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The Drowning Summer by Christine Lynn Herman
"On a fog-streaked shore where rumors of ghosts linger, two teens—bound by a tragic past and uneasy truths—must sift through old secrets before the tide pulls them under. With shifting loyalties and flickers of something otherworldly, The Drowning Summer entwines mystery and magic into a moody, atmospheric tale you’ll want to read with the lights on."
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In The Drowning Summer, did you enjoy ...
... a moody, coastal low‑fantasy haunting where queer teens confront restless spirits and family secrets?
The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould
If you were drawn to Mina and Evelyn’s uneasy alliance on the stormy Long Island shore—salt circles, whispers from the water, and a romance kindled amid ghosts—you’ll love how Logan Ortiz-Woodley and Ashley Barton hunt a deadly presence in Snakebite. Like in The Drowning Summer, the supernatural sits just under the skin of a real town, with protective rituals, tangled family legacies, and a sapphic connection growing in the shadow of the dead.
... a YA paranormal investigation that unearths the truth behind a town’s tragic drownings?
The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh
If the cold-case thread—two girls combing through old lies about the boys who drowned, piecing together what really happened—hooked you, Dare Chase’s investigation at Arrington Estate will hit the same nerve. Like Mina and Evelyn sifting seaside clues, Dare documents EVPs and lake lore, and her bond with local girl Quinn deepens as the haunting turns personal, forcing them to face what the water has kept buried.
... multiple interwoven perspectives of girls on a haunted island confronting a predatory legend?
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
If you enjoyed slipping between Evelyn and Mina’s heads—each guarding secrets as the truth surfaced—Sawkill Girls delivers that same layered chorus. Marion, Zoey, and Val each carry a piece of the island’s horror, and as their stories braid together, the reveal lands with the same tide-turning force as the beachside rituals and revelations in The Drowning Summer.
... dangerous folk magic fueled by grief and anger, used to hunt a missing boy in the woods?
The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters
If the risky rituals—the ones that could turn on Mina and Evelyn even as they tried to shield the shoreline—kept you breathless, this one leans into that same peril. Della’s swamp-born magic is raw and costly, and when she teams with Natasha to find Natasha’s missing sister, the spells they cast carry the same eerie, do‑not-cross energy as those protective circles etched in sand.
... two very different girls forging trust through witchcraft, turning a wary alliance into something fierce?
The Scapegracers by H. A. Clarke
If watching Mina and Evelyn shift from suspicion to a fragile, then formidable bond was your favorite part, you’ll vibe with Sideways Pike forming a coven with the popular girls who once ignored her. The way shared spellwork builds trust—like those nighttime beach rites that pulled Mina and Evelyn together—makes every crackling scene feel like the start of something powerful.
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