Romance Novels

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
The sweetness and realistic voices in this YA romance took me by surprise, and I ended up binge reading because I fell in love with Autumn.
Autumn and Finn are former BFFs and next door neighbors, but they haven't spoken since an awkward kiss in 8th grade. Autumn and Jamie are THAT couple in high school: pretty yet odd girl and charismatic yet odd boy. Finn and Sylvie are the power duo who end up as Prom King and Queen. As the four kids and their very different friend groups make their way through high school, the story flirts with the idea that if things were just a little different, who would end up with whom? Intriguing up to the very last page! 

The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart by Nancy Campbell Allen
A light romance with delightful dialogue, lovable characters, and a historical context that doesn't stretch the bonds of believability. In the late 1800s, Amelie is a young 'independent' woman who writes for her aunt's newspaper, The Marriage Gazette. Amelie believes in romance -only, not for herself. Still, she can't help but fall under the sway of a dashing widower, Harold Radcliffe, who has recently lost his wife.
Michael Baker is a detective who believes that woman he fished out of the river didn't die by natural causes and suspects the very same man who Amelie has a crush on. Imagine Amelie's chagrin when Det. Baker enlists her to help him spy on Harold Radcliffe, and her confusion when sparks start to fly between her and the detective. Very cute and sweet!


Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway
Emmy and Oliver are best friends and next door neighbors in second grade when the unthinkable happens-Oliver is spirited away by his father, gone without a trace. In the ensuing ten years, Emmy not only witnesses the horrible mental stress that Oliver's mother endures as she pines for her missing child, she is wrapped in an overly protective bubble by her parents, whose residual anxiety permeates every aspect of how they treat their only daughter.
Then, ten years later, Oliver is located across the country and he returns. The homecoming is bittersweet, as the seventeen year old who returns is much changed from the seven year old friend and son who was kidnapped. But Emmy and Oliver still have an essential connection. Will they be able to rekindle their friendship and lend each other the strength to endure the painful changes that come about when Oliver finally comes home? 
Wonderful concept, humorous dialog, and realistic emotional exchanges lend much to this young adult story of love in its many permutations, and how we can cherish -and hurt- the ones we love the most.




Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
This sweet story brings to life two beautiful, tender teens who will make you remember why being young and in love is vaunted so often in literature, poetry, and song.

Eleanor of the flaming red hair and flamboyant wardrobe subsists in a poverty-stricken home that is also devoid of happiness and love. Nevertheless, she seems to understand that her strength lies in never giving up her sense of who she is. Her mother is in an abusive relationship with an emotional vampire of a man who prowls around, looking to siphon all joy from his beleaguered family. Just when you think he can't make their lives any more miserable, he rises to the situation with fresh torment- a situation that will become untenable for Eleanor.

Park is a half Korean, comic book reading, punk music loving, 16 year old guy who doesn't exactly fit in, but he's adept at making his otherness a cool, defining characteristic that deflects harassment or ostracism. His father doesn't understand him and there's a bit of friction there (where isn't there a bit of friction between a father and his teenaged son?) but his home life is pretty good, due in no small way to the fact that his parents really and truly love each other. 

Park and Eleanor meet on the bus when he's the only one who takes pity on the new girl and lets her share his seat. What happens next is a slow unfolding of affectionate yearning, the faint sound of atoms attracting one another and locking into place. Rowell has managed to write a love story that's not smarmy, mostly because the characters are so warmly human, grappling with some real-life, ugly issues, but still drawn to each other in an innocent yet passionate way. It's a delight to see how young people in love can use the experience to champion each other and, ultimately, save themselves.