Books like The summer we got free by Mia McKenzie

Twenty‑five year‑old Belly Conklin returns to the family summer home on the coast, where a cancer diagnosis forces her to confront love, loss, and growing up amid the familiar rhythm of beach life.

16-year‑old Lara Jean Covey’s secret love letters are mailed by her sister, turning imagined crushes into real‑life drama.

Ari, a fifteen‑year‑old Mexican‑American with a brother in prison, meets Dante and a friendship sparks that forces him to confront his identity, family, and sexuality.

In the orderly suburb of Shaker Heights, a new family’s arrival and a custody dispute ignite tension, revealing secrets, art, and the complex pull of motherhood in a tightly knit community.

Amid writer's block and a looming deadline, a skeptical romance novelist and a disenchanted literary author trade their craft: she must write a happy ending, he a Great American Novel, as they race to finish before summer ends.

Poppy, a free‑spirited New Yorker, and Alex, a quiet book‑lover from their hometown, have shared summer vacations for a decade until a fateful trip tore them apart. Now, desperate to reclaim their friendship, she invites him for one last getaway.

Caseworker Linus travels to a remote orphanage to investigate ragged kids and their enigmatic caretaker Arthur, only to discover that the island’s magical children—and his own heart—are part of something larger than he imagined.

Two Boys Kissing tells the true story of seventeen‑year‑old Harry and Craig as they attempt a 32‑hour kissing marathon to break a Guinness World Record, while other teens grapple with love, identity, and belonging.

Seventeen‑year‑old Sahar, an Iranian American, secretly loves her best friend Nasrin amid the dangers of coming out in Iran. When a marriage is arranged, Sahar faces a heart‑wracking decision between love and identity.

After a breakup, Tiffy Moore takes a cheap flatshare with night‑shift worker Leon, and they begin exchanging notes about garbage, leftovers, and toilet seats—sparking a friendship and perhaps something more.

Ijeoma, a young Nigerian refugee, finds forbidden love with another displaced girl amid the civil war’s turmoil, risking everything for truth, hope, and a future of self‑determination.

Set in late‑1950s Detroit, the novel follows a tight‑knit group of Black women—mothers, daughters, friends and lovers—who flock to the Ford Motor plant, exploring their intertwined relationships and personal ambitions.

A modern retelling of the Trojan War that follows Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, as he abandons a life of freedom to fight for destiny, exploring gay identity and the clash between ancient heroism and contemporary reality.

A young Japanese‑American law student unearths a decades‑old unsolved murder during the Watts Riots, unlocking hidden family secrets and confronting race, love, and history in Los Angeles.

An emotionally gripping coming-of-age story set in 1970s suburban New Jersey, about a troubled teenager who seeks acceptance and true self through a wild sexual awakening and rebellious rebellion.

Set in Charleston, this poignant novel follows an unnamed young man's summers as he wrestles with growing up and embracing his gay identity amid Southern expectations.

A hilarious tale of a dybbuk in the modern world, where history is revisited and the descendants of ancient demons must be hunted.

A debut novel about a boy who, with a chameleon‑like adaptability, pulls his foster family into a dangerous web of secrets and deception.

A sharp‑witted satire from Emmy‑winning "Frasier" writer Joe Keenan pokes fun at Hollywood's pretense while exposing the industry's humor, secrets and the hidden lives of closeted gay writers in Los Angeles.

A 16-year-old runaway lesbian, Latisha, is sent to a psychiatric hospital where she finds unexpected companionship with Anna, a deaf widow battling depression.

She’s mysterious, gorgeous, and sultry. Every man’s fantasy come true. And she’s about to turn the heads of the residents in the idyllic seaside Connecticut town of Sound’s End where she’s renting a cottage for one sizzling, unforgettable summer...Sound’s End isn’t prepared for what’s about to hit it. Leslie Morgan is burned out–on sex. So the high-priced call girl is taking off work at Club Fantasy for some much needed r-n-r on the shores of Connecticut. Leslie keeps what she does for a living a secret. Yet even without makeup and sexy clothes, Leslie’s perfect curves, blond hair, and smoky voice capture everyone’s attention—and imagination—including that of Brad DeVane, a New York City cop whose gorgeous body has all the local women salivating. But only Leslie knows she has what it takes to satisfy every one of his needs—and she’s determined to take him on the wildest ride of pleasure he’s ever known...

See https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15424701W/One_day