YA Romance Recommendations

Alternative and age-appropriate romance reads for teens

Hello hello!

Last week I did a Substack on “New Adult” books being for adults, not teenagers. But also about how there’s often a deliberate conflation with YA-looking adult books … this is something I’ve heartily addressed in other places, like the brilliant Your Kids Next Read Facebook Group. So this Substack is a riff on some recommendation posts I’ve done over there, for people seeking age-appropriate romance books for young people.

But First, Some History:

The romance genre is one that has profoundly shaped, reshaped, and directed the course of the YA readership over the years. Case-in-point, one of the earliest recognised entries into the "Young Adult" canon was Maureen Daly's 1942 novel, Seventeenth Summer - which largely spins around the first romance between protagonist Angie Morrow and local high school basketball star Jack Duluth, in the summer before she leaves for school in Chicago.

Many times over the YA readership has been influenced and directed by changing social-norms and attitudes towards teenagers, and that's never more apparent than in society's acceptance and acknowledgement that they have hormones. Sexual desires, and impulses. And this, largely unveiled and examined by the romance genre.

Yes, Sex Belongs in YA

To be abundantly clear; age-appropriate YA romance books can and should still feature sex. Consensual, pleasure-driven, and appropriately-written sex-scenes are important in this readership (as are depictions of rape and sexual assault, done with audience still front of mind). Heck, sex in YA helped in the formation of this readership for teens;

Judy Blume's 1975 novel Forever, for instance - completely changed the didactic and "abstinence-only" way that teen relationships had previously been portrayed. Blume even says of this time that she was writing Forever. to better reflect the way teenage relationships actually were;

This book was first published in 1975. My daughter Randy asked for a story about two nice kids who have sex without either of them having to die. She had read several novels about teenagers in love. If they had sex the girl was always punished—an unplanned pregnancy, a hasty trip to a relative in another state, a grisly abortion (illegal in the U.S. until the 1970s), sometimes even death. Lies. Secrets. At least one life ruined. Girls in these books had no sexual feelings and boys had no feelings other than sexual. Neither took responsibility for their actions. I wanted to present another kind of story—one in which two seniors in high school fall in love, decide together to have sex, and act responsibly.

Many people do indeed acknowledge how Blume and the romance genre evolves the YA readership for the better with this truth-telling:

• Forever, Forty Years Later by Simmone Howell.

So the below books I’m recommending may have sex in them. That’s perfectly alright! Teens need to explore, grapple with, and question these things - and doing it in fiction is a hearty and healthy way to go about it.

Actual YA Romance Recommendations

(a combination of swap-outs and ‘if-they-like-these-try-these!’ recs)

To begin with, the murky “New Adult” books like the very age-inappropriate Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (though to be fair to this book; it features good scenes of consent), Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1) by Chloe Walsh, or The Deal (Off-Campus, #1) by Elle Kennedy. All these are mostly inappropriate for their *explicit* sexual content, and if you don’t think your teen is ready for that, then here are some swap-outs.

I’ve also loosely categorised these recs around ‘college romances’ (yes, the American college/university is normally the marker for New Adult – and I often think that when young teens express interest in this sub-genre of romance, it’s because they’re interested in exploring next stages and what’s to come in college/uni life).

• Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines — first book in The Field Party series and very much a head-nod to the TV series Friday Night Lights. It’s very over-the-top high school drama, ‘bad boy’ trope and ‘wrong side of the tracks,’ blue-collar town drama. This is made to look more mature than it is, even as it touches on some heavy topics (like domestic abuse) – it does keep things YA-appropriate in the romance-stakes, even as I find aspects derivative and the female characters in particular tend to slot into toxic tropes. However; this is the YA appropriate answer to the avalanche of college-set romances that abound.

• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins — Technically the first in a series, but this book is really the stand-out. An American girl transfers to the international school in Paris and gets caught up in dorm dramas and falls for an unattainable student called Étienne St. Clair who already has a girlfriend, but doesn’t act like it. This is the book if your teen wants drama, drama, drama! It’s all very PG, the emotions just send you on a thrilling rollercoaster!

• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles — this one is old, but it set a trend in the YA romance space back in 2009 – for these very emotional teen-drama romances … this one is ‘opposites attract’ trope, about a straight-A student who is partnered in chemistry class with a teen gang member who she falls hard for. I know it sounds very risqué, but again – it’s YA appropriate (think; Maureen McCarthy writing Ganglands, back in the 90s. It’s that trope, repeated and updated).

• Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood — I’m going to suggest that both this book, and Kenwood’s debut It Sounded Better in My Head are appropriate for the list. Featuring characters who are 18/19, at Uni and living in share-houses but still firmly aimed at a YA audience (really great examples of books that are age-appropriate and trying to speak to the next phase of life that teens will be going through, and intensely interested in). Plus they’re romantic as all get-out! Love ‘em!

• Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar — I love this Australia book that came out in 2016 (and I genuinely think it was just ahead of its time, and nobody knew where to slot it because ‘New Adult’ and romance really weren’t taking off the way they are now in YA!). “Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked college girl gang are going to get even.” It’s *so good* drama-filled feminist undertone and opposites-attract romance … “A neo-riot grrl with a penchant for fanning the flames meets a rugby-playing sexist pig - sworn enemies or two people who happen to find each other when they're at their most vulnerable?” It’s even better for being Australian, when so much in this space is US-saturated.

• Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli — “explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship,” this one is great for teens who are curious about what comes after high school, as it features a girl visiting her best friend’s university campus for a weekend tour, and she gets a taste of the romantic prospects on offer and is tantalised by the idea of breaking out of her tightly-contained shell …

• Loveless by Alice Oseman — I know she needs no introduction, but I think Oseman’s ‘Loveless’ is one of her best and for curious kids wanting to engage with all possibilities of sex and sexuality, this is a wonderful book that delves into what it means to be ‘A-sexual’ (not interested in physical intimacy, but still very interested in romance because they’re not ‘a-romantic’). It’s set in college (UK university) and is just a truly fantastic slice of representation for an oft-overlooked letter in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell — I adore this book so much. A nerdy twin clings to her FanFiction writing in her first year of university when she still feels awkward and immature, especially as she pines for a boy that is seemingly unattainable and too cool for her … I wish I’d had the comfort of this book before I’d gone off to uni.

• I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang — The ‘enemies-to-lovers’ trope is a strong marker of many New Adult romances (probably because it allows for BIG emotional dips and rollercoasters), and it comes in spades in this book by Chinese-Australian author Liang. It’s also a pretty great book that addresses the incredible pressure that some students are under; detailing the story of a school captain and valedictorian who drafts hate emails to her school rival and co-captain … only for them to suddenly be released.

• Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales — “a bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates is hired by the hot guy to help him get his ex back,” and this is by Australian Gozales (who has many books out now, and I recommend all of them!)

• Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden — I like this one, because it delves into the very Australian ‘gap-year’ concept of skipping uni, but in this case the protagonist finds themselves on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean with his estranged uncle because he’s been having crippling panic attacks at the thought of University and big life changes/challenges … holiday romance abounds, and is delightful!

• The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle — this one is old too, circa 2013, but I love it and I think it fills a really good gap of being a gentle romance. Kirkus review likened the book to Judy Blume’s ‘Forever’, but with more emotional depth between the couple. I'd agree, to some extent. But for me this book was just like 1989 film (and one of my favourites!) ‘Say Anything. . .’ Having just graduated, protagonist Charlie finally gets the courage to ask out popular girl Wren, who he has been crushing on throughout high school – and who is herself in a total tangle about her future. They experience a summer together of firsts and it’s so sweet and gentle and I love it.

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Okay, I am going to call these recommendations ‘all the feels’ – for if your teen loved the HUGE emotional rollercoaster of Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, series but you don’t want them to read the way inappropriate Colleen Hoover collection next (despite TikTok recommending it to them. No. Don’t do it. Back away!)

These vary in appropriateness for the 13+ crowd, depending on their maturity levels. They’re often highly emotional due to tragic circumstances especially, but there is always a through-line of romance to keep things hopeful. And the romance is depicted appropriately for teens.

• On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta — if there’s one thing I’m gonna do, it’s *insist* that today’s teens need to put respect on Marchetta’s books. This novel of hers has the prestige of being the only Australian to have won the most coveted US Young Adult Book Prize, the ‘Printz Award’ – and for good reason, it is magnificent. A book that upon finishing, you’ll want to read again *immediately* to find all the clues you missed before. Set at a rural Australian boarding school and a group of kids involved in territory wars between the boarders (of the school), local townies and the army cadets who swoop in to train for the summer. Our protagonist is boarder Taylor Markham, who has been chosen to lead her rag-tag school community just as a mystery about her childhood is unfolding, and she finds herself developing inconvenient feelings for rival leader of the cadets, Jonah Griggs. This has recently received Screen Australia funding, and I want a movie or TV series so badly just so a whole new generation can have their hearts broken and stitched back together by this – which I consider to be a rare, perfect YA novel.

• Something like Normal by Trish Doller — a young man returns home from his first stint in Afghanistan and walks right into family drama, and back into the life of the girl he’s been teasing since middle-school only to find that she might just be his one bit of peace in this world. This is such a good, heart-rending romance full of drama and complications. It’d probably be called ‘New Adult’ now, but it came out in 2012 and is firmly YA, even as our protagonist is indeed in the army (they recruit them young in the US, don’t forget).

• Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer — I promise, lots of these recs are just gonna be for teens who like a good cry, and a good swoon. About a girl who leaves letters to her dead brother on his grave, and the boy doing court-ordered community service at the cemetery who reads them … and then starts writing his own letters to her. So good, and underrated.

• Good Oil by Laura Buzo — one of my favourite Australian YA novels, ever. About a girl working her first ever job as a check-out chick, who falls for the older cool guy at work and has her heart absolutely eviscerated because of *course* she does, when that’s your first crush. I think this one is great even though it’s not a traditional happily-ever-after, it’s so funny and relatable and *Australian* and was called Love and Other Perishable Items in America where it did really well, and every year I hope Laura Buzo will write a third book (her second – Holier Than Thou – is another fave!)

• Moonglass by Jessi Kirby — 'Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love--a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.’ There’s a romance with a lifeguard that’s very sweet here, as well as her learning about her parent’s first romance.

• Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley — Crowley is up there with Marchetta for me, and I loved this book unbelievably. About a girl who returns to her hometown following a tragedy, and wondering if the boy she had long loved ever found the letter she wrote confessing her feelings in the pages of a book in the store that they both frequent … this is Crowley at her absolute heart-thumping BEST!

• If I Stay by Gayle Forman — the original early-00s YA novel of absolute heartbreak and heart-soaring beauty (just don’t watch the movie adaptation, it’s painfully mediocre.) ‘In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make.’ There is a very strong romance in here, think; a very modern and contemporary Orpheus and Eurydice.

• The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson — I like to think of Jandy Nelson as the American Cath Crowley, frankly. This one is about a girl whose sister dies, and she finds herself awash in grief and hormones – suddenly her sister’s grief-stricken boyfriend is stealing kisses, just as a new boy arrives in town and starts picking up the notes she’s scattering all over, full of her thoughts and pain … I love that in this novel, Nelson acknowledges how grief brings such big SWINGS and that life and death sit so fragile side-by-side. But; another fairly mediocre film adaptation, the book is 1000X better!

• Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal by Anna Whateley — just to be upfront; I represented this one as literary agent. I think it’s well worth being on the list for mental health, disability and queer representation and again, SUCH big romances and emotions. “Peta Lyre is far from typical. The world she lives in isn't designed for the way her mind works, but when she follows her therapist's rules for 'normal' behaviour, she can almost fit in without attracting attention,” that is; until a new girl arrives at school and her first crush sends everything spinning off into the stratosphere.

• You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao — as someone who likes big sad books, and as a teen would reach for ‘Terms of Endearment’ for re-watch, I totally get being a teenager who just wants to be emotionally destroyed by a book, but also given glimpses of love and hope. Well then, this is the book for them! A girl’s boyfriend dies and she is in a puddle of grief, when she reaches for her phone to hear his voice-mail one more time, except … he picks up. What would you do if you got a proper chance to say goodbye? Oomph. Keep the tissues handy!

• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell — I know this one has issues (particularly about how Korean-American representation is written) but it’s still a unique and lovely story. ‘Set over one school year in 1986, Eleanor & Park is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.’

• The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth — Right at the moment that Cameron Post’s parents die, she is kissing a girl. And then she’s shipped off to her conservative aunt Ruth – now her guardian – to a small town where a beautiful cowgirl steals her heart again … until Ruth sends her off to a gay conversion therapy centre. This one is hard, but beautiful too.

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I’d say these are appropriate for the young ones who’ve loved Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (and the little sister spin-off XO, Kitty!) also big Heartstopper fans and just generally – love a good Taylor Swift love-song. All contemporary too.

• On the Fence by Kasie West — I just picked my favourite one of hers, but Kasie West has now published 16 books and they’re all fabulous, particularly her stand-alone contemporary romances (of which; she’s bringing out about one book every year now, which is good news for us fans!) ‘On The Fence’ is about a girl raised by a single-dad and three brothers who gets her first job at a chic boutique and finds herself becoming someone she doesn’t recognise – especially when she takes up with a cute guy who has no idea of her true tomboy nature. Her best across-the-fence friend and practically a brother, is her confidante and maybe more – who reminds her that it’s not about what’s on the outside that matters (and not to him, especially). This is, to be hyper-specific, like a particular Dawson’s Creek storyline from Season 1 when Joey Potter spends one magical day with a rich boy from the yacht club, Anderson Crawford. Yeah, it’s like that storyline in a whole book and it’s GREAT, but all of West’s books are truly magnificent.

• Save the Date by Morgan Matson — Again, Morgan Matson’s entire backlist is well worth checking out. I think of her as the new Sarah Dessen (another author well worth looking up for these types of books!). This one is about a looming wedding bringing up all the feels for a family who are about to pack up their home and move for the first time – there is romance, high drama … very good

• You'd Be Mine by Erin Hahn — Okay, this one is just a straight up book for those who love Taylor Swift. ‘Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.’

• Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan — another great author with a fab backlist, “a fresh and funny queer YA contemporary novel about two teens who fall in love in an indie comic book shop.”

• Social Queue by Kay Kerr — for full transparency, Kay is one of the authors I represent as literary agent! ‘Zoe Kelly is starting a new phase of her life. High school was a mess of bullying and autistic masking that left her burnt out and shut down. Now, with an internship at an online media company—the first step on the road to her dream writing career—she is ready to reinvent herself. But she didn’t count on returning to her awkward and all-too-recent high-school experiences for her first writing assignment.’ (think; Never Been Kissed 1999 movie!)

• Night Swimming by Steph Bowe — the late, great Steph Bowe with her last-ever book she wrote before sadly passing away. About two teen best friends in a small town, and what happens when a new girl arrives and sparks fly amongst the trio. SO GOOD, truly one of the best Aussie YA’s!

• The Flywheel by Erin Gough — Full-transparency, I provided an endorsement quote for this one back in the day (and I stand by it! Erin is now one of our best Aussie YA authors!) ‘Seventeen-year-old Del drops out of high school when her romance with another girl goes horribly wrong. Preferring chaos to bullying, Del makes it her mission to save her dad's crumbling café, the Flywheel, while he 'finds himself' overseas. Accompanied by her charming troublemaker best friend Charlie, Del sets out to save the cafe, keep Charlie out of prison, and maybe get a date with Rosa, the beautiful flamenco dancer from across the road. But when life is messy enough as it is, can girl-on-girl romance ever have a happy ending?’

• The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil — Another wonderful Aussie YA from an outstanding author with a fabulous backlist (gosh, we excel at this particular readership age-appropriate YA romance stuff!) ‘Sophia is smart, like genius-calculator-brain smart. But there are some things no amount of genius can prepare you for, and the messiness of real life is one of them. When everything she knows is falling apart, how can she crack the puzzle of what to do with her life?’

• Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden — ANOTHER Aussie offering! ‘Seventeen-year-old gaymer Noah Mitchell only has one friend: the wonderful, funny, strictly online-only MagePants69. After years playing RPGs together, they know everything about each other, except anything that would give away their real life identities. And Noah is certain that if they could just meet in person, they would be soulmates.’

• What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume — heads-up, this is another author I represent as literary agent. But let me put it to you this way; a body-positive, self-love Aussie summer Christmas update of Dirty Dancing! ‘The last thing sixteen-year-old Maisie Martin thought she'd be doing this summer is entering a beauty pageant. Not when she's spent most of her life hiding her body from everyone. Not when her Dad is AWOL for Christmas and her gorgeous older sister has returned to rock Maisie's shaky confidence. And her best friend starts going out with the boy she's always loved. But Maisie's got something to prove.’

• Hot, Cold Summer by Nova Weetman — truly, one of our superstar authors and considering Nova is so well-known in middle grade realms, this really gentle lower-end YA romance is a perfect transitional text (and it’s one of 3 in a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ series!) ‘Your destiny should be in your own hands. Follow your heart right to the end, or go back and choose all over again!’

• Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli — Again, Albertalli’s entire backlist but I love this book in particular! About two theatre-kids whose communal crush from theatre camp arrives at their school and suddenly friendship turns to rivalry (there’s also a lovely romance with an unlikely love-interest that I just ate up!)

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I was a teenager when I started reading the likes of Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean, etc. and I’m fine. Even though yes – they have sex in those books, and it’s detailed – but I understand there might be some tweens transitioning from MG romances who have discovered a love of period-dramas thanks to Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte and The Buccaneers.

So here is *but a taste* of some good and age-appropriate His-Rom YA with Bridgerton feels. It’s not *all* regency-period, and I’ve tried to stick to realism (so no Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, though it’s fantasy-romance and historical) save for one exception which I’ll get to …

• The Season by Sarah MacLean — so, MacLean is a very popular adult his-rom author but back in 2009 she dabbled in this stand-alone YA regency romance which is *so good* and I just think if it were to come out today amid the ‘Bridgerton’ hubbub it would slay. As it is, there wasn’t huge demand for regency YA at the time so she’s since stuck exclusively with adult his-rom, but ‘The Season’ has been re-jacketed and re-released and it really is amazing. A 17-year-old girl is being pushed into the aristocratic marriage-mart, but having grown up with a household of over-protective older brothers and a strong-will, her suitors are going to have a tough time of it. Especially when she decides to better spend her time helping a young Earl uncover who murdered his father …

• The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee — still very popular first book in the queer ‘Montague Siblings’ historical romance series. This first one follows best friends Monty and Percy (who are also pining for one another, secretly) on a Grand Tour of Europe (like an 18th century Schoolies trip).

• The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee — Stacey Lee is one of my favourite authors writing in the historical YA space, and ‘Downstairs Girl’ is one of her best. An opinionated and talented Chinese American girl makes her way in Reconstruction-era Atlanta, by secretly starting a "Dear Miss Sweetie," advice column. This one has a forbidden love storyline, which is just great!

• Rosewood By Sayantani DasGupta — “A Midsummer Meet Cute”, which is not technically historical but *is* set at “a summer camp where campers are being scouted for the hit Bridgerton-like TV show.” So it’s a bit meta, and reminds me of the 2013 ‘Austenland’ movie – it’s full of drama, and crushes and has some great representation, especially for young ‘Bridgerton’ fans who loved seeing actress Simone (Ashwini Pillai) Ashley in the main role of season 2!

• Bellegarde by Jamie Lilac — This isn’t “accurate” historical, but it is really fun and flirty. It’s the ‘She’s All That’/Pygmalion trope (a Parisian playboy is dared to turn a wallflower into the belle of the season) set in a modern-twisted 18th-century France that’s been made to feel like a 90s rom-com. Stay for the fun, not the historical accuracy.

• Queen Bee by Amalie Howard — I’ve not yet read this one, but it’s in my pile! ‘A girl seeking retribution against her backstabbing former best friend finds her plans slightly derailed once she catches the eye of a familiar, handsome marquess.’ Again, a head-nod to the diversity casting of ‘Bridgerton’ to breathe life and modernity into this genre.

• An Improbable Season by by Rosalyn Eves — The first book in the Unexpected Seasons series, about three young women, their big dreams, and a London Season gone awry.

• The Davenports by Krystal Marquis — first book in a series of the same name. It’s 1910 and the Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, and as a family full of delightful sisters they’re also starting to find their way in love … first book is about the eldest sister, Olivia. This is actually grounded in real US-history that not many people know about, so it’s both swoon-worthy and eye-opening.

• Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher — I loved this queer Arthurian ‘fake-dating’ romance, the first in a series of loose retellings (the next is a sapphic Robin Hood re-do!) Described as; ‘HEARTSTOPPER meets A KNIGT’S TALE in this queer medieval rom-com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.’ Loved it!

• One for All by Lillie Lainoff — ‘Three Mustakeers’ feminist retelling that I have bumped way up my TBR based on this pitch: “An OwnVoices, gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.”

• Sixteen Scandals by Sophie Jordan — this one is so fun (from an author who also writes adult historicals!) You can tell the 80s teen movie it’s revamping; “In this Regency story, newly minted sixteen-year-old Primrose Ainsworth finds herself on a wayward birthday adventure through London with a mysterious hero.”

• The Other Countess by Eve Edwards — this one is old (sorry!) from 2010, the first in The Lacey Chronicles series, but I love it so much because it reminds me of the Drew Barrymore 1998 movie Ever After, which means it has my whole heart forever. Set in 1582 about two titled teens whose fathers have bankrupted their families and forced them to seek out wealthy prospects … but they’re unfortunately drawn to each other, destitute they may be, love might just conquer all.

• The Selection by Kiera Cass — this one probably needs no introduction as it seems to be a season forever-fave amongst teens, first book in The Selection series which isn’t technically historical because it’s set in a futuristic world, BUT it works for the ‘vibes’ of Bridgerton because this society is divided into castes of royals and elites and a huge marriage-mart that decides young women’s fate. It’s high drama, romance, dystopian – so if your teens think that the historical aspect isn’t what has hooked them, maybe try this for the society backstabbing, ranking and breaking of class-ceilings?