Need a few book suggestions to get
you started in reading funny teen romances? Try some of the
following books!
Squashed
Joan
Bauer
"Have you
ever played the "if only" game? Well, if
only Ellie's potentially
prize-winning pumpkin would gain 200 more
pounds in time for the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-In, and if only
Ellie could lose 20 or so pounds herself, her life might be perfect.
Well, at least it would be perfect enough to give her the courage to
make friends with Wes--the cute new guy at school. She's well on her
way to winning big on all counts when frost and pumpkin thieves begin
to attack! The thing is, Ellie has the sass, humor, and smarts to be a
winner--whether or not her pumpkin breaks the scales ... if only
she would realize it." - Amazon.com
Truth
or Dairy
Catherine
Clark
"This is
the journal of Courtney Von Dragen Smith:
middle child, product
of divorce, would-be vegetarian. She writes the first mega-negative
page the day after her boyfriend, "such a Dave," breaks up with her
because he's heading off to college. Angry and humiliated, Courtney
vows to survive senior year on the anti-guy plan. But can she really
give up guys and focus on friends, school, and her job at the hip cafe
Truth or Dairy? Or will a stint in student government, an epileptic
dog, and a guy named Grant ("like-the lake") Superior turn her world
upside down and prove her journal right?" - NoveList
Just Ella
Margaret Peterson Haddix
"Ella
(sans "Cinder") finds her own way to the ball (there was no fairy
godmother, despite the rumors) and wins the heart of the prince. But
now she is finding that life at the palace as Prince Charming's
betrothed is not as great as she thought it was going to be. In fact,
it's downright boring for a self-reliant and active girl to do
needlework all day or listen to instructions on court etiquette from
the strict and cold Madame Bisset. Worst of all, Ella is beginning to
suspect that Charming's beautiful blue eyes and golden hair are
attached to a head with nothing in it. Her young tutor Jed, however,
talks with her about serious things that really matter. Ella finally
gets up the courage to announce to Charming that she doesn't want to go
through with the wedding, but when she finds herself locked in the
dungeon she realizes it's not that easy to walk away from a politically
arranged marriage." - Amazon.com
Cecil
in Space
Sid
Hite
"Cecil
Scott Rowe, 17, doesn't have many positive
things to say about
his Podunk hometown. And indeed, as Cecil predicts, nothing much
actually happens as the summer ambles on: some jokester alters the sign
on the courthouse lawn to read "Welcome to Hysteric Pricksburg";
Cecil's clique lolls at Billy Goat swimming hole; his best friend Isaac
is falsely accused of defacing the sign (and counters with "a gruff
exterior" that only makes him look constipated); a dog runs away out of
affronted dignity; Cecil gets outsider Pauley invited to a party given
by Ariel, the prettiest and richest girl in town; Cecil and his mother
bring Isaac's sister Isobel on a visit to see schizophrenic Aunt June.
Then again, these seemingly inconsequential events turn out to be more
important than we thought." - Patty Campbell. Amazon.com
Dumb
Love
Kathleen
Jeffrie Johnson
"Carlotta
is doing research to become a romance writer, but with her mother's
current flame trying to get sober while her mother crisscrosses the
East Coast selling hand-crocheted Easter bunnies, even Carlotta
realizes the course of true love does not run smoothly." - NoveList
Boy
Meets Boy
David
Levithan
"When
Paul falls hard for Noah, he thinks he has
found his one true
love, but when Noah walks out of his life, Paul has to find a way to
get him back and make everything right once more." - NoveList
Girl,
15, Charming but Insane
Sue
Limb
"Fifteen-year-old
Jess, living with her mum,
separated from her father
in Cornwall, and with a best friend who seems to do everything
perfectly, finds her own assets through humor." - NoveList
The
Unlikely Romance of Kate
Bjorkman
Louise
Plummer
"Hi, I'm
Kate Bjorkman. What do you do if you've
lived a real romance
with a great guy and he loves you as much as you love him? Simple, I
wrote a romance novel with help from THE ROMANCE WRITER'S PHRASE BOOK.
Nothing is made up. I want truth and conflict even in romance. I'm
betting you'll want the same." - Book description. Amazon.com
How
I Spent My Last Night on Earth
Todd
Strasser
"What
would you do if you were told you only had
24 hours before an
asteroid obliterated the planet? The teens at Time Zone High are
struggling with that very question (along with figuring out who's
sleeping with whom and whether or not to attend physics class). Is the
asteroid real? Is it a government cover-up or an Internet hoax? And by
the way, what are the Laws of Virginity? Allegra "Legs"
Hanover--usually prepared for anything--is thrown into a tailspin by
this potential catastrophe. Only minimally less disorienting is the
discovery that her "platonic boyfriend" Derman may have slept with her
sexy friend Angie. But as Legs has always thought, "high school is
potty training for life," so she tries to make important decisions in
the face of disaster--such as whether or not she should make a play for
rebellious surfer dude Andros Bliss, the strangely attractive "Totally
Inappropriate Guy.""- Brangien Davis. Amazon.com
Heart
on My Sleeve
Ellen
Wittlinger
"From the
end of high school to the beginning of
college, Chloe and
Julian deal with major changes in their families and friendships and
explore their feelings for each other through emails, letters, and a
visit." - NoveList
The
Beetle and Me: A Love Story
Karen
Romano Young
"There's
just one thing Daisy Pandolfi wants to do
before her 16th
birthday: restore her father's abandoned 1957 Volkswagen and claim it
as her own. While observing the ups and downs of her older sister's
love life, she suddenly finds herself interested in a new boy in town.
Angered when her beautiful cousin captures his attention, Daisy focuses
again on the car, but it, too, seems an impossible goal. Then, while
working backstage during a school play, Daisy is surprised by a kiss
delivered by a fellow stage-crew member. Billy may drive a neat
Thunderbird, but she's still grossed out. As she struggles to figure
out what is wrong with the Beetle and becomes aware of Billy's family
situation, she comes to appreciate her family's love and support." -
Cindy Darling Codell. School Library Journal. Amazon.com
Created
March 30th, 2006 by Kate Kite and Annette Lesak
LIS
404 Literature and Resources for Young Adults
Graduate School of Library and
Information Science
University of Illinois
