Book picks similar to
The Shy Girl and the Football Star by Julia Keanini
young-adult
romance
contemporary
high-school
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.
Home is Where You Are
Tessa Marie - 2014
Get good grades, get into a good college, be successful. Falling in love with a homeless boy? Not exactly on her list.Dean has a plan too. Survive. After a difficult childhood, he now lives on the streets doing everything he can to get by. When he meets Anna, he realizes he doesn't have to do everything alone.Slowly, Anna and Dean let each other in, blending their two worlds into one. But, when a series of events brings Dean’s world into perspective, he pushes Anna away, causing Anna to set out to bring Dean back to her. But her determination and faith in their future puts her on the tracks of danger. Can he be the one to bring her home?
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.
Something Like Fate
Susane Colasanti - 2010
One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.How long can Lani keep running from the boy who might be her destiny?
Icing on the Lake
Catherine Clark - 2005
Survive the month at my sister's house. Survive my 3-yr-old nephew and crazy sister.2. Learn to ice skate better. Or not fall down. Or just get a cuter skating outfit.3. Find hockey-playing, winter-loving hottie. and invite him to the weekend cabin trip (aka "groundhog getaway") with everyone.Oh, sure. No problem.
The Accidental Movie Star
Emily Evans - 2012
Do you see the girl next to him, the one handing him a cup of coffee? Yeah. That’s her.Interning on a major motion picture is not all bad. She gets to watch some of the scenes and even offer her opinion. “That kiss looked lame. Laughably weak. There’s no chance at an MTV award with that kiss.” LOL. Until the director says, “Hey, Intern. Yeah, you. Ashley. You’re right. So, teach Caspian how to kiss. Oh, and get in front of the camera. We're going to need you in this next shot."OMG.
Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend
Cassie Mae - 2013
It’s even worse to enlist another’s help to win the ex over. But Brody is desperate and Hayley, his partner in American Sign Language, is more than willing to lend him a few tips. She’s the school’s matchmaker,’ and with her bizarre and positive personality, Brody finds her easy to talk to, even about the most awkward situations. Hayley’s tips seem to be working, but as Brody learns more about his matchmaker, he starts finding reasons to spend time with her, and not the girl he thought he was in love with. But Hayley isn’t ready to fall for anyone. Labeled the “Funny Fat Friend” within her group, her self image makes it impossible for Brody to share his feelings without Hayley shrugging it off as a joke. Convincing her Brody can, and did, fall for the “Funny Fat Friend” turns out to be harder than simply falling in love.Written by Cassie Mae under the pen name Becca Ann.
Accidentally Perfect
Elizabeth Stevens - 2018
But, so sue me, I do. I keep it hidden, pretend everything’s okay. Because who would believe Piper Barlow could have issues?Everyone’s convinced the hottest guy in school’s going to ask me out - that Mason and I would be the perfect couple, that he’s my John Cusack. Except, he hasn’t.One holidays, I find myself hanging out with the resident underachiever, and he surprises me. With Roman, I don’t have to pretend that little Piper Barlow is perfect; even if we’re both in a foul mood, just sitting in silence together is perfectly enough. Until it becomes more.But, Roman doesn’t do more. Does he...?What do you do when you accidentally find perfection with the wrong guy?You fight for it.Accidentally Perfect is a Mature YA novel about finding support in the least likely of places, never giving up, and learning that being the real you is always perfect. Please be aware that this story is set in Australia and therefore uses Australian English spelling and syntax. Not recommended for younger readers due to mature content.
Chasing Forever Down
Nikki Chartier - 2013
Instead, she finds a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules and chases his own dreams, and he's definitely cute enough to disappear with for the night. Convinced that he can help her escape the perfectly corporate future that's been planned for her, Haley agrees to meet him the next day. However, Mr. Mysterious is a no show.Determined to track him down, Haley enlists her best friend Linzi to help, but according to the local newspapers, the guy she met has been dead for years. Knowing he's very much alive, Haley and Linzi follow clues on a scavenger-hunt-style road trip that ultimately lands them in the surf town of Crescent Cove, California, where her mystery guy is no mystery at all. He's living as Colby Taylor, the west coast's biggest professional surfer.But talking to the surf star again is nearly impossible when he's guarded by a hierarchy of beach bums who are determined to send Haley back to the east coast. Haley is up for the challenge of submerging herself in their world, from wild summer nights and beach parties to ocean air and secret kisses in the dark, but when the lines blur between the ocean and the shore, she isn't so sure she's here for Colby anymore. Sure, being thrown off a jet ski sucks, but falling in love with one of these California boys might just be worse.(This is book #1 of the Drenaline Surf series but can be read as a stand-alone novel.)
Sing Me to Sleep
Angela Morrison - 2010
Even if you were once The Beast, you can become The Beauty. One boy can awaken the music inside of you and make your voice sing out. And then, one terrible secret can take it all away. But as Beth discovers in this tragic, award-winning tale from the author of TAKEN BY STORM, no matter how painful love is, it's worth it. Brand new ebook. First-time ever published with the original Epilogue!
Love? Maybe
Heather Hepler - 2012
In fact, after watching her father and then her stepfather leave, she's pretty sure she doesn't believe in love at all. Then her friends concoct a plan to find them all Valentine's dates, and somehow Piper finds herself with the most popular guy in school. But true love never follows a plan, and a string of heartfelt gifts from a secret admirer has Piper wondering if she might be with the wrong guy. In this heartwarming romance, true love is more than a maybe - and it might be closer than you think.
A Matter of Heart
Amy Fellner Dominy - 2015
Now Abby is forced to discover who she is without the one thing that's defined her entire life.
In the Wild Light
Jeff Zentner - 2021
Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He’s been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen.But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind.From the award-winning author of The Serpent King comes a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love.
Thanks for the Trouble
Tommy Wallach - 2016
Was this story written about me?”I shrugged.“Yes or no?”I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow made the girl even more pretty. It brought a bloom to her pale cheeks and made sharp shelves of her cheekbones.“It’s very rude not to answer simple questions,” she said.I gestured for my journal, but she still wouldn’t give it to me. So I took out my pen and wrote I can’t on my palm.Then, in tiny letters below it, I finished the thought: Now don’t you feel like a jerk?Parker Santé hasn’t spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he’ll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for.
Chasing McCree
J.C. Isabella - 2012
The right clothes, the right friends, the right car. Being popular was all that mattered. Her parents were rich and treated like royalty throughout the community. She thought her senior year of high school was going perfectly, until the night her drink was spiked at a party by one of her so called friends. That was the night she met Chase McCree. Chase wanted to go back to Montana. To the ranch and the wild, wide blue sky that went on forever. He wanted nothing to do with flashy cars or spoiled rich kids. But he found himself head over boots for the quirky cheerleader who turned her back on her social status. She befriended him when no one else would. Shunned and hurt by the people who were once her friends, Briar flees with Chase to his family ranch in Montana. There she discovers another world, and apart of herself she never knew. The cowboy wasn’t like anyone she’d ever met. The cheerleader wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met. Apart their lives didn’t seem to make sense, but together, they were chasing forever.