This article originally appeared on A Love So True. It has been republished here with permission.
Netflix brought Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to the big screen in August, and the sweet high school rom com became an instant hit. The novel and its adaptation ask the question, “What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them … all at once?”
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, a 16-year-old who writes letters to all the boys she’s ever loved. Through a comedy of errors, the boys all get these letters in the mail—and each of them get a firsthand look into the deepest depths of Lara Jean’s heart.
Han’s bestseller is basically every teen’s worst nightmare come to life, but also manages to be a heartwarming, feel-good teenage love story. We’ve rounded up some of the best books like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before for all you hopeless romantics out there.
Let’s Talk About Love
By Claire Kann
Alice is biromantic, asexual, and totally over dating. When Alice didn’t want to have sex with Margot, her girlfriend, Margot broke up with Alice. Alice’s plans for the summer now include binge watching TV shows with her best friends, eating nonstop, and definitely avoiding any love interests. Her plans fall apart when she meets Takumi.
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When she’s around him, she feels all warm and fuzzy. When she’s not with him, she’s thinking about thinking about him, feeling butterflies all over the place. Alice must decide if she wants to risk their friendship by telling Takumi how she feels about everything.
Love, Life, and the List
By Kasie West
Abby Turner feels like everything is falling apart. She’s fallen for her best friend (who definitely doesn’t like her back), she’s struggling with her anxiety, and she just got rejected from yet another art show. Her solution: a to-do list.
Abby has tasked herself with accomplishing all 10 items on the list within one month. The tasks range from facing a fear to falling in love—simple stuff, obviously. She’s convinced that completing the list will make her into the successful artist she knows she’s meant to be. But as the end of the month approaches, Abby realizes that life doesn’t always go as planned.
The Upside of Unrequited
By Becky Albertalli
Molly Peskin-Suso is 17 years old and has 26 crushes. Despite the urging of Cassie, her twin sister, Molly hasn’t acted on a single crush, fearing that she’ll be rejected due to her weight. When Cassie falls madly in love with Mina, her new girlfriend, Molly feels all alone.
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Luckily, Mina’s best friend is a hipster boy perfect for Molly. But rather than fall for the seemingly perfect boy, Molly develops a major crush on her coworker Reid, a chubby Tolkienist who’s definitely not part of the plan.
When Dimple Met Rishi
By Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah has no interest in an arranged marriage—especially not at 18—so she’s thrilled when her parents send her to a summer program for aspiring web developers. They certainly don’t expect her to get married there. Or do they?
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Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic who 100% buys into the culture of arranged marriage. Dimple and Rishi’s parents were planning to one day arrange a marriage between the two, and when the teens choose the same developer program, it seems like fate has chosen for them to start their future together sooner rather than later. Rishi is fully aware of the plan and must woo Dimple without telling her who he really is. But will the deception be too much for the young couple to overcome?
The Sun Is Also a Star
By Nicola Yoon
Daniel is a driven student, but no matter what he does, he can’t seem to please his strict Korean parents.
Natasha is a serious young scientist. She likes facts and numbers, and her world is about to change as her family is deported back to Jamaica.
Neither Natasha or Daniel send their time daydreaming about happily ever afters. They’re all about the here and now and being practical at all times. But when Natasha and Daniel meet on a New York City street, all logic goes out the window, and their lives are turned upside down.
Anna and the French Kiss
By Stephanie Perkins
Anna is furious when her dad sends her to boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high school. She doesn’t even speak French! Plus, she’s leaving behind an incredible best friend, a good job, and a crush who could have become more in Atlanta.
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But when Anna arrives at the new school, it’s better than she expects. She and a gorgeous Englishman named Etienne St. Clair quickly become best friends. Something more blooms between them, but St. Clair has a long distance, older girlfriend. Who will he choose?
The Start of Me and You
By Emery Lord
Paige’s life ended the day her boyfriend died. Two years have passed, and Paige is finally ready to pick up the pieces and act like a normal teenager again. She knows exactly what she needs to do.
First thing’s first: start dating her former crush, Ryan Chase. Then, reintegrate herself into the school by joining a club. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. But everything is shaken up when Ryan’s dorky but sweet cousin Max moves to town—and Max has other plans for Paige.
Love and Other Train Wrecks
By Leah Konen
Ammy and Noah are taking the same train to upstate New York, and their first interaction is basically a train wreck. Noah thinks that love can solve everything. That’s why he’s taking the train home to see if he can win his ex back. Ammy is going to see her dad and soon-to-be stepmother, a yoga instructor ten years younger than her father.
When their train breaks down, Noah and Ammy have to travel together if they have any hope of making it back home. Over the journey they become much more than just strangers thrown together by circumstance, and their disastrous first meeting is instantly forgotten.
Windfall
By Jennifer E. Smith
Alice has been in love with her best friend Teddy for years. For his 18th birthday, she gives him a lottery, attached to a note telling him how she feels. When he actually wins $140 million, Alice feels like the luckiest girl in the world. It doesn’t last long.
Teddy is blinded by the money and the attention, letting it come between him and Alice. As she loses her best friend, Alice learns that money isn’t the most important thing in the world—in fact, it’s about to ruin everything.
Romancing the Throne
By Nadine Jolie Courtney
Libby and Charlotte Weston have always gone to different schools, but a scandal at Libby’s old school pushes her into Charlotte’s world. Charlotte feels obligated to bring Libby into the popular crowd—some of Britain’s wealthiest and most posh teenagers. The group even includes Prince Edward, the future king of England.
Charlotte has had her eye on the young ruler for a while. When Libby falls for Edward, it’s a big problem. The whole “sisters before misters” rule doesn’t seem to apply here. Sibling rivalry and young love make Romancing the Throne a teen romance like no other.
Once and for All
By Sarah Dessen
Louna is a cynic whose faith in love ended with her first relationship. Ironically, she’s spending her summer helping brides plan the “best day of their lives.” It’s not exactly making her less pessimistic about love…
Enter Ambrose. He’s a total womanizer but has decided that Louna is the one girl worth sticking around. Too bad for him: In Louna’s mind, love is dead. Will Ambrose’s tricks work on Louna, or will she stay stuck on her ex?
(featured image: Netflix, images: respective publishers)
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Published: Aug 28, 2018 01:24 pm