AAR

[Nana]

I am helping a school librarian put together a book order and I'm trying to find romance for girls between about grade 7 and grade 10. I'm really up on alternate reality romance for this age group (things like Hunger Games, Robin McKinley's books, Shannon Hale, etc) and also good historicals (i.e. Eva Ibbotson books). But the books that absolutely fly off the shelves are the modern real-world stories, which I know less about.

Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss is hugely popular, as is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, and also Simone Elkeles's Chemistry series. I don't know if people check out Meg Cabot a lot but we do already have her.

Can anybody recommend other books in this vein - real world teen romance - for these girls?

[LFL]

I loved Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. I believe it won the Printz Award, too.

[JulieLeto]

How about Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series?

[Lillian Sulivan]

[xina]

[Jean Wan AAR]

I have to preface this with the following: I haven't read any of these, because my tastes run to the paranormal. However, I work in a bookstore, and I have a very good idea what sells and what doesn't, and also what looks good (and what doesn't). Some authors who specialize in this sort of thing:

- Sarah Dessen, any books.
- Jenny Han, any books.
- Lauren Myracle (also writes for the 9-12 age bracket - the Winnie series is very popular) - She has a series with text message-y titles like "TTYL", "BFF", and also a pretty good one that was the centre of the National Book Award kerfuffle this year, "Shine" (She was nominated, she was elated, they screwed up because they actually meant someone else and asked her to withdraw her nomination)
- John Green (less focused on the romance-y part, but present nonetheless), "Looking for Alaska", "Abundance of Katherines", "The Fault in Our Stars"
- Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series - okay, so they're big sellers, but as far as I can tell they're incredibly....well, trashy is the word that comes to mind. Gossip Girls in the middle class.
- Jay Asher "Thirteen Reasons Why"
- Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
- Louise Rennison's series, beginning with "Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Nudity" - I'm inclined to think this series is half shock and half schlock, but they fly off the shelves.
- "Why We Broke Up" by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman - a really interesting mix of graphics, illustrations, and texts. A series of letters and messages from her to him about, well, why they broke up.
- "The Taming" by Eric Walters and Teresa Toten. I have to say, alone, Eric Walters can be quite simplistic. But partner him with other authors (like the fantastic Deborah Ellis) and they come up with some pretty good stuff.
- Alex Flinn's fairy tale retellings. They all have a bit of magic, but they're grounded in reality.

That's all for now. Hope this helps.
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Jean AAR
Reviews Editor

[Lillian Sulivan]

[xina]

[Cora]

Seconding the Sarah Dessen recommendation. She tackles some tough themes (abuse, anorexia, date rape, parental neglect, loss of parents, divorce, etc...), but there are always wonderful romances in her books.
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[kim_mac]

As the mom of a 12yo daughter who LOVES to read, we are bonding over reading YA books together. She's a bit young for some of the more sophisticated themes.

Jean, thanks for a great list to investigate!

I love Perkins and Elkeles. Just finished Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen...great writer but I would caution that there's a big difference between a 7th grader and a senior in HS. I think Dessen's terrific but maybe too sophisticated for some middle schoolers (and, of course, maybe I'm an overprotective mom.)

Beastly and Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn were both worth reading (I preferred Beastly...they made a movie of it but, as usual, it is nothing like the book.)

Another suggestion is The Season by Sarah MacLean. My daughter and I both enjoyed it tremendously and she liked that it was historical fiction. I can't complain; it prompted her to pick up Pride & Prejudice! Anything that helps me stay connected to my tweener these days.

Kim

[Nana]

These have been really helpful so far. Thank you! Please keep them coming!

[delia]

I taught middle school language arts so I have 2 lists: what I've seen students carrying and what I've encouraged students to read. I also second the books in previous posts.

students carrying:

Crank by Ellen Hopkins (and its sequels)

The Bluford series (the series is set in an urban high school. some of the books are geared towards guys and others to girls.)

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

what I encourage:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Flight by Sherman Alexie (both Alexie books are really more high school than middle but it depends on the maturity level of the student)

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

[MrsFairfax]

I'm thirding Sarah Dessen, I've read a few of hers and liked them.

[neyly]

I second Ally Carter's books: Gallagher Girls series and Heist Society series.

(Just realized that a new book in the Gallagher Girl series comes out March 12. Must go order. )

[Natalie]