Book picks similar to
Precious Things by Stephanie Parent
new-adult
contemporary
music
contemporary-romance
I Have Lost My Way
Gayle Forman - 2018
After the three of them collide in Central Park, they slowly reveal the parts of their past that they haven't been able to confront, and together, they find their way back to who they're supposed to be.Told over the course of a single day from three different perspectives, Gayle Forman's newest novel about the power of friendship and being true to who you are is filled with the elegant prose that her fans have come to know and love.
Are You Mine?
N.K. Smith - 2013
With only one good friend to her name, she has navigated the complicated halls of high school and is now faced with the timeless question: Now what?Fox Harrington, a fun-loving, socially charismatic graffiti artist uses his passions to color his world exactly how he wants it. He knows exactly where his life is headed. That is, until he meets Saige.A summer project links the two together, making a tentative friendship bloom into romance, but despite their affection for each other, fundamental beliefs and ways of thinking threaten to destroy all they have built.In this tender story of young love, N.K. Smith delivers a striking tale of two people standing on the precipice of adult life.
Defect
Ryann Kerekes - 2013
They can. After failing the mindscan procedure that predicts future crime, she’s deemed a Defect and subjected to endless psychological and physical testing as the government tries to determine what’s different about her. The one bright spot is military guard, Will. He’s gentle with her when no one’s watching and suppresses a smile whenever she defies their challenges. Will’s lessons begin to dance dangerously close to knowledge she shouldn’t possess, like what’s beyond the fenced compound. Though it’s forbidden and Will would be killed on the spot if they’re discovered, they steal away moments together. With her very life on the line, Eve has to decide if she can trust the guard she’s falling for.DEFECT, young adult romance takes place in the near-future. It is a survivalist love story.
Following Me
K.A. Linde - 2013
Linde…I didn’t have a game plan when I decided to leave St. Louis on a Chicago-bound train for the summer.Just a reason. One I couldn’t share with anyone.Not Hadley, my best friend from college, who lets me stay in the guest bedroom with no questions asked. Or Hadley’s boyfriend Garrett who befriends me when I have no one else to turn to. Or Brennan, the local bartender, who I find myself falling head over heels for. Desperate to hide, I’m plunged into a new life in the city. Everyone around me starts to reveal sides of themselves I never expected.And just when I start to get comfortable, I find that my past just won’t stop…following me.
Fall Out Girl
L. Duarte - 2015
(Luna)Imagine a popular boy: Him. (Caleb)Sound like the characters of a cliché story, right? Here, hold my hand. Come away with me. I’ll tell you my story, and you’ll decide. But I have a warning: Proceed at your own risk. Since it’s a snippet of my life, I’m one of the main characters. And to put it lightly, I’m not the most likable person in the world, cue the earned label. Also, unlike fairy tales, my story is real with a dash of sorrow and loss. How do I start? Once upon a time…? Shoot me now, please. The beginning? No, too boring.Well, let’s start with the catalytic moment that set in motion a chain of events that changed my life, yet again.As for a happily ever after? Sorry, no spoilers here. You’re going to have to figure that one out on your own. After you read my tale, it becomes yours, and as such, you’re entitled to your interpretation.So, off we go! Fasten your seat belts. This ride may get bumpy.
Reflection
Jessica Roberts - 2012
Rising above her rocky childhood, she’s found a place where good things are finally starting to happen: her own private apartment, refreshing college classes, and an intense attachment to a mysterious and rugged classmate, Nick Richards. But when her dreamy college life turns out to be nothing more than a wonderful dream while resting in a coma, questions threaten. Now, Heather must press forward to unlock the real past, and find the answers buried deep in her mind. What she unlocks instead is a roller coaster ride through flashbacks, embellished memories, and a whirlwind romance.And when it’s all over and she comes face to face with the truth, will she lose everything she’s fallen in love with?
Never Stop Falling
Ashley Drew - 2016
Whether she's skydiving out of an airplane, or setting off on the road to anywhere, she's ready to dive into the next adventure. That is, if best friend and always-by-the-book Nicholas Kelley doesn't put his foot down on her wild stunts first.When Corinne gives in to her growing feelings for Nicholas the summer before their freshman year of college, she takes the ultimate risk, making this one adventure he has longed to explore with her.But the moment they take that irrevocable leap, a shocking revelation blindsides Corinne, exposing her vulnerabilities, baring her fears, and shattering her beliefs about love. With their future—and most importantly, their friendship—now clouded in doubt, she must decide if love is really worth the risk. Because when it comes to love, you never stop falling.
Heart of Marley
T.K. Leigh - 2014
Having trouble coping with the loss of her soul mate, their mother tries to find comfort in drugs and alcohol… And an abusive man with a penchant for underage girls.No longer able to stand listening to his sister’s screams and cries every night for nearly three years, Cam takes matters into his own hands and they’re finally able to escape the nightmare.They’re finally able to start over…But the nightmare still haunts Marley. The years go on and she is forced to put on a smile, making everyone think that she is the perfect, well-adjusted teenager that she is supposed to be… Until she is faced with a painful reminder of her past during her senior year of high school and she’s no longer able to keep on the mask that she has been compelled to wear.Heart Of Marley is a prequel novel to T.K. Leigh’s Heart of Light.
Don't Kiss the Bride
Carian Cole - 2021
He was my own personal hero who seemed to be in all the right places at the right times. Like when my car broke down and I needed a ride home, and when I face planted on the sidewalk right in front of him and had to be taken to the emergency room.Those weren’t exactly my best moments, but they were his. We became friends, and it didn’t matter that he was sixteen years older than me. We had a lot in common—like our love of old rock music and vintage fast cars, and our aversion to relationships.When he approached me with a crazy idea to help me out, I couldn’t say no.The arrangement was supposed to be temporary. A marriage on paper and nothing else.It should’ve been easy, but it wasn’t.Because here I am, eighteen years-old, still in high school, and married to a man I was never supposed to fall in love with.We had just one rule—no kissing the bride.But we broke that rule, and it sealed our fate forever.
Drowning
Rachel Firasek - 2013
She's a party girl that doesn't believe in love until she meets a man that only writes about it.Seth James escaped his overbearing father and moved into one of the James family's vacant condos, hoping to create the music he loves in peace. But the fragile calm he's envisioned shatters when a tiny woman with a world full of energy bounces out of the elevator and nearly takes him out.With the patience of a saint, Seth seeks the dark that keeps Alice from enjoying life. He challenges her to exorcise the demons in her past in order to discover the true meaning of love. But when the walls fall down, the hidden deceptions will bare the ugly truth about a woman drowning in sorrow and a man who may not know how to be her hero.
All the Right Moves
Ever Leigh - 2013
Convinced she needs a bit of a challenge and change of pace in her life, she moves away for college and embarks on a new journey of self-discovery.A college town, new friends, and a new romance with a mysterious older guy that may prove to be an even bigger challenge then she bargained for!Note: Not suitable for younger readers. Contains mature content including sexual situations.
Dreamology
Lucy Keating - 2016
Together, they have travelled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. Real Max is nothing like Dream Max. He’s stubborn and complicated. And he has a whole life Alice isn’t a part of. Getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.Alarmingly, when their dreams start to bleed into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?
A Toast to the Good Times
Steph Campbell - 2012
When Landry’s present and near past collide, it only further complicates things.Landry thought he was leaving all of his problems behind when he left his family in New Jersey. But he comes home to find out that problems, like family, never go away. And sometimes facing the past with the help of someone who’s fearless about the future is the only way to move on.Cheers?
Last Will and Testament
Dahlia Adler - 2014
But all that changes when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, making her guardian to her two younger brothers. To keep them out of foster care, she'll have to fix up her image, her life, and her GPA—fast. Too bad the only person on campus she can go to for help is her humorless, pedantic Byzantine History TA, Connor Lawson, who isn't exactly Lizzie's biggest fan.But Connor surprises her. Not only is he a great tutor, but he’s also a pretty great babysitter. And chauffeur. And listener. And he understands exactly what it’s like to be on your own before you're ready. Before long, Lizzie realizes having a responsible-adult type around has its perks... and that she'd like to do some rather irresponsible (but considerably adult) things with him as well. Good thing he's not the kind of guy who'd ever reciprocate.Until he does.Until they turn into far more than teacher and student.Until the relationship that helped put their lives back together threatens everything they both have left.
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.