Oh this was really hard as it changes depends on. . . I don’t know what really. It just changes. So this is just my top 5 as of now, but all the books are good and I reread them a lot.

In case you’re wondering, there is not a lot of sass in this book. It stands for Students Across the Seven Seas. It follows each girl on a foreign exchange semester where they find themselves capable of more than they thought, expanding their horizons and a lovely romance. Cuz how can you go to a foreign country without a cute foreign fella.

Heart and Salsa by Suzanne Nelson

This one got top spot since it was the first one I bought and so I’ve read many many times. Cat travels to Mexico not only because she loves the Spanish culture and language but also to escape life in New England with her stepfather and mother whom she believes got together too quickly. Clearly her heart is overshielded while her best friend with whom she is eager to reconnect with is too loosely in love with her shady boyfriend. Friendship, and love abounds in this tale as it also gets into the heart of Mexican culture.

The Great Call of China by Cynthia Liu

This was such a good adventure as Cece travels to China against her mother’s wishes for the purpose of finding her birth parents. However, that’s a bit difficult as the internet is less reliable and there’s almost no paper trail to them. Will Cece leave without finding what she is looking for. Also goes into the differences between Cece’s Americanized life compared to her Chinese-American roommate, Jessica who feels stifled by her more traditional parents and that of her cute crush, Will whose parents are bitterly divorcing. There’s a lot more threads and history and Chinese anthropology too.

Sound of Munich by Suzanne Nelson

Another search for a stranger, in this case, Sienna longs to finish her departed dad’s bucket list and thank the man who smuggled his family out of East Germany. That alone should be enough but it also delves into the tragic scene of concentration camps besides the separation of the country. Furthermore, Sienna is a quirky heroine into astrology and following your dreams but she finds that sometimes such flakiness is not the way to live.

Girl Overboard by Aimee Ferris

This one doesn’ just go to one country, it goes through three islands in the Carribean with an intense focus on aquamarine life. Perfect for Marina who is struggling to decide whether she wants to commit to her dream career as a marine biologist or stay in Vermont with her boyfriend.

Now and Zen by Linda Gerber

Nori can be a bit prickly in this but you’d understand as she feels completely stuck between two worlds and doesn’t fit in with either. Her battling parents raised her as all American, not connecting her with her Japanese heritage while all the other foreign exchange students think she’s a native. Including a very hot Norweigian. In an effort to make him fall, she plays into what he thinks she is. Awful and going to backfire, it totally does. But don’t worry she goes through some solid character growth, connection to her grandparents, and come to terms with her future.

For kids, one might want to read The Karito Kids series which focuses more on mysteries while imparting educational entertainment about foreign countries.