Summer and the City

This is probably on the guilty pleasure shelf but it IS reading after all, and perfect for summer. Teens who enjoy this book can check out her other YA prequel, The Carrie Diaries. Though this book is set in the '80s, Carrie and her friends discuss questions that are still in the headlines of women's magazines today -- and older teens who read this book with friends may have fun delving into the same questions about feminism, men, sex, marriage and more.

Carrie doesn't always make the best decisions (readers may be surprised at how little she reflects on some of the bad stuff she does, like sneaking through her landlady's things) but mostly she is a spunky, likable, and real character who is willing to take risks. Ultimately, she finds her voice and goes after what she wants, which is to be a writer in New York.  

Carrie has a physical and romantic relationship with a much older divorced man while she is still 17 (though she tells him she is over 18) that involves sleeping over at his house and what she calls "sex" but not intercourse. She later loses her virginity to another man and then has a brief relationship with him. Another character has an abortion after having a relationship with her professor. Carrie fights off a play producer who paws her. Miranda initially says she hates sex, but does end up in a brief sexual relationship that ends badly. Samantha describes losing her virginity at 14.  Plus, there's lots more sex talk including discussion about birth control devices, the role of sex in women's lives, etc.

Some label dropping, including Chanel, Gucci, Fiorucci -- plus some '80s pop culture references. Back in the early days, Carrie was pretty broke and gets a lot of second-hand stuff.