Ahhh... love.
From the warm fuzzies to the happily ever after, this is the genre if you're looking for two people meeting and deciding that they're perfect for each other (even if that realization comes somewhat late in the book).
Love and Luck
by
Addie hopes that the road trip of a lifetime through the rolling hills of Ireland will not only bring the romance and adventure she so desperately seeks but also help fix the shattered relationship she has with her brother Ian after secrets come to the surface. When she discovers the guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, will it heal her broken heart... and her relationship with her brother?
Hangry Hearts
by
Julie Wu and Randall Hur used to be best friends. Now they only see each other on Saturdays at the Pasadena Farmers Market where their once close families are long-standing rivals. When Julie and Randall are paired with ultra-rich London Kim for a community-service school project, they are forced to work together for the first time in years. It quickly becomes obvious that London has a major crush on Julie. But Julie can't stop thinking about Randall. And Randall can't stop thinking about how London is thinking about Julie. Soon, prompted by a little jealousy and years of missing each other, school project meetings turn into pseudo dates at their favorite Taiwanese breakfast shop and then secret kisses at the beach--far from the watchful eyes of their families. Just as they're finally feeling brave enough to tell their grandmas, the two matriarchs rehash their old fight and Julie and Randall get caught in the middle and Julie's brother finds out they are dating. Their families are heartbroken. But it's the Year of the Dragon, an auspicious time to resolve disagreements and start anew, and Randall isn't going down without fighting for what--and who--they love. Could the Lunar New Year provide not only a second chance for Randall and Julie, but for their families as well? Jennifer Chen's Hangry Hearts is a funny, big-hearted romance about friendship, family, and first love--and being brave enough to have it all.
Break to You
by
An intense yet tender story of two teens, trapped in impossible circumstances and unjust systems, willing to risk everything for love--no matter the consequences. Adriana knows that if she can manage to keep her head down for the next seven months, she might be able to get through her sentence in the Compass juvenile detention center. Thankfully, she's allowed to keep her journal, where she writes down her most private thoughts when her feelings get too big. Until the day she opens her journal and discovers that her thoughts are no longer so private. Someone has read her writings--and has written back. A boy who lives on the other side of the gender-divided detention center. A boy who sparks a fire in her to write back. Jon's story is different than Adriana's; he's already been at Compass for years and will be in the system for years to come. Still, when he reads the words Adriana writes to him, it makes him feel like the walls that hold them in have melted away. This fast-paced, highly compelling tour de force novel exposes what life is like in detention--and reveals the hearts of two teens who are forced to live in desperate circumstances.
The Ping-Pong Queen of Chinatown
by
Charming, insightful YA novel follows two high school students who form a complicated, ground-shifting bond while filming a movie. High school junior Felix Ma wants to prove to his parents that he's not a quitter. After crashing out of piano lessons and competitive ping-pong, Felix starts a film club at his school in a last-ditch attempt to find a star extracurricular for his college applications. Then he meets Cassie Chow, a bubbly high school senior who shares Felix's anxieties about the future and complicated relationship with parental expectations. Felix feels drawn to Cassie for reasons he can't quite articulate, so as an excuse to see her more, he invites Cassie to star in his short film. The project starts out as a lighthearted mockumentary. But at the urging of Felix's college admissions coach, who wants to turn the film into essay material, it soon morphs into a serious drama about the emotional scars that parents leave on their kids. As Felix and Cassie uncover their most painful memories, Cassie starts to balk at opening her wounds for the camera. With his parents and college admissions coach hot on his heels, Felix discovers painful truths about himself and his past--and must decide whether pleasing his parents is worth losing his closest friend.
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now ...
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New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds tackles it--you know...it--from the guy's perspective in this stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first. But, this story is also about intimacy, communication, responsibility, loneliness, friendship, and family. Filled with a cast of characters whose own experiences with romance (some decades old) all add warmth and humor to the topic of adolescent sexual exploration.
Just Another Epic Love Poem
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Best friendship blossoms into something more in this gorgeously written queer literary romance. Over the past five years, Mitra Esfahani has known two constants- her best friend Bea Ortega and The Book-a dogeared moleskin she and Bea have been filling with the stanzas of an epic, never-ending poem since they were 13. For introverted Mitra, The Book is one of the few places she can open herself completely and where she gets to see all sides of brilliant and ebullient Bea. There, they can share everything-Mitra's complicated feelings about her absent mother, Bea's heartache over her most recent breakup-nothing too messy or complicated for The Book. Nothing except the one thing with the power to change their entire friendship- the fact that Mitra is helplessly in love with Bea. Told in lyrical, confessional prose and snippets of poetry Just Another Epic Love Poem takes readers on a journey that is equal parts joyful, heartbreaking, and funny as Mitra and Bea navigate the changing nature of I love you.
10 Things I Hate about Prom
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There are more than 10 things to hate about prom, but the worst is having to convince your BFF that you're the one he should take-a sweet friends-to-lovers teen rom-com
All Roads Lead to Rome
by
When the daughter of a diplomat fake dates a Scottish celebrity in Italy, she soon finds herself living her own Roman Holiday until the feelings get real and the paparazzi's knives come out. Introverted, slightly anxious Astoria "Story" Herriot knows everything about Rome-her mom's an attorney here and the two of them are living la dolce vita... at least until Story's off to college in the fall. But when Story is in the wrong gelato shop at the right time, she's swept up in a fake dating scheme with Scottish heartthrob, Luca Kinnaird, to protect his relationship with a pop princess. There's something in it for her, too-Luca promises to help fund a scholarship in her dad's memory. Soon she's showing Luca the best cafes, sightseeing at the Mouth of Truth, and picnicking at the ruins of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano. Story's travel guide skills are 10/10, but what she knows about being a celebrity-or having feelings for one? Zero. Pretending to be Luca's guide-then his girlfriend-gets the paparazzi's attention . . . and what's true and what's fake gets blurry as their different worlds crash together. Sophisticated, hot, rich, and with the most charming accent ever, Luca is full of surprises. And maybe, too, is Story's perfectly planned future. It's a fairy-tale romance in the Eternal City...will it have a fairy tale ending?
