Book picks similar to
Craving by Melanie Marks


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Things We Know by Heart


Jessi Kirby - 2015
    Printz Award winner John Corey Whaley calls it “not just a love story, but one with a ferocious pulse.”After Quinn’s boyfriend, Trent, dies in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the fragments of her now-unrecognizable life. But whoever received Trent’s heart has chosen to remain silent. The essence of a person, Quinn has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then in a way, she will still have a piece of him.Risking everything to get closure once and for all, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas, whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into something more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn’t want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they’re connected—but the time Quinn spends with Colton makes her feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, though, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost . . . and all that remains at stake.Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, this unique and emotional story about an unexpected bond between two strangers will leave no heart untouched.

Playing the Player


Lisa Brown Roberts - 2015
    The PlayerRound one begins...Trina Clemons needed the money. Why else would she - the most organized, prepared student in school - spend the summer as a nanny and partner with the biggest slacker ever? Now she's ready to tackle nannyhood with her big binder of research and schedules. Just don't ask her about the secret job of "fixing" the bad habits of a certain high school player...Slade Edmunds prefers easy hook-ups, and Trina is definitely not his type. She's all structure and rules, while Slade wants to just have fun. Fortunately, Trina has no idea about the bet Slade made with his best friend that he can totally get her to unwind by the end of summer...Then the weirdest thing happens. There's chemistry. A lot of it. But nothing gets between a boy and a girl like a big, fat secret...

The Truth About Faking


Leigh Talbert Moore - 2012
    Harley just wants a date with Trent. Trent's still getting over Stephanie.When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent. Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver


E. Lockhart - 2005
    She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she: lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list), lost her best friend (Kim), lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket), did something suspicious with a boy (#10), did something advanced with a boy (#15), had an argument with a boy (#14), drank her first beer (someone handed it to her), got caught by her mom (ag!), had a panic attack (scary), lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie), failed a math test (she’ll make it up), hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends), became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch) and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!). But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists.

Gossip Girl


Cecily von Ziegesar - 2002
    I’ll be watching closely . . .You know you love me,gossip girl

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?

Purity


Jackson Pearce - 2012
    Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision -- to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac


Gabrielle Zevin - 2007
    She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief." She'd know about her mom's new family. She'd know about her dad's fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn't have wanted to kiss him back.But Naomi picked heads.After her remarkable debut, Gabrielle Zevin has crafted an imaginative second novel all about love and second chances.Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

The Vincent Boys


Abbi Glines - 2011
    Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him.Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever. When Ashton wants to rekindle their childhood friendship in Sawyer’s absence, Beau knows he should say no.Ashton and Beau don’t want to hurt Sawyer. But the more they try to stay away from each other, the more intense their urges become. It’s getting way too hard to resist....

The Summer of Skinny Dipping


Amanda Howells - 2010
    But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything

Welcome To New Haven


Dawn Doyle - 2014
    She doesn't know who is but he seems to look for her.She loses her ability to speak in front of him. So when she finds out he is related to one of her friends, things start to get a little complicated.One day, one of the guys in the group unwittingly causes one of Holly's biggest fears to come to the surface.What follows is a journey to the unknown.Excited, yet nervous, can Holly finally show how she feels?Alex Valencia is the high school 'beef cake'. Girls want him, guys want to be like him, but he's not interested.He just wants a quiet time, to be left alone and enjoy school.That is, until Holly shows up. Never before has he felt the need to be with someone. His days are filled with thoughts of Holly and he finds himself having feelings that he'd never felt before. For any girl. Especially Stacey. She harrasses him and he can't seem to get her to stop. One day, that changes…The high school bitch and slut does something she shouldn't and the events that follow cause some problems.Happy endings are saught but difficulties must be overcome to achieve them. Not just for Holly, but for her friends.Excerpt: Stacey was in his bed, waiting for him. She had the sheet over her but it was evident that she was naked. Her disgusting clothes were all over his floor. Alex started to heave. “Go” said Ben. “I’ll stay here.” Alex ran to the master bathroom and vomited. He could hear Ben shouting at Stacey.“Get out of his bed, you f*****g crazy whore!” he shouted. “I’m waiting for Alex.” She said with venom in her tone. “What the f***?! So you thought you would break into his house and get in his bed?” “Now he can see how much I want him.” She said, as if that made it all ok. “No” said Alex from the doorway, his stomach now empty. “I hate you. I despise everything about you. I can’t even look at you without feeling sick.”“You don’t mean that, baby.” She said, trying to soothe him. “Then why have I just puked my guts up, seeing you there. I’m only standing here now because there’s nothing left inside. Now. Get. Out. Of. My. Bed.” Alex was so angry he could feel his blood boiling in his veins. His jaw hurt from gritting this teeth and his heart was pounding. And, for the first time since meeting Holly, it wasn’t a good thing. “Let’s just talk about it baby.” She said, batting her eyes and holding out a hand. “Don’t you call me that! Don’t you ever call me that! I’m not your f*****g baby!” he almost screamed. He quickly glanced around his room. She’d been through his stuff. His clothes, his drawers.Oh no, no, no! Please no! “Get. Out. Now. And put your skanky clothes back on!” he growled. “But, Alex, I love you!” she pleaded.Alex dry heaved and took a deep breath.

Beatle Meets Destiny


Gabrielle Williams - 2009
    Imagine your name is John Lennon, only everyone calls you Beatle.And then you meet your Dream girl and her name is Destiny McCartney.But what if you're already with the perfect girl?A novel about change, chance and everybody doing the wrong thing.

A Little Bit Haunted


Melody Summers - 2017
    Summer. Ever. My best friend moved away at the end of the school year. Now my family has moved into a house that looks a thousand years old and could pass for the Addams Family's summer home. I'm pretty sure it's haunted, and I'm about to be the star of my own paranormal reality show whether I like it or not. But the worst part is that Walker Dean is my new next door neighbor.Walker Dean is heartbreak just looking for a victim. The boy tears through girls' hearts like a tornado through a trailer park. Sure, he's one of the hottest guys in school, but he's also a player who lives for hookups and doesn't know the meaning of the word relationship. A girl would have to be crazy to even think about getting mixed up with him.Wouldn't she?

Invisible


Cecily Anne Paterson - 2013
    She doesn't make choices. She doesn't make friends. Jazmine Crawford only wants one thing: to be invisible. For Jazmine, it's a lot easier to take out her hearing aid and drift along pretending that nothing's wrong than it is to admit that she's heartbroken. She starts to come out of her shell when she's forced to be in the school play and even makes friends with bouncy Gabby and chocolate-loving Liam. But can she stand up to the school bully, and is she strong enough to face the truth about what really happened to her dad?

Coffeehouse Angel


Suzanne Selfors - 2009
    Malcolm, really a guardian angel on a break between missions, wants to reward Katrina by fulfilling her deepest desire. If only she could decide what that might be . . .