Book picks similar to
Hush Puppy by Lisa Cresswell


young-adult
interracial
interracial-romance
romance

My Heart for Yours


Steph Campbell - 2012
    A bargain, a trade, a deal to be struck. A kiss for a kiss. Your shirt for mine. Break my heart, I'll break yours. Their disastrous split was no different. Tobin's spent the last year pretending Delia never existed, and Delia's been in D.C., pretending to be anything but the country girl that she is. When tragedy brings her back to town, Tobin and Delia realize that time apart hasn't healed either one of them. But staying away from each other is harder than they imagined, especially in small town Louisiana, and old feelings are quickly brought back to the surface. In the mess they've created, is there anything to be salvaged of a love that they both thought would be forever?

Bad Girls Never Say Die


Jennifer Mathieu - 2021
    Houston, Texas. Evie Barnes is a bad girl. So are all her friends. They’re the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud, and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own against the world. So when Evie is saved from a sinister encounter by a good girl from the "right" side of the tracks, every rule she's always lived by is called into question. Now she must redefine what it means to be a bad girl and rethink everything she knew about loyalty. In this riveting story of murder, secrets, and tragedy, Jennifer Mathieu puts a female twist on S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders. Bad Girls Never Say Die has all the drama and heartache of that teen classic, but with a feminist take just right for our times.

Deeper We Fall


Chelsea M. Cameron - 2013
    Ready to move on. Ready to start forgetting the night that ripped her life apart. Her plans come to a screeching halt when not one, but both brothers responsible for the accident end up back in her life again. Zack is cruel, selfish and constantly rubbing what happened to her friend in Lottie's face. Zan is different. He listens to her awkward ramblings. He loves To Kill a Mockingbird as much as she does, and his dark eyes are irresistible. His words are few and far between, but when he does speak, she can't help but listen. The trouble is, Zan was the driver in the accident, and now Lottie's discovered he lied to her about what happened that night. Now she must decide if trusting him again will lead to real forgiveness, or deeper heartache.

Just Listen


Sarah Dessen - 2006
    Until she meets Owen Armstrong.Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

Exit Here.


Jason Myers - 2007
     Travis is back from college for the summer, and he's just starting to settle in to the usual pattern at home: drinking, drugging, watching porn, and hooking up. But Travis isn't settling in like he used to; something isn't right. Maybe it's that deadly debauch in Hawaii, the memories of which Travis can't quite shake. Maybe it's Laura, Travis's ex, who reappears on the scene after a messy breakup and seems to want to get together -- or not. Or maybe it's his suddenly sensing how empty and messed up his life is, and wanting out. But once you're at the party, it's tough to leave...

Roman and Jewel


Dana L. Davis - 2021
    But her hopes are crushed when she learns mega-star Cinny won the lead...and Jerzie is her understudy.Falling for male lead Zeppelin Reid is a terrible idea--especially once Jerzie learns Cinny wants him for herself. Star-crossed love always ends badly. But when a video of Jerzie and Zepp practicing goes viral and the entire world weighs in on who should play Jewel, Jerzie learns that while the price of fame is high, friendship, family, and love are priceless.

Streetlights Like Fireworks


David Pandolfe - 2014
    That’s just their first date.Jack has been getting on his parents’ nerves for some time. Bad enough he’s a rock musician, has crappy grades and hangs out with his “loser” friends. But Jack’s ability to predict the future — well, that just annoys the hell out of them.Jack’s classmate, Lauren, is said to have unique abilities too. The town still talks about when she kept badgering her mother about the money in their wall. For the longest time, Lauren’s mother didn’t listen. Finally, she did and she hasn’t had to work since. Jack would really like to connect with Lauren but can’t figure out how. She’s never looked at him twice. But when he experiences a mystifying event involving visions, voices and spectral visits, Jack figures there’s only one person to help him understand who’s calling out to him and why. Before long, Jack and Lauren are off on a road trip of discovery that could provide answers to a mystery left unsolved for twenty years. More importantly, they might even unravel the greatest mystery of all — how every so often someone will accept you for who you are.

The Truth About Us


Janet Gurtler - 2015
    Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen.The truth is she wishes she was the care-free party-girl everyone thinks she is.She pretends it's all fine. That her "perfect" family is fine. But it's not. And no one notices the lie...until she meets Flynn. He's the only one who really sees her. The only one who listens.The truth is that Jess is falling apart – and no one seems to care. But Flynn is the definition of "the wrong side of the tracks." When Jess's parents look at him they only see the differences-not how much they need each other. They don't get that the person who shouldn't fit in your world... might just be the one to make you feel like you belong.

If Birds Fly Back


Carlie Sorosiak - 2017
    But the one thing he can’t figure out is the identity of his birth father. They’ve never met, but Linny and Sebastian have one thing in common: an obsession with famous novelist and filmmaker Alvaro Herrera, who went missing three years ago and has just reappeared. As they learn more about the mystery of Alvaro, Linny and Sebastian uncover the answers they’ve been searching for.

Meeting of the Waters


Kim McLarin - 2001
    Porter Stockman, a smart and talented white reporter, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time on the day a jury acquits four Los Angeles police officers of assaulting Rodney King.

Perfectly Flawed


Nessa Morgan - 2013
    I had friends that loved me, an aunt who adored me, and everything was just okay.But what I thought was okay and fine, all of that changed.The nightmares, well, they started again, throwing me into a pit I couldn't climb out of, the people at school were spreading and starting rumors faster than I could hear them myself, and I was remembering...I was remembering everything.Well, almost everything. Some things wouldn't come to mind, like why he did it. Why my father killed them, why he tried to kill me? It's not there. Nowhere near my memory.But I'm determined to find out.My name is Joey and this is my story.Joey Archembault is the typical sixteen-year old Junior. She's an overachiever by nature, in her school orchestra, and spends most of her time either doing homework or hanging with the boy next door.Well, typical wouldn't be the word most would use with her. Freak, psycho, that's more what's heard around the school. She can't help it - it's not her fault her father killed her mother, brother, and sister nine years ago. Oh, and he tried to kill her as well, she has the scars to prove it. Joey tries to move on as best she can. It's easy when she can't remember anything about that night or her life before.One day, the self-proclaimed heartthrob asks her out. She knows she should tell him no, but when that doesn't work, and he tricks her into a date by serenading her - twice - things go south, she calls her best friend Zephyr to pick her up, and she once again tries to move on. But it triggers something inside her. It unlocks a vault she never knew existed within her and she can't stop the memories or the feelings, nor can she even begin to decipher what happened to her years ago. Soon, the puzzle begins to piece together and she begins to understand what really happened that night and why she's alone. Couple that with a blooming relationship with the boy next door and it's all a recipe for destruction.

Smart Girls Get What They Want


Sarah Strohmeyer - 2012
    Even if they aren't the most popular girls in school, they aren't too worried. They know their real lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents)! But when an unexpected event shows them they're missing out on the full high school experience, it's time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge—and they will totally rock it.Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she'll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want—but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for. . . .

Blue Notes: A Book Club Recommendation!


Carrie Lofty - 2014
    Stephens, a sizzling new adult novel featuring the tumultuous relationship between a young piano prodigy and a reluctant billionaire playboy—set against the vibrant backdrop of a New Orleans college campus.After being bounced from foster family to foster family, Keeley, a talented pianist, is ready to start over as a junior at Tulane. But when she plays a small concert that attracts the attention of Jude, a brooding playboy and heir to an enormous fortune in the wake of his parents’ tragic death, suddenly Keeley’s life is thrown off balance once again.Jude is the first person to confront her about the pain behind her music, and she struggles with whether or not to let him into her life, or to keep protecting herself from the hurt that relationships have caused her in the past. But Keeley’s about to learn that the melancholy young billionaire who appears to have everything he wants can open her eyes to exactly what she needs…

Faking Perfect


Rebecca Phillips - 2015
    Avoid her at school.2. Keep his mouth shut about what they do together.3. Never tease her about her friend (and unrequited crush) Ben.Because with his integrity and values and golden boy looks, Ben can never find out about what she’s been doing behind closed doors with Tyler. Or that her mom’s too busy drinking and chasing losers to pay the bills. Or that Lexi’s dad hasn’t been a part of her life for the last thirteen years. But with Tyler suddenly breaking the rules, Ben asking her out, and her dad back in the picture, how long will she be able to go on faking perfect?

17 First Kisses


Rachael Allen - 2014
    Someone who wouldn’t rather date her gorgeous best friend, Megan. Someone who won’t freak out when he learns about the tragedy her family still hasn’t recovered from. Someone whose kisses can carry her away from her backwoods town for one fleeting moment.Until Claire meets Luke.But Megan is falling for Luke, too, and if there’s one thing Claire knows for sure, it’s that Megan’s pretty much irresistible.With true love and best friendship on the line, Claire suddenly has everything to lose. And what she learns—about her crush, her friends, and most of all herself—makes the choices even harder.In her moving debut, Rachael Allen brilliantly captures the complexities of friendship, the struggles of self-discovery, and the difficulties of trying to find love in high school. Fans of Sarah Ockler, Susane Colasanti, and Stephanie Perkins will fall head over heels for this addictive, heartfelt, and often hilarious modern love story.