The Boyfriend League


Rachel Hawthorne - 2007
    But this summer she and her best friend have a foolproof plan to change all that. Both of their families will be hosting summer league baseball players—a whole league of potential boyfriends!

North of Beautiful


Justina Chen - 2009
    She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty.

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up


Elizabeth Craft - 2006
    Harper Waddle, Sophie Bushell, and Kate Foster are about to commit the ultimate suburban sin--bailing on college to each pursue their dreams: write the next Great American Novel, make it as a Hollywood actress, and backpack around the world. Middlebury-bound Becca Winsberg is convinced her friends have gone insane...until they remind her she just might have a dream of her own. So what if their lives are bass ackwards and belly up? They'll always have each other. Harper is going to be the next Jane Austen. Or Sylvia Plath. Or Plum Sykes. Figuring out which should be easy. It?s living with the lie she told her three best friends that?s going to be hard.Kate doesn?t know exactly what she wants. But whatever it is, she won?t find it at Harvard. Maybe the answer is in Paris, or Athens? or anywhere Kate can be someone besides the girl with perfect grades, perfect hair, and the perfect boyfriend.Sophie is a star. She?s already got the looks, the talent, and a list of demands for her dressing room. Now that she?s wrangled a furnished guesthouse in Beverly Hills, it?s only a matter of time before she?s discovered. Unless she isn?t.Becca is dysfunctional. At least, her family is. Which is why she can?t wait to flee the drama and get to college. But Becca?s friends know she needs more than a spot on the Middlebury ski team and a cozy dorm room. They know she needs to fall in love.Dreams are complicated. They almost never turn out like you imagine?they almost always change. Sometimes, they change you.

I'll Be Yours


Jenny B. Jones - 2016
    The school’s newest band geek is totally in Harper’s league, yet completely out of this late-bloomer’s reach. Between fitting in with a new family, scoring the first chair in band, and rescuing dogs for the local animal shelter, Harper’s never had the opportunity to hone her dating skills. But even though Harper’s love life is far from perfect, she’s got the perfect plan.Harper knows she’s insane to agree to tutor Ridley Estes, a notorious heartbreaker and the star of her high school’s football team—but in exchange, he’s offered to school her in the game of love. Just when she sees promise with her crush, a football scandal rocks her family, her town, and Ridley’s entire future. Harper suddenly has everything to lose—her family, friends, and even her heart. When the dust of the scandal settles, nothing will be the same. Including the girl who asked the most popular jock to teach her about love.

Summer in the City


Elizabeth Chandler - 2006
    But when she meets irresistible Josh, Jamie realizes she could probably use all the romance advice she can get!Lacrosse camp 9 a.m.–noon (can't be late! "Coach" Josh will freak out)Basketball camp 1:00–4:00 (so many screaming kids. . . )Shopping with Mona 4:30 (finally a break)Date with Andrew 7:30 (he's so perfect. . . isn't he?)

The A-List


Zoey Dean - 2003
    Seventeen-year-old Upper East Side blueblood Anna ("pronounced Aaaanah") Percy is on her way to Beverly Hills, California, where she'll live with her estranged dad for the rest of the school year while her mother travels to Europe with a friend. On the plane, Anna drinks too much champagne and gets hit on by record producer Rick Resnick. Luckily Princeton student Ben Birnbaum is there to save her and he invites Anna to famous actor Jackson Sharpe's wedding, where Anna meets the cast of rich and famous characters who are soon to be her classmates at Beverly Hills High. The fast times of Beverly Hill's most beautiful and glamorous people drive the page-turning action of this juicy new novel.

My Most Excellent Year


Steve Kluger - 2008
    Your letter will be kept in our files and someone will get back to you if there is an opening. Thank you for thinking of me.Respectfully,Alejandra PerezP.S. It's not Allie. It's Ale. Meet T.C., who is valiantly attempting to get Alejandra to fall in love with him; Alejandra, who is playing hard to get and is busy trying to sashay out from under the responsibilities of being a diplomat's daughter; and T.C.'s brother Augie, who is gay and in love and everyone knows it but him.

Derby Girl


Shauna Cross - 2007
    Meet Bliss Cavendar, a blue haired, indie-rock loving misfit stuck in the tiny town of Bodeen, Texas.Her pageant-addicted mother expects her to compete for the coveted Miss Blue Bonnet crown, but Bliss would rather feast on roaches than be subjected to such rhinestone tyranny.Bliss' escape? Take up Roller Derby.When she discovers a league in nearby Austin, Bliss embarks on an epic journey full of hilarious tattooed girls, delicious boys in bands, and a few not-so-awesome realities even the most bad-assed derby chick has to learn.

Take a Bow


Elizabeth Eulberg - 2012
    She writes songs, and Sophie sings them. It's always been like this, and feels like it always will be.Sophie will stop at nothing to be a star. Even if it means using her best friend and picking up a trophy boyfriend, Carter.Carter is a victim of a particular Hollywood curse: He's a former child star. Now all he wants is a normal life. But being normal is about as hard for him as being famous.Ethan has his own issues - a darkness in his head that he just can't shake. He's managed to sabotage every relationship he's ever been in. Emme's the only girl he's ever really respected... but he's not sure what to do about that.Emme, Sophie, Carter, and Ethan are all students at a performing arts school, where talent is the norm and fame is the goal. But sometimes, being in the spotlight isn't as important as the people you're sharing it with - as the four of them are going to find out in Elizabeth Eulberg's excellent new novel, which is about the auditions life puts us through every day, both big and small.

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation


Simone Elkeles - 2006
    That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home.  Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci. Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad, a.k.a. “Sperm Donor,” for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone… Goodbye pride—hello Israel.

Fat Cat


Robin Brande - 2009
    But she's always cared more about her brain than her body. So far that's gotten her where she wanted: into the most advanced, competitive science class at her high school, where she'll once again face her fiercest rival, Matt McKinney.The guy who once broke her heart.If Cat's plan works, she'll win it all: a huge improvement in her body and her lifestyle, first prize at the science fair, admission to the college of her choice, and best of all, revenge on Matt McKinney.But as every scientist knows, even the best experiments can go wildly out of control...

The Summer I Turned Pretty


Jenny Han - 2009
    Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Sloppy Firsts


Megan McCafferty - 2001
    Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? I don’t see how things could get any worse.”When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

Confessions of a Not It Girl


Melissa Kantor - 2004
    Her college application deadlines are looming and her French homework is taunting her. And she never seems to say the right thing around guys, unlike her best It Girl friend who knows the moves and lines to catch an older, adorable, sophisticated boyfriend. But Jan’s about to learn that in life and romance, being a Not It Girl has some major rewards.

When It Happens


Susane Colasanti - 2006
    Tobey also wants two things for his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. However, a popular jock named Dave moves in on Sara first. But Tobey's quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her. Can a slacker rock-star wannabe win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?Hilariously and movingly told through Tobey and Sara's authentic voices, Susane Colasanti's debut novel sizzles in its portrayal of two young people searching for The One.