Book picks similar to
Knotted Roots by Ruthi Kight


young-adult
romance
coming-of-age
ya

The Boy Next Door


Katie Van Ark - 2015
    As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls. Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared?

Trouble


Non Pratt - 2014
    The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love.

Starry Eyes


Jenn Bennett - 2018
    It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern-day Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.What could go wrong?With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?

When You Get the Chance


Emma Lord - 2022
    Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

The Library of Lost Things


Laura Taylor Namey - 2019
    There, she can avoid the crushing reality of her mother’s hoarding and pretend her life is simply ordinary. But when a new property manager becomes more active in the upkeep of their apartment complex, the only home Darcy has ever known outside of her books suddenly hangs in the balance.While Darcy is struggling to survive beneath the weight of her mother’s compulsive shopping, Asher Fleet, a former teen pilot with an unexpectedly shattered future, walks into the bookstore where she works…and straight into her heart. For the first time in her life, Darcy can’t seem to find the right words. Fairy tales are one thing, but real love makes her want to hide inside her carefully constructed ink-and-paper bomb shelter.Still, after spending her whole life keeping people out, something about Asher makes Darcy want to open up. But securing her own happily-ever-after will mean she’ll need to stop hiding and start living her own truth—even if it’s messy.

Fall for Me


Heather Slade - 2017
    When his plane was shot down months later, right before the birth of their daughter, Liv’s world shattered. She returned to her parents’ isolated ranch in Colorado to raise her daughter alone. One year led into the next, and before she knew it, her daughter was grown and gone—leaving Liv bored and cranky. She finds herself spending too much time on social media feeds, cyber-stalking the hot guitar player she met at a concert over the summer.Ben Rice recognized her as soon as he saw her sitting at the bar. Liv, that was her name, and fate kept bringing them together. The first time he saw her, after his band CB Rice opened at Red Rocks, he watched her. She loved music—and she felt it. Not everyone did. She danced, she laughed, she smiled, she lived. That was why he remembered her name when he introduced himself at the end of the show. “I’m Liv,” she’d said. And he was ready to. He’d endured too many struggles in the last few years. He’d worked hard to keep the band going, and he wasn’t going to give up. With a new record about to be released, this was their year—he could feel it. Used to getting what he wants, Ben pursued the reluctant Liv. But knowing he wanted more from her than she was willing to give, she told him following a man around the globe wasn’t in the stars for her. Been there, done that, retired the t-shirt. She had her own stars to chase this time.When those stars fall around her feet, and Ben refuses to let her sweep them up alone, how could a girl not love him? And when she does, how can she let him go? A better question is how can she ask him to stay when she sees how bright his future could be without her?This is book can be read as a standalone with no cliffhanger.

It Takes Two


Lily Zante - 2015
    She loves her husband very much.But something's missing. The sparkle, the fairy dust, the magic.Her life can't all be about dirty laundry and diapers. Can it?Rona Fernández left Verona with a clutch of happy memories. Her late night and frequent visits to the charming Gioberti's restaurant had raised some eyebrows but nobody was overly suspicious of why she would go alone each evening.Not even her husband.But back in Denver discontent soon pushes its way back into Rona's world and life soon pales in comparison to the memories of heady nights in Italy.Married and still looking hot despite a baby and almost seven years of marriage, Rona prides herself on looking good and getting noticed.It's just a shame that her hard-working husband is too busy working to pay her much attention.So when her sister asks for her help, back in Verona, how can she refuse?Especially when Gioberti's restaurant and its intriguing customers provide a pull for her that she finds hard to ignore.After all, a harmless flirtation every now and then isn't such a bad thing. As long it stays that way.But what happens when reality doesn't live up to expectations? Will it be too late to realize that what she had all along was far more precious than the things she thought she wanted?Maybe winning her husband back will be the hardest thing of all.Rona's story, is the first in the Italian Summer Series. It is a standalone story with a HEA and contains no cheating or cliffhangers.

Last Year's Mistake


Gina Ciocca - 2015
    Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke and everything around her crumbled - including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey’s parents decided to move away, she couldn’t wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...After:Now it’s senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David’s family relocates to the same town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey’s second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never let him go. And that maybe she never wants to.

Say Yes Summer


Lindsey Roth Culli - 2020
    And it's all paid off--after years of following the rules and acing every exam, Rachel is graduating at the top of her class and ready to celebrate by . . . doing absolutely nothing. Because Rachel Brooks has spent most of high school saying no. No to dances, no to parties, and most especially, no to boys.Now, for the first time in her life, there's nothing stopping Rachel from having a little fun--nothing, that is, except herself. So when she stumbles on a beat up old self-help book--A SEASON OF YES!--a crazy idea pops into her head: What if she just said yes to . . . everything?And so begins a summer of yes. Yes to new experiences and big mistakes, yes to rekindled friendships and unexpected romances, yes to seeing the world in a whole new way. This book is a fresh and fun take on the coming-of-age novel that explores the quintessential themes of growing up: taking risks, making mistakes, and, of course, love. And who knows? Lindsey Roth Culli's hilarious and heartwarming debut may just inspire your own SAY YES SUMMER.

Chasing Spring


R.S. Grey - 2016
    I didn't belong in the small town, but my dad wouldn't listen. He dragged me back home in his beat-up truck and dropped a bomb along the way: Chase Matthews was moving in with us. He was the golden boy of my high school, my former best friend, and the last person I wanted sleeping across the hall. His presence was too great a reminder of the ghosts I was trying to forget.I didn't ask for a hero. I don't want to be saved.To me, Lilah Calloway meant late nights sneakin'; out, moonlit hair, and sparklers in July. She was my best friend until the day she left and I'd assumed Blackwater had seen the last of her. Then, like a tempest, she rolled back into town for the final half of senior year. The chopped hair and dark devil-may-care attitude warned most people away, but I knew if I fought hard enough, I could find the lost girl.I didn't want to be her hero. Some girls don't need to be saved.

The Sweetest Thing


Barbara Freethy - 1999
    A touch of mysticism adds an extra layer to this story of love and family. Alone in the world, Faith Christopher had always yearned for love ... and a man who'd make her heart pound. But her dreams of a place to call home were getting harder to hold on to ... Alex Carrigan liked fast cars, fast women and fast deals - then a tough-talking teenager arrived on his doorstep claiming she was his long-lost daughter, and his meddling grandfather decided to move in. Suddenly, Alex has to face the family he never expected. Enter Faith. Little did the outspoken and beautiful baker know that deep inside Alex was a well of tenderness ... and that she might have the recipe to bring him true love - the sweetest thing life has to offer.

A Flirtationship


love-o-holic12babe - 2013
    I like my best friend. Oh, and he has a girlfriend.” Scarlett has been best friends with Aiden for a very long time. She's almost like a sister to him. Problem is, Scarlett does not see him as a brother at all; far from it, in fact. Her traitor of a heart loves him--yes, as more than a friend. They are polar opposites. She's always been awkward when it comes to anything social, while Aiden, the life of the party, has girls falling at his feet. He is so effortlessly likable. Scarlett can't even hope to compete with all the other girls. Worst, Aiden has a girlfriend: Perfect Hailey. He is crazy about her. While there is Scarlett, always just his best friend. But there are times when she can feel something brewing between them, something more. Will she gather enough courage to confess her feelings to Aiden, to tell him he's more than just a best friend to her? Or will she shove her feelings right down the drain? Or will that something she feels between them, prove to be something she dare not hope it to be: something else, something more, something special? A Flirtationship will draw you into the intricate tapestry of confessions, betrayals, friendship, and love. Give their story the chance it deserves. Buy your copy now! You won’t regret it.

The Accidentals


Sarina Bowen - 2018
     Never ask a question unless you’re sure you want the truth. I’ve been listening to my father sing for my whole life. I carry him in my pocket on my mp3 player. It’s just that we’ve never met face to face. My mother would never tell me how I came to be, or why my rock star father and I have never met. I thought it was her only secret. I was wrong. When she dies, he finally appears. Suddenly I have a first class ticket into my father’s exclusive world. A world I don’t want any part of – not at this cost.  Only three things keep me going: my a cappella singing group, a swoony blue-eyed boy named Jake, and the burning questions in my soul.
 There’s a secret shame that comes from being an unwanted child. It drags me down, and puts distance between me and the boy I love. My father is the only one alive who knows my history. I need the truth, even if it scares me.

The Season


Jonah Lisa Dyer - 2016
    So when her Southern belle mother secretly enters her in the 2016 Dallas debutante season, she’s furious—and has no idea what she’s in for. When Megan’s attitude gets her on probation with the mother hen of the debs, she’s got a month to prove she can ballroom dance, display impeccable manners, and curtsey like a proper Texas lady or she’ll get the boot and disgrace her family. The perk of being a debutante, of course, is going to parties, and it’s at one of these lavish affairs where Megan gets swept off her feet by the debonair and down-to-earth Hank Waterhouse. If only she didn’t have to contend with a backstabbing blonde and her handsome but surly billionaire boyfriend, Megan thinks, being a deb might not be so bad after all. But that’s before she humiliates herself in front of a room full of ten-year-olds, becomes embroiled in a media-frenzy scandal, and gets punched in the face by another girl.The season has officially begun…but the drama is just getting started.

Him


Carey Heywood - 2013
    She thought she could stay away forever. If it wasn’t for her big brother's wedding, that is. Part of her even feels silly for staying away this long. It's not like anyone even knew what happened. Well, except for him.That guy. The one she compared all others to. The one who set the bar so high no other guy after him could even compete. The one who made her feel like anything was possible. The one she thought she would never be good enough for. The one she spent the last seven years trying to forget.All she needs to do is make it through the next week without running into him.