Angsty & romantic Books

A Japanese-American decides not to serve in the war. The book unfolds the societal and familial consequences he faces for that decision.

After an embarrassing loss to her ex-girlfriend in their first basketball game of the season, seventeen-year-old Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, Irene Abraham, head cheerleader for the Fighting Reindeer. Irene is as mean as she is beautiful, so Scottie makes a point to keep her distance. When the accident sends Irene’s car to the shop for weeks’ worth of repairs and the girls are forced to carpool, their rocky start only gets bumpier. But when an opportunity arises for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex—and climb her school’s social ladder—she bribes Irene into an elaborate fake-dating scheme that threatens to reveal some very real feelings. From author Kelly Quindlen comes a new laugh-out-loud romp through the ups and downs of teen romance, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli.

For a few beautiful months, Wes and girl-next-door Liz were together. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA together, tragedy struck and their relationship ended. Flash forward and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart, but is determined to make her fall back in love with him. And he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only … Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend. Still, Wes won’t give up and is determined to win back Liz’s affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, he’s is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.

**In this YA contemporary queer romance from the author of *Hot Dog Girl*, an openly gay track star falls for a closeted, bisexual teen beauty queen with a penchant for fixing up old cars.** Morgan, an elite track athlete, is forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year after it turns out being queer is against her private Catholic school's code of conduct. There, she meets Ruby, who has two hobbies: tinkering with her baby blue 1970 Ford Torino and competing in local beauty pageants, the latter to live out the dreams of her overbearing mother. The two are drawn to each other and can't deny their growing feelings. But while Morgan--out and proud, and determined to have a fresh start--doesn't want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, Ruby isn't ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together?

When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip. Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong. Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?

There will be three, kin of your kin... who hold the power of the stars in their paws. A mysterious murder in the ranks has ripped ThunderClan apart. But more secrets still remain to be discovered. Jayfeather is determined to find out who his real parents are. But he'll have to trample through a forest of lies in order to uncover the truth. Hollyleaf is shocked by her Clan's disobedience of the warrior code, and distraught enough to strike out at someone she's always admired. And Lionblaze must bear horrified witness to events that will change everything he believes. In the harshest days of leaf-bare, Clanmate turns upon Clanmate, danger lurks behind familar faces, and one more warrior may be lost forever... ---------- **Books in this arc** 1. [The Sight][1] 2. [Dark River][2] 3. [Outcast][3] 4. [Eclipse][4] 5. [Long Shadows][5] 6. Sunrise [1]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5714304W [2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5714308W [3]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5714309W [4]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14906959W [5]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5714278W ---------- **Arcs in this series** 1. [The Prophecies Begin][a] 2. [The New Prophecy][b] 3. The Power of Three 4. [Omen of the Stars][d] 5. [Dawn of the Clans][e] 6. [A Vision of Shadows][f] 7. [The Broken Code][g] 8. [A Starless Clan][h] S. [Super Editions][s] [a]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9228970M/INTO [b]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9235572M/Midnight_(Warriors_The_New_Prophecy_Book_1) [c]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7283723M/The_Sight_(Warriors_Power_of_Three_Book_1) [d]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24084711M/Warriors_Omen_of_the_Stars_1 [e]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25995097M/Dawn_of_the_Clans [f]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26884472M/The_apprentice's_quest [g]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL27958224M/Warriors_The_Broken_Code_1 [h]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32444897M/River/ [s]: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7288445M/Firestar's_Quest

Another superb novel for older readers from our best-selling authorFourteen-year-old Prue and her sister Grace have been educated at home by their controlling, super-strict father all their lives. They know they are different to 'normal' girls but their attempts to find out what being an ordinary teenager are like - buying nice clothes instead of wearing Mum's odd hand-made garments, reading teenage magazines etc - are greeted with fury by their Dad. But when Dad has a stroke and ends up in hospital, unable to move or speak, Prue suddenly discovers what it's like to have a little freedom. Unable to cope with their education and a sick husband, the girls' mother sends them to the local comprehensive and they experience school life for the first time. Prue had never thought it would be so bitchy and that she'd find it so hard to fit in. The only person she can talk to is her kindly, young, handsome Art teacher, Rax. She and Rax bond over art lessons, and soon he asks to babysit for his young children while he and his wife have a night out on a Friday. This becomes a regular 'date' and Prue can't wait for the ten minutes they have along together as he drives her home. As her feelings for Rax develop, she begins to realise that perhaps he feels the same way about her. But he can't act upon them, can he? An absorbing portrait of a forbidden relationship for teenage readers from the mega bestselling Jacqueline Wilson.

In Heroes, Robert Cormier explores the nature of heroism through a young and tragic life.Francis Cassavant returns from World War II to seek revenge on his childhood hero. He lost his face in France when he fell on a grenade, earning the Silver Star for Bravery. His hero also holds the Silver Star for Bravery--but do either deserve it? Examine the nature of heroism in the latest powerful novel from Robert Cormier.From the Hardcover edition.

Angela, Zoe and Maddie are finally seniors and ready for the great year they deserve. After two years of fighting, experimentation and some hilarious stories, they are prepared to enjoy the fruits of seniority - even though being top dogs at school means thinking about college, sex and even the impending end of their inseparable trio.

Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She's for sure going to Stanford. But she s a disaster in romance, and her botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she s applied to everything else in her life.

Leo Zikos should be celebrating securing a perfectly convenient fiancee, but it's left him cold. Instead it's stranger Grace Donovan's impeccable beauty that fires his blood. So he decides to pursue one last night of freedom. But that night and the two little blue lines on the pregnancy test that follow blow Leo's plans apart. Now he must break with his fiancee and marry Grace. She might resist marrying a man she barely knows, but Leo will claim his legacy and has all the riches and influence he needs to ensure his demands are met!

Felix Ever After is a young adult novel written by Kacen Callender and published in 2020 by Balzer + Bray. The story is narrated by a Black trans teen as he grapples "with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time". Time named Felix Ever After one of "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time" alongside Catcher in the Rye, The Outsiders, and others.

Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves from New York City to Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, who has twelve children, including two boys who start to show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly. Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves in with her mother's best friend, who has 12 children, including two boys who show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly. The plot contains profanity.

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone. Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

"Book Two of the After series--the Internet sensation with millions of readers. Tessa didn't plan on meeting H. during her freshman year of college. But now that she has, her life will never be the same"--

When it first gets announced, the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto-miracle cure-alls don't tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. Aaron can't forget how he's grown up poor, how his friends all seem to shrug him off, and how his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. He has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it's not enough. Then Thomas shows up. He doesn't mind Aaron's obsession over the Scorpius Hawthorne books and has a sweet movie set-up on his roof. There are nicknames. Aaron's not only able to be himself, but happiness feels easy with Thomas. The love Aaron discovers may cost him what's left of his life, but since Aaron can't suddenly stop being gay Leteo may be the only way out.

After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day. Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. Not only that but Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways. How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?

An Instant New York Times Bestseller! From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing—with a special bonus chapter! Under One Roof An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone. Stuck with You A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator. Below Zero A NASA aerospace engineer's frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

A desperate quest for revenge. Tallpaw is a loyal WindClan apprentice who is eager to protect his Clan. But before Tallpaw can complete his apprentice training, a tragic incident leaves his father dead—and Tallpaw is consumed by a burning desire for vengeance. Even as he earns his warrior name, Talltail, he cannot see past the anger in his heart. Though it goes against everything he has been taught, Talltail puts his loyalty to WindClan aside and travels far from home in search of justice for his father. But Talltail's new life outside the laws of the warrior code is filled with danger... and he is forced to decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for revenge. ---------- **Books in this arc** 1. [Firestar's Quest][1] 2. [Bluestar's Prophecy][2] 3. [SkyClan's Destiny][3] 4. [Crookedstar's Promise][4] 5. [Yellowfang's Secret][5] 6. Tallstar's Revenge 7. [Bramblestar's Storm][7] 8. [Moth Flight's Vision][8] 9. [Hawkwing's Journey][9] 10. [Tigerheart's Shadow][10] 11. [Crowfeather's Trial][11] 12. [Squirrelflight's Hope][12] 13. [Graystripe's Vow][13] 14. [Leopardstar's Honor][14]

A Maiden… Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers. A Duty… The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden. A Kingdom… Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next. As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing. With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.

Destined For Greatness... Four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest for generations, thriving in their territories. But tensions are running high, and ThunderClan must assert its strength or risk falling prey to its power-hungry neighbors. Into this time of uncertainty, a kit is born. A prophecy foretells that Bluekit will be as strong as fire, destined to blaze through the ranks of her Clan. But with this prophecy comes the foreshadowing of her destruction by the one enemy she cannot outrun. As Bluekit gains power and eventually earns her leader name, Bluestar, she fights to protect her Clan. But secrets from the past threaten to surface - secrets that may destroy ThunderClan... and Bluestar. ---------- **Books in this arc** 1. [Firestar's Quest][1] 2. Bluestar's Prophecy 3. [SkyClan's Destiny][3] 4. [Crookedstar's Promise][4] 5. [Yellowfang's Secret][5] 6. [Tallstar's Revenge][6] 7. [Bramblestar's Storm][7] 8. [Moth Flight's Vision][8] 9. [Hawkwing's Journey][9] 10. [Tigerheart's Shadow][10] 11. [Crowfeather's Trial][11] 12. [Squirrelflight's Hope][12] 13. [Graystripe's Vow][13] 14. [Leopardstar's Honor][14]

When Dimple Met Rishi meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this rom com about two teen girls with rival henna businesses. When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends -- the Liars -- whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. - Publisher.

Three girls, One Chatroom, a lot of drama.

Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn't always free.

It s 2002, a year after 9/11, and Shirin has just started at yet another school. It s an extremely turbulent time for the world, but especially for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year old Muslim girl who s tired of being stereotyped. But then she meets Ocean James. He s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin.