Category Archives: Romance

Review: Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat

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Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat cover shows a girl in jeans and high tops sitting on the ground, holding a discman and listening to headphones.

Rana Joon and the One and Only Now
Shideh Etaat
Atheneum Books
Published July 25, 2023

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About Rana Joon and the One and Only Now

This lyrical coming-of-age novel for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay and On the Come Up, set in southern California in 1996, follows a teen who wants to honor her deceased friend’s legacy by entering a rap contest.

Perfect Iranian girls are straight-A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable … Continue reading →

All Alone With You by Amelia Diane Coombs

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All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs

All Alone with You
Amelia Diane Coombs
Simon & Schuster
Published July 25, 2023

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About All Alone with You

HBO Max’s Hacks gets a romantic twist in the vein of Jenn Bennett in this swoon-worthy novel about a standoffish teen girl whose loner status gets challenged by a dynamic elderly woman and a perpetually cheerful boy.

Eloise Deane is the worst and doesn’t care who knows it. She’s grumpy, prefers to be alone, and is just slogging through senior year with one goal: get accepted to USC and move to California. So when her guidance counselor drops the bombshell that to score a scholarship she’ll … Continue reading →

Review: Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other) by Livia Blackburne

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Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other) by Livia Blackburne

Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other)
Livia Blackburne
Quill Tree Books
Published July 18, 2023

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About Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other)

You’ve Got Mail gets a YA twist in this rom-com that spotlights the power of activism and community organizing in the face of gentrification.

Clementine Chan believes in the power of the written word. Under the pseudonym Hibiscus, she runs a popular blog reviewing tea shops and discussing larger issues within her Chinatown community. She has a loyal, kind following, save for this one sour grape named BobaBoy888.

Danny Mok is allergic to change, … Continue reading →

Review: Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

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Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino cover shows a girl on the left in a tank top and shorts with her hands one on top of the other with her index finger and thumb extended. Sitting next to her is a boy in a hoodie and shorts with his hands in front of his body, his index finger and pinky extended. Tall grass and flowers in the background behind them.

Give Me a Sign
Anna Sortino
G. P. Putnam & Sons
Published July 11, 2023

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About Give Me a Sign

Jenny Han meets CODA in this big-hearted YA debut about first love and Deaf pride at a summer camp.

Lilah … Continue reading →

Review: The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton

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The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton

The Vermilion Emporium
Jamie Pacton
Peachtree Teen
Published November 22, 2022

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About The Vermilion Emporium

The heart-wrenching story of The Radium Girls meets the enchanting world of Howl’s Moving Castle. Jamie Pacton’s fantasy debut is a story of timeless love and deadly consequences.

It was a day for finding things . . .
 
On the morning Twain, a lonely boy with a knack for danger, discovers a strand of starlight on the cliffs outside Severon, a mysterious curiosity shop appears in town. Meanwhile, Quinta, the ordinary daughter of an extraordinary circus performer, chases rumors of the shop, The Vermilion Emporium, desperate for a way to live up to her … Continue reading →

Review: Andy and the Extroverts by Jessica K. Foster

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Andy and the Extroverts by Jessica K. Foster cover shows a girl peeking over her sunglasses, her arms crossed. She's holding a coffee cup and wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and ripped jeans. Behind her are a forest and three people in the distance.

Andy and the Extroverts
Jessica K. Foster
Winding Road Stories
Published May 16, 2023

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About Andy and the Extroverts

Seventeen-year-old bookish Andy has no friends. When her over-involved mother has the audacity to ship her off to summer leadership camp, she’s thrust into an introvert’s nightmare. Everyone is a Communicator with a capital C, icebreaker activities are … Continue reading →