think about it from time to time because it was such a good read! 😊
I had no idea what that meant before writing this article, as well 😂 The Secret of a Heart Note is such a lovely, underrated read, I love it very much!
Thank you so, so much! <3
Such an awesome post, as usual! 🥰
Love all of those recs!! Most are ofcourse on my list to read ahah
Ahh thank you, so happy you enjoyed it!! <3 <3
What a cool idea for a post! I like all the pics and the recommendations. Very fun!
Thank you so much! 🙂
This is such a great list 🤩🤩 out of all the books on here, I have only read Always Never Yours and most of the other are in my TBR, this post will definitely help me prioritise books! Thank you 😊
Ahh thank you so much! So happy you enjoyed the post and I hope you’ll love the books! <3
What a cool post idea! I like the themes you picked, and the recommendations! A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow was super cute on audio.
Thank you so much! A Cuban Girl’s Guide is such an excellent book, one of my favorites 🙂
marie i am actually OBSESSED with this post!! 😍 i frankly did not know that half of these aesthetics existed (🙈) but i definitely feel like i’m a cozy or softie kind of person! there are so many books here i really need to check out asap ❤️
Aaaah thank you so, so much, Abby, SO happy you enjoyed it! <3 I think I'm definitely a softie as well 🙈
Ahhh this post is amazing and I think it’ll be one of those I return to a lot for recommendations! I LOVE dark academia and cottagecore is another favourite. I can’t wait to look into and hopefully read the books mentioned for those especially but Granola Girl is one I love too! I actually haven’t read any of the books you mention, so I can’t wait to read some of them! Thank you so much for this post!!
Oh thank you so much, so so happy you enjoyed it! I can’t wait to hear what you think of all of these books 😀
Simply loving this post, your lists are always so good! Thanks for putting this together and welcome back!
Thank you so, SO much, this means the world! <3
lovely post💖 all of these books are definitely going into my TBR right now (although it’s so long) and yess ‘always never yours’ was an amazing book, i loved it and the slow-burning romance was everything😭
Oh thank you so much!! I agree, I loved the romance so, so much in that book 😭😭
The aesthetics you’ve pulled together for these books make me want to read them all!
Ahhh yay! thank you SO much, so happy to hear this!! <3
I absolutely love this list! I’m a sucker for anything gothic or dark, so I’m definitely going to check out some of these books.
Yay! thank you! 🙂
Wow, this is an amazing list! I love all of these books and I’m so excited to check out the ones I haven’t read yet.
Thank you so much 🙂
LOVED your aesthetic recommendations!! I love aesthetics so much, they are so visually appealing ❤️ My favorites are probably cozy and cottagecore 😊 I definitely need to read Destination Anywhere, as I loved Sara Barnard’s debut and need to read more of her books 🥰
Oh thank you so, so much, Caro! I love Sara Barnard’s work so much, I need to read all of her books! 🙂
This was so fun and cute. I loved how the pictures matched the book vibe. You did great!
Aah thank you so much, so happy you enjoyed this! <3