We have a very special Rec League from Melissa:
I am hoping that the SBTB community can help me out for the holidays.
Every night at dinner our family discusses what books we are reading. My 10-year-old daughter has always loved to hear the plot lines of the most recent romance novel I am reading. Thanks to Netflix and Jenny Han, my daughter has found that there are age appropriate romance novels she can read, and she is thrilled! My question to you and the community is, what romance novels do you think I should gift her for the holidays?
We are a progressive family who swear like sailors and are very LGBTQ friendly. That being said, I’d still like to avoid anything with graphic sex scenes. Any help you can give would be most appreciated, the sooner the better too, as she is almost through the second book of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series!
Amanda: Well that’s adorable!
Some recs! Though my memory may be faulty since I read these a bit ago. And some of my recs are more of YA books with strong romantic elements than a full on romance. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy is adorable and there’s a Netflix adaptation coming soon!
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder ( A | BN | K | Scribd ) has a great heroine, though if memory serves, the ending is a bit cliffhangery in regards to the romance.
The books in the Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) have some really great romances.
RHG: Yeah, Poison Study is the first book of a series. A good series, and I recommend it, but a true series, not a romance pile of stand alone series
Amanda: I’m also bringing some outside help and asking my roommate. She’s amazing and exclusively reads YA. She also works for a publisher that specializes in kids and YA books.
Sarah: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Old one: Adios to My Old Life by Barbara Caridad Ferrer ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Amanda: When Dimple Met Rishi, which I believe Carrie reviewed on the site.
Sarah: Yes, good one!
Amanda: My roommate seconds When Dimple Met Rishi and Anna and the French Kiss! She also adds Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (made into the movie Love Simon) ( A | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ). I asked about Cinder by Marissa Meyer ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ) and she says the romance isn’t the focus. It’s more political fairy tale adventure.
Nicola Yoon (which Elyse has read on the site) was another recommendation. She says there is off the page sex, but it’s definitely a warm, fuzzy romance.
Elyse: Nicola Yoon is great!
Also The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee.
Amanda: What about Passenger, Elyse? With the time travel?
Elyse: Yes!
Sarah: Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au )
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (kinda angsty, that one) ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au )
Oh! Major Crush by Jennifer Echols ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
Amanda: The Ex Games? With the snowboarders? ( A | BN | K | G | AB )I think that is more YA than adult or am I wrong Sarah?
Sarah: I don’t remember!
I think it is Teen YA , but I don’t know if there is sex on page.
Oh – Love A La Mode comes out next week. That might work.
Amanda: And lastly, you’re welcome to peruse the YA titles we’ve reviewed on the site!
What books would you suggest for Melissa’s daughter? Let us know in the comments!
I love The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil. Another couple of YA age-appropriate romance that I still love and re-read, but it may be harder to get hold of now, is Something’s Rotten in the State of Maryland by Laura Sonnemark.
Epic Crush of Genie Lo
Dark Days Club trilogy by Alison Goodman. At least the first 2 books are ok. I haven’t read book 3.
I read Jane Eyre when I was 12, so depending on how good a reader she is, it may not be out of her league.
Already some great recs on here. Almost anything by Sarah Dessen would fit the bill! Her books are smart and swoony but not very graphic. JUST LISTEN and THIS LULLABY are two of my favorites of hers.
THE START OF ME AND YOU by Emery Lord is another great swoony read.
If she likes romcoms, I loved loved “The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You” by Lily Anderson. It’s a YA version of Much Ado About Nothing and has a very swoony kiss, but nothing else.
And of course, there’s the Anne of Green Gables series, L.M. Montgomery in general if she’s patient with more old-fashioned writing.
I haven’t read any yet, and I don’t know about their age-appropriateness for a ten-year-old, but I do know that Beverly Jenkins has a bunch of historical YA being re-released digitally. Maybe SBTB could review some? Or a guest reviewer could?
What I do know is that they’re by Ms. Bev: Ergo, I assume they’re awesome, so even if they aren’t appropriate for a ten-year-old, maybe they will be when she’s twelve? Thirteen?
I disagree that Cinder is more a political thriller It’s more like a political Thriller with strong romantic elements and the romance only increases with each book( there’s a reason the Lunar Chronicles fandom has a strong shipping community ). Plus the series is just great and everyone should read it .
Oh, and I have one more: EAST by Edith Pattou. It’s another fairytale retelling, this time “ East if the Sun, West of the Moon”(great fairy tail btw, it’s also a search for the lost husband type and of story, so it’s female-focused).
I do warn that it way be a little harder to find since i’m not Sure EAST is still in print, I read it over ten years ago. However, Amazon is a thing thankfully.
Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls books! All-girl spy school, friendship, angst… The works.
I third When Dimple Met Rishi and would like to add Menon’s second book, From Twinkle, With Love and Nisha Sharma’s My So-Called Bollywood Life.
Sarah Zettel’s Palace of Spies trilogy has a young lady-in-waiting/spy in the court of King George I. She falls in love with an artist, but there are no shenanigans.
It’s not a romance, per say, but it does have a romantic element.. it is mostly about the kick-ass heroine – Jackie Faber.. the Bloody Jack Adventure series by L.A. Meyer that starts with Bloody Jack. I read this series as an adult and LOVED it. It’s got high action, adventure and a heroine that knows her own mind and often finds herself faced with moral dilemmas that force her to grow.
My daughter loved Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett. Also Starry Eyes. Well written and age appropriate.
Eleanor and Park.
Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (all of hodge, really)
Gilded Ashes
I’ve Got Your Number and My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
Just One Day and Just One Year
Betsy Cornwell does fun fairy-tale retellings – Mechanica is Cinderella, The Forest Queen is Robin Hood…. there’s also Venturess which I haven’t read yet but is the sequel to Mechanica. Romance, good heroines, and some steampunk for good measure! And definitely age-appropriate.
I’d second The Dark Days Club series and Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. If she likes Montgomery, I would also suggest the Emily of New Moon series (great, but there’s some concerning stuff with Dean, who decides he is going to marry Emily when she’s 10, and I didn’t think anything of it when I was a kid and as an adult I go, “Grooming much?”. But fortunately it doesn’t end up going his way), Kilmeny of the Orchard and The Blue Castle. I’d add in Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Renegades by Marissa Meyer (more superhero fiction, but there’s also a strong attraction between two lead characters, even as they’re trying to play each other), and the graphic novel Space Battle Lunchtime (my daughter loves it, and a lovely romance starts in the second volume, which was incidentally how I explained same-sex attraction to her)
“The Morning Gift” by Eva Ibbotson.
There are some darker elements, which the author is careful with, but it’s still one maybe an adult could read first?
The characters are very sexually open in their attitudes. Including accepting and matter-of-fact, reassuring, about variations they have encountered like what is effectively demisexuality.
Personally I don’t think Rainbow Rowell’s books are appropriate for a 10 year old; too many sexual elements and a very grown up vibe.
I also recommend When Dimple Met Rishi, though there is a fade to black sex scene if that is a problem.
Entwined by Heather Dixon is a fairy tale retelling that’s mostly about family but also has strong romantic elements; I highly recommend it.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is one of my favorite books of all time and I think it fits the bill!
Obviously, what is “appropriate” is up to the parent, who knows the maturity level of their kid better than anyone. But one series that I do suggest to tweens and teens a lot (I’m a librarian) is The Selection by Kiera Cass. And I’ll tell you what I tell everyone, which is that you better have the second book on hand by the time your kid finishes the first one. Those of us who enjoyed that series ate it up like candy.
I also second some of the other suggestions: Aristotle and Dante, When Dimple Met Rishi, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Eleanor and Park, and the Stephanie Perkins series.
McGarry’s Pushing the Limits might be a bit too dark for a ten year old, given what Echo is dealing with.
I second the Eva Ibbotson recommendation, my favorite is A Countess Below Stairs.
Jennifer Comeaux has a series of figure skating romances – not YA, but some of the characters are pretty young and there’s no graphic sex. I haven’t read them myself.
Most of Miranda Keannelly’s Hundred Oaks books do have sex scenes, but they’re not particularly graphic. Things I Can’t Forget might be more subtle, and maybe Jesse’s Girl (it’s been a while since I read them). The books in the series are pretty loosely connected, and can be read as standalones.
Two great romances for the tween set that got me straight in the feels are Well That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail, a version of Cyrano and Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen which they made a terrible movie out of (seriously, don’t watch it). In both cases, I felt like it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship/partnership/romance. They were just gorgeous.
All time favorite classics: the young adult novels by Madeleine L’engle. “The Arm of the Starfish” stars Polly O’Keefe, the daughter of Meg and Calvin from “A Wrinkle in Time”. There are 3 more books in that series, I think. And there is a series about Vicky from the Austin family, that is lovely and I can not reccomend them highly enough. The one I remember most is one where a spoiled young man follows Vicky’s family on a camping trip across the country. It’s not as stalkerish as it seems. But it is full of teenage feels, and how Vicky’s parents let her cope, while maintaining background support. I would be remiss if I did not insist that everyone should own “The 24 days before Christmas”. It takes place as Vicky Austin’s family waits for the newest baby to arrive. They do different Christmas activities every day, and Vicky struggles to learn her lines as an angel in the annual Christmas pageant. Meanwhile, a blizzard hits, Vicky’s doctor father is caught away from home and Mom goes into labor. I realize the Christmas theme may not be for every family, but the love and holiday spirit captured is pretty universal. I read this book aloud to my daughter (now 35) every Christmas for years. Of course she has long since had her own copy. This book is a stand alone, but it would be an excellent pre Christmas gift, and would set the stage for Vicky’s teenage years.
For something written specifically for the 10-12 years, “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones. And the book with romantic elements I loved when I was that age was “The Sherwood Ring” by Elizabeth Pope, though who knows whether several generations later will have the same appeal…
Whisper, Loudly by Robert Moore has offpage sex and a transgender heroine. Whisper’s family is too good to be true, in a good way.
Sarah Rees Brennan? She does Fantasy and romance.
She does to my memory include sex on the page but not graphically in any way more fade to black wake up next morning in bed together kind of way At least she did in “In Other Lands” which was the last one hers I read so freshest in my mind.
I saw the romantic twist coming a mile away but it was still satisfying.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe definitive fits. I would also recommend Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers. 15th century assassin nuns in Medieval France. 1st of a series, 4th book coming out this Feb.
I would second:
Epic Crush of Genie Lo
Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
When Dimple Met Rishi
Dumplin’
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
I would add:
London Belongs to Us – Sarra Manning
(fantastic novel how a girl runs around London to find and dump her cheating boyfriend – it’s one of my all time faves)
Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel – Sara Farzian
(LGBTQ muslim girl and the general struggle of school, hormones and crushes)
Everything, Everything – Nicola Yoon
(POC and chronic illness with a great twist!)
Sky In The Deep – Adrienne Young
(young teen female viking warrior!!)
The Prince and the Dressmaker – Jen Wang
(really sweet graphic novel about a prince who loves to secretly dress up in dresses and the dressmaker who helps him – it’s so cute!!!)
Not Your Sidekick – C B Lee
(teenage super heroes and villains and understanding different sides and LGBTQ romance!)
And absolutely everything by Robin Talley (YA LGBTQ POC representation sprinkled throughout her books)
Ok I’ll stop now otherwise this will just go on and on 🙂
Thirding Eva Ibbotson. Poison Study is amazing. I would add Dragon Slippers, Princess of the Midnight Ball, and East of Sun, West of Moon which are YA with lovely romances.
I also highly recommend Posse of Princesses, Sasharia En Guarde, and Trouble with Kings by Sherwood Smith (along with all of her other books, but these are good stand-alone, YA appropriate romances).
Robin McKinley. The Blue Sword to start with, then The Hero and the Crown to get some of the legends mentioned in TBS, maybe Beauty and/or Rose Daughter.
You have to be careful with McKinley because some of her books are meant for the older YA crowd (keep the young ones away from Deerskin, I read it as an adult and it scarred my soul—CONTENT WARNINGS OUT THE WAZOO!!!) so maybe read them first yourself or check with a librarian or YA site about the content. I haven’t read all of her books (because said scars from Deerskin have made me wary), and now I approach her with caution. Also, these days I’m rarely in the mood to have my heart ripped out of my chest and crushed. But she’s awesome. And I need to reread The Blue Sword.
And yes! yes! yes! to Montgomery’s The Blue Castle. *swoon*
A lot of the books mentioned do have sex and I would put at a few years too old for a 10 year old, so you may wish to read them as well. I would second the warning for Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, which might be appropriate for some ten year olds but not necessarily for all of them (though my favorite book at 10 was my purloined copy of Nora Roberts’ Hidden Riches, so what do I know).
But Eva Ibbotson and Diana Wynne Jones are great. I’d also suggest most of Sarah Dessen’s novels, Maurene Goo’s I Believe in a Thing Called Love, Jenn Bennett (sex in all of her books, most explicit in Starry Eyes), Kasie West, Morgan Matson, and absolutely everything YA by Meg Cabot: Princess Diaries, 1-800-Where-R-You, the Mediator, all the stand alones.
Middle school librarian here!
My romance readers (age 10-14) have loved these:
The Selection series by Kiera Cass
Bloody Jack by Meyer
Amazing Grace by Megan Shull (older title, but good story!)
anything written by Susane Colasanti
anything written by Deb Caletti
They’re not a romance but have a romantic element.
Tamora Pierce – Song of The Lioness series.
It follows Alanna from age 11 (I think) as she pretends to be a boy and train to be a knight. It’s age appropriate, beautifully written and I love it still now.
There is also the sequel two book series about Alanna’s daughter called Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen – that are about espionage and staging an uprising with the lead character (Ali) about 16. They have a romantic element that is more evident in the second book. Again, brilliantly written and I read this as an adult.
You don’t have to have read Alanna’s story to read the Trickster series but it adds to it if you have.
Grave Mercy is great but might be better for a little older because of the first scene with the near rape. If not for that, I would think it would be fine. The second book in that series, while amazing, is darker. Ella Enchanted has a sweet romance. I loved the Ordinary Princess at that age, but it may also be hard to find. Just a lovely romance.
I rec Adam Silvera’s, Meg Cabot’s and Cori McCarthy’s books! Also rec the classic Annie on My Mind (so sweet, so gay), and Crossing the Ice (the Ice skating romance mentioned above). Maybe some of the funnier Austens?
I second Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Aristotle and Dante, Tell Me Again how a crush should feel (though it’s a little sad), and the Prince and the Dressmaker.
Maybe later: When Dimple Met Rishi (sex off page but I think I would save it for a 12 year old?), Girl Mans Up, and the Circle series by Sara B. Elfregen.
First and Then by Emma Mills. Honestly any of Emma Mills’s books would be appropriate for a 10 year old, I just especially love First and Then which is a spin on Pride and Prejudice in a Florida high school. It’s just terribly sweet and thoughtful. I think there’s some cursing and a secondary character is pregnant but there’s nothing remotely graphic.
I second whoever recommended Sarah Dessen. I’ve read a lot of YA romances and hands down Dessen writes the best book boyfriends. This Lullaby, with Dexter, and The Truth about Forever, with Wes are my favorites. I reread them every summer. Although I’d say that while the romances are pretty chaste, there are sometimes heavy themes like school shootings, rape etc. You’d have to make sure your daughter is able to handle themes like that. I’d also recommend Meg Cabot and Shannon Hale. She has a Princess Academy series but in particular I’d recommend Goose Girl or Book of a Thousand Days.
I second Eva Ibbotson’s “A Countess Below Stairs” and Miranda Keannelly’s Hundred Oaks books (but there is some mention of sex, so these are more appropriate for high schoolers).
Kasie West has great stand alone contemporary YA romances. Check reviews here or on goodreads since some of the later ones were meh. However, most have imperfect heroines and heroes you can learn from.
Marni Bates’ “Smith High” series starting with Awkward is super funny and the hero is in a boy band.
Tamora Pierce would be good, though genre wise more fantasy than romance, and seconding Meg Cabot.
Yes to Diana Wynne Jones. My sister loved HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE when she was 12.
I have pimped it out on this site before, but LOVE Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, as well as her trilogy that includes The Safe Keepers Secret. Her other stuff gets more mature, fyi. Also seconding many of these suggestions, including works of Jessica Day George and Shannon Hale, esp. Princess Academy. If you prefer non fantasy, I love the All American Girl books by Meg Cabot. The second book has a great storyline about becoming sexually active in high school that I much preferred to the immature way it’s handled in Princess Diaries’ later book, (hmm, was it vol 8?)
Anyway, my mom always bought me books and I still have many of them today! It’s a wonderful Rec Request
I’m bookmarking this post. I would like to show it to my sister and niece. My niece is 10 years old.
Totally second the above rec for Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn. It is just so fantastic, and I wish I would have discovered it as a tween/teen instead of just last year. I also second the Sarah Dessen recs and The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord.
So many good recs above! Here are a few others you might try:
Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas – it’s about prom and has a coin flip between date choices, and the romance is SO cute. Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless (same author) is also cute, though the romance is less of a focus in that one.
It’s Not Me, It’s You by Stephanie Kate Strohm is also adorable and very shippy.
On the Fence by Kasie West
The Mediator series by Meg Cabot (first one is Shadowland)