Ahhhhh.....Love! Amour! Liebe! 爱

It's coming.  A pink tinge hangs in the air ready to burst into full bloom red.  Chocolates are molded, wrapped, and dipped, that irritating commercial from Pajamagram slips into the regularly scheduled commercials, and the cards full of love, hope and poetry are purchased in bulk. (as an aside, my husband has given me the same Valentine's Day card for the last 20 years, and every year it means something different) But fear not!  There is hope in the form of YA novels!  And not a moment too soon!  Here is a short compiled list of recent romance novels written with teens in mind.  And what's more, they're all novel in verse.  Get lost in the translation...

Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe. Viking, 2011. Sara's first love is ballet, and now her hard work and determination have paid off.  She's accepted into an apprenticeship with professional dance company and moves to New York to fulfill her dreams.  Her excitement quickly turns into loneliness, until she meets Remington, a choreographer who works with this troupe of ballerinas.  Sara's loneliness quickly turns to giddiness, then into the ultimate emotion and decision she never thought she'd make.  What, exactly, does she truly want, in terms of a relationship and career?  Life is the ultimate learning experience for her.  Genre: real life read

To Be Perfectly Honest by Sonya Sones.  Simon &Schuster, 2013.
It's hard being the daughter of the most famous actress in Hollywood.  Just ask Collette.  She's lived in the shadows most of her life and has found the best way to escape them is to lie. Just little white lies.. those never hurt anyone.  So when she and her little brother go on "vacation" with their mother to film a new movie (starring, who else?), Collette brings out her secret stash of lies.  And when she meets Connor, she feels it'll be the only thing to protect her from the shadow of her famous mom.  He's gorgeous, older, sweet and sexy, and Collette falls in love. But the more lies you tell, the harder it is to keep them up.  Add a relationship to this mix, and Collette is just waiting for disaster to strike...or can she get away with it?  Genre: romance

Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill.  Balzer + Bray, 2013.  Mary was young when she first met Percy.  Living in Victorian England, becoming betrothed was a difficult task for her, especially as a girl with an academic background.  But sometimes emotions outweigh the logic. Mary and Percy begin a love affair that quickly turns illicit.  She makes the decision to elope with Percy, who would always be her heart's desire.  What she wasn't expecting was his adamant request to also bring along her step-sister.  Mary overlooks his philandering ways, but jealousy still lingers every time she sees them together.  Writing is an outlet Mary turns to in order to let free her emotions, experiences, and academic desires.  Little did she know it would be the most celebrated gothic romance of its time...Frankenstein.  Based on true biographies.  Genre: historical fiction

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay.  Katherine Tegan, 2011.  Marcie has been pulled in two, emotionally and literally.  Her parents divorce has completely screwed up Marcie's life, and to help her mom pull through the depression, they move from Idaho to New Hampshire to start a new life over.  That means Marcie must leave her boyfriend  and group of the best friends she's ever had, behind.  But it doesn't mean the end of their relationship.  She constantly emails them all (aka the Leftovers), never losing touch them and hanging onto her relationship with her boyfriend.  But communication starts to drift when the cute guy in school takes a liking to Marcie. One secret withheld from her boyfriend but told to her best friend becomes her undoing.  Genre: real life read; romance

Falling For You by Lisa Schroeder.  Simon Pulse, 2013.  Love is a battlefield, and Rae is fighting through it right now.  She's in the hospital, unconscious, not sure if she'll pull through or not.   Rae can't stand to be around her step-father, so she spends most of her time at school and work, waiting for the day she can leave this town behind.  The only person she'd miss would be her best friend Leo, who makes her feel happy and carefree.  But then she meets the heartstopper, Nathan, and their relationship blossoms.  But the bloom becomes obsession and jealousy.  Rae knows what started out good is now toxic.  Leo is the only person Rae can talk to, and Nathan cannot stand that.  Will she have to lose both in order to start life over again?  One day, one gun, one life...  Told through flashback. Genre: real life read (this is more of a novel that contains Schroeder-esque poetry glittering throughout)

Waiting  by Carol Lynch Williams.  Simon & Schuster, 2012.  Growing up as children of missionaries, London and Zach's life have always had higher expectations (kind of like kids of preachers and teachers).  But when Zach lives life his way instead of his parents, the pressure becomes to great and he takes his life.  The entire family is stunned, and London can't shake the feeling that she's to blame.  Her mother won't talk to her, her father is distant, and Zach is gone...she thinks about her boyfriend Taylor, but feels the need to cut him out of her life because he was Zach's best friend; he knows too much family history.  But a new family moves into town, and London feels a pull to Jesse.  He's new, irresistible, and knows nothing about her past life, social and private.  A perfect getaway.  But even that really doesn't help her situation, and now London is pulled is more directions that she thought possible.  Genre:real life read

Addendum:  here are also some other excellent YA novels (not in verse):

Bunheads by Sophie Flack.  Poppy, 2011  Genre: real life reads


Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral.  Razorbill, 2012.  Genre: picture book

Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate.  Feiwel and Friends, 2012.  Genre: science fiction

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.  Razorbill, 2011.  Genre: historical fiction

Pizza, Love & Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams.  Henry Holt and Co., 2012 Genre: girl reads

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson.  Simon & Schuster, 2012.  Genre: real life reads

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman.  Little Brown and Co, 2011. Genre: real life reads


And last but not least, an extensive list of YA novels from my previous blog post about YA romance:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7260786418133593157#editor/target=post;postID=4408141181443459942