Toxic Summer

“Laugh-out-loud humor and wildly fun" —Booklist

"A good choice for teen readers looking for a fun, LGBTQIA+, high-octane romp." —School Library Journal

Perfect summer plans become a nightmare beach party in this slimy, spooky, madcap summer mystery from Eisner Award winner Derek Charm (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Jughead)!

2026 ALA Rainbow Booklist Selection

2026 Children's Book Council Kid's Favorite

Best friends Ben and Leo are ready to celebrate the summer after graduation by patrolling the beaches of idyllic seaside town Port Dorian as lifeguards—allowing them to also check out the hottest hunks and snag invites to the best parties, of course. But they arrive to find that a mysterious toxic spill has turned the water unswimmable and littered the shore with rotting fish carcasses. Their jobs become beach cleanup and the hunks are nowhere to be seen—like hermit crabs.

When they save a local historian with suspiciously glowing eyes from the water, and tentacled monsters begin snatching people in the night, Ben and Leo have to team up with the only other teens in town to uncover the cause of the spill, save their new friends and family, and try to get this sexy summer back on track before it’s too late.

Collecting Toxic Summer #1–3.