[yalsa-bk] Younger Romance Compilation

Compiled by Sarah Lynch sslynch@kcls.org

I wonder if Sarah Dessen would do the trick. If the reader is into Regencies, probably not, but if she likes adult contemporary romances, I'd recommend Dessen. There's a lot more than romance going on in her books, but they do generally have that component of knowing the lead character will end up with the boy, but the how, when and why are a lot of the plot.

The Simone Pulse Romantic Comedies due really well here as well as Rachel Hawthorne and Catherine Clark and the SASS series

Time Traveler's Wife (Mixed Comments – may or may not be age appropriate)

Those Avon True Romance books were a hit here, though it's true that the Cabot ones did better than the rest. (Those have now been reissued under her own name instead of whatever name she used at the time.)

If she balks at going back to read YA romance novels (I hope she doesn't, but she may), I read a lot of Victoria Holt when I was in seventh-ninth grade. If she likes Kat's Georgette Heyer/Mary Stewart suggestions, try her on those, too.

Oh, and one mustn't forget Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series, and The Tin Princess (which is like a more complex Princess Diaries). Pullman is great for young readers getting ahead of their age grade. I'm about to try his adventurous romp Count Karlstein, which I somehow missed reading in my youth (though I wouldn't include that last one on a romance list).

I was like that at her age, so I can relate! Her mom might consider all the Dragonriders of Pern novels, the ElfQuest comic series, and Wuthering Heights. I know they have some mature content or themes, but far less overall than the average romance novel. Her mom should also find out if her daughter is interested in manga, as there are plenty of Older Teen titles that are steamily romantic without going over the adult line.

Most of Gail Carson Levine's have romance, also the Once Upon a Time fairy tale retellings (e.g. Beauty Sleep) and Shannon Hale's work (Goose Girl is my favorite).

Flipped – Van Draanen

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight – Barkley

Anything but Ordinary – Hobbs

Stargirl - Spinelli

THE UNSIGNED VALENTINE by Johanna Hurwitz

If the classics aren't a turn-off, I would add JANE EYRE and second the Jane Austen novels.

HarperTeen/Avon did a series of historicals a while back that were great. They don’t seem to be publishing any more but all of the ones they did were great.

Meg Cabot did two:

Nicola and the Viscount, August 2002

Victoria and the Rogue, March 2003

Others are:

Gwyneth and the Thief by Margaret Moore

Samantha and the Cowboy by Lorraine Heath

Emily and the Scot by Kathryn Smith

Amelia and the Outlaw by Lorraine Heath

Also most of the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies are pretty tame and very funny.

I would also recommend Janette Rallison, some great romance with great dialogue and very clean.

Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws by Janette Rallison
All's Fair in Love, War, and High School by Janette Rallison
The Revenge of the Cheerleaders by Janette Rallison
How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison
It's a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and Beauty by Robin McKinley

When I was 12 years old, I was reading Mary Stewart romantic suspense novels. These might work, also the Georgette Heyer novels (she wrote historical romances set in the Georgian and Regency periods, as well as mysteries set in the early 20th century). Of course, you should also recommend the novels of Jane Austen.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, and the sequel, The Off Season, are contemporary novels about a girl who wants to play football and falls for the quarterback of the opposing school’s team. Very well done, with strong female protagonist.

Young Romance

Try Grace Livingston Hill, Emilie Loring, Avalon romances, and Janette Oke.

Not only did I read Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart, but I also enjoyed Phyllis Whitney and Barbara Michaels when I was her age. Ammie, Come Home by Michaels was in the second edition of BBYA.

I second Sarah Dessen, and Mary Stewart. If she likes Regency Romance, Patricia Veryan is one of the best authors ever, better even than Heyer. Also, Robin Jones Gunn writes some fantastic inspirational romance, both adult and teen.

Here's my romance list for junior high:

Baker, Jennifer At Midnight
Bauer, Joan Thwonk
Byars, Betsy Bingo Brown and the Language of Love
Cabot, Meg Princess in Love
Cleary, Beverly Jean and Johnny
Conford, Ellen Crush
Cooney, Caroline Prisoner of Time
Crew, Linda Children of the River
Crutcher, Chris Running Loose
Daly, Maureen Seventeenth Summer
Gaiman, Neil Stardust
Geras, Adele The Tower Room
Jukes, Mavis Cinderella 2000
Kerr, M. E. Gentlehands
Klause, Annette Curtis The Silver Kiss
Klause, Annette Curtis Blood and Chocolate
Klein, Norma Love is one of the Choices
Koertge, Ron Arizona Kid
Mackler, Carolyn Love and Other Four-Letter Words
Meyer, Stephenie Twilight Series
McDaniel, Lurlene Lifted Up By Angels
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables Series

Mosher, Richard Zazoo
Myers, Walter Dean Street Love
Napoli, Donna Jo Sirena
Plummer, Louise The Unlikely Romance of Katie Bjorkman
Rennison, Louise Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging
Sachs, Marilyn Fourteen
Sones, Sonia What my Mother Doesn’t Know
Van Draanen, Wendelin Flipped
Wittlinger, Ellen Hard Love
Voight, Cynthia Bad Girls in Love
Young, Karen Romano Beetle and me, a Love Story
Zindel, Paul My Darling, my Hamburger

Classics
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre
Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights
Mitchell, Margaret Gone with the Wind

Poetry
Fletcher, Ralph J. Buried Alive
Grimes, Nikki Hopscotch Love
Turner, Ann Warren A Lion’s Hunger