Dating Customs

Love is around the corner or in a book... here is a booklist for new beginnings focusing on the subject of dating and sometimes breaking up. All of the titles listed below are in the contemporary/realistic fiction genre. No paranormal romance, no vampires, no zombies, or ghosts, just the magic of relating. Visiting another country? Here are some teen dating customs from around the world.

Fiction

Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen, 2009.  When Auden goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, all the trauma of her parents' divorce is revived, even as she is making new friends and having new experiences such as learning to ride a bike and dating.

Almost Perfect, by Brian Katcher, 2009.  With his mother working long hours and in pain from a romantic break-up, 18-year-old Logan feels alone and unloved until a zany new student arrives at his small-town Missouri high school, keeping a big secret.

Beatle Meets Destiny, by Gabrielle Williams, 2010.  When superstitious 18-year-old John "Beatle" Lennon, who is dating the best friend of his twin sister, meets Destiny McCartney, their instant rapport and shared quirkiness make it seem that their fate is written in the stars.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn, 2010.  Told in the alternating voices of Dash and Lily, two 16-year-olds carry on a wintry scavenger hunt at Christmas-time in New York, neither knowing quite what--or who--they will find. Awards:

Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen, 2001. In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years.  Awards: California Young Reader Medal: Middle School; School Library Journal Best Books,2001; South Carolina Book Awards; Virginia Readers' Choice Award: (Grades 6-9).

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, 2009.  While in a coma following an accident that killed her parents and younger brother, 17-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weighs whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.

 I Wish You All the Best, by Nathan Deaver, 2019. Thrown out of their parents' home and moving in with their estranged sister after coming out as nonbinary, Ben De Backer struggles to endure an anxiety disorder and the last half of senior year while bonding with a charismatic new friend.

Jackpot, by Nic Stone, 2019. When Rico sells a jackpot-winning lotto ticket, she thinks maybe her luck will finally change, but only if she and her popular and wildly rich classmate, Zan can find the ticket holder who hasn't claimed the prize

Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins, 2011.  Budding costume designer Lola lives an extraordinary life in San Francisco with her two dads and beloved dog, dating a punk rocker, but when the Bell twins return to the house next door Lola recalls both the friendship-ending fight with Calliope, a figure skater, and the childhood crush she had on Cricket.  See also by Perkins: Anna and the French Kiss

My Life Next Door, by Huntley Fitzpatrick, 2012.  When Samantha, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a wealthy, perfectionist, Republican state senator, falls in love with the boy next door, whose family is large, boisterous, and just making ends meet, she discovers a different way to live, but when her mother is involved in a hit-and-run accident Sam must make some difficult choices.

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park, by Steve Kluger, 2008.  Three teenagers in Boston narrate their experiences of a year of new friendships, first loves, and coming into their own. Award: Rainbow Lists-Y.A.Fiction: 2009.

My So-Called Bollywood Life, by Nisha Sharma, 2018. Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soul mate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her 18th birthday, and Raj meets all the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked when she returns from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.

Odd One Out, by Nic Stone, 2018. High school juniors and best friends Courtney and Jupe, and new sophomore Rae, explore their sexuality and their budding attractions for one another.

Somewhere Only We Know, by Maureen Goo, 2019. Told from two viewpoints, teens Lucky, a very famous K-pop star, and Jack, a part-time paparazzo who is trying to find himself, fall for each other against the odds through the course of one stolen day.

Tell Me How You Really Feel, by Aminah Mae Safi, 2019. A tale told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies follows the unlikely on-camera romance between an overachieving cheerleader and the senior film project director who secretly hates her.

This Train is Being Held, by Ismee Williams, 2020. Told in two voices, ballet dancer and private school student Isabelle Warren and poet and baseball star Alex Rosario grow closer after meeting on a subway, bonding over their parents' expectations and their own dreams. 
 

Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler, 2011.  16-year-old Min writes a letter to Ed in which she breaks up with him, documenting their relationship and how items in the accompanying box, from bottle caps to a cookbook, foretell the end.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green, 2010.  When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other's best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both.

 Short Story Collections on Relating and Dating

Color Outside the Lines: Stories About Love, edited by Sangu Mandanna, 2019. This modern, groundbreaking YA anthology explores the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center.




How They Met, and Other Stories, by David Levithan, 2008. A collection of eighteen stories describing the surprises, sacrifices, doubts, pain, and joy of falling in love.




Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle, 2008. In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.



Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet, 2018. Fourteen short stories celebrating “meet-cute” moments. Features when-they-first-met-stories from YA authors, including Nicola Yoon, Sara Shepard, Katie Cotugno, and more.

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, edited by Stephanie Perkins, 2016. Summer is the perfect time for love to bloom, and these short stories of teenagers facing the confusing maze of first love will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. The selections range from heartfelt to outlandish, as the characters find passion in some very unexpected places.

Nonfiction Relating and Dating Books

The Date Book: A Teen Girl's Complete Guide to Going Out With Someone New, by Erika Stalder, 2007. Offers girls information on dating a new guy, including creative date suggestions, fashion advice, tips on how to bargain for extended curfews, and bad date exit strategies.

Respect : Everything a Guy Needs to Know About Sex, Love, and Consent, by Inti ChavezPerez;translation by Stuart Tudball, 2019. A guide to help guys navigate sex, relationships, and consent in the post-#MeToo world.

Rookie On Love: 45 Voices on Romance, Friendship, and Self-Care, edited by Tavi Gevinson, 2018. Curated from Rookie, an online magazine dedicated to teens and founded in 2011 by a then-15-year-old Gevinson, this anthology offers tales of love from 45 different, diverse voices.

18 Dystopian Valentines

What is a dystopia but a love gone wrong. This list of dystopian fiction is a trove of suspenseful, adventurous, anti-valentines.  Some of them are brand new, just out of the box fresh; feel the angst, live the adventure.  Happy Valentines!  "May the odds be ever in your favor."--Hunger Games

The Hunger Games - Official Theatrical Trailer
Movie Release date: March 23, 2012

If you liked The Hunger Games, then you may like... :

 

The Diary of Pelly D, by L. J. Adlington, 2005.  When Toni V, a construction worker on a futuristic colony, finds the diary of a teenage girl whose life has been turned upside-down by holocaust-like events, he begins to question his own beliefs.

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, 2010.  In a futuristic world, teen-aged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

Ashes, by Ilsa Bick, 2011.  Alex, a resourceful 17-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor, Tom, who has left the war in Afghanistan, and Ellie, an angry 8-year-old, join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses.

Matched, by Ally Condie, 2010.  Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her, so when Xander appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate--until Ky Markham's face appears for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, 2009.  Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, 2008.  After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco,17-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch, 2011.  20 years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, 15-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.

Epic, by Conor Kostick, 2007.  On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game, 14-year-old Erik pursuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families.

Legend, by Marie Lu, 2011.  In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

The Secret Under My Skin, by Janet McNaughton, 2005.  In the year 2368, humans exist under dire environmental conditions. Blay, rescued from a work camp and chosen for a special duty, uses her love of learning to discover the truth about the planet's future and her own dark past.

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, 2012.  As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.

The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness, 2008.  Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, 2011.  Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, 2011.  Amy, a cryogenically frozen passenger on the spaceship Godspeed, wakes up to discover that someone may have tried to murder her.

Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi, 2012.  When Aria is exiled from the enclosed city of Reverie, she forms an unlikely alliance with an Outsider named Perry, who could be her only chance of survival providing they can overcome their prejudices.

Divergent, by Veronica Roth, 2011.  In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice must choose among five factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group.

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, 2007.  In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own lives.

All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin, 2011.  In a future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cellphone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, 16-year-old Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family.

SHOW ME THE SNOW

It's winter, and I am wishing for a little snow to lighten the days.  Maybe you are too.  So, until we get some of the real thing, here are a few books for icy crystals by proxy. This chilly list is a mix of genres. Wintersmith; Stork; Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow; Snow-walker; and East; are fantasy stories.  Whiteout is a mystery.  The White Darkness, Trapped, Revolver, and Brian's Winter are suspenseful, survival, adventure stories. Let It Snow, is a romance. Emperors of the Ice is historical fiction, based on a true story. I have read and can recommend: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, and The White Darkness. I gave both books 4 stars. Trapped, while not a favorite of mine (I gave it 2 out of 5 stars), might appeal to those of you who enjoy survival stories.  I gave Stork, three and half out of five stars.  It is an urban fantasy that weaves Norse mythology into a small Minnesota town.  There is a sequel titled, Frost.

Brian's Winter, by Gary Paulsen, 1996. Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.

East, by Edith Pattou, 2003.  A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.

Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-13, by Richard Farr, 2008.  Apsley Cherry-Garrard shares his adventures as the youngest member of Robert Scott's expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century, during which he and Edward Wilson try to learn the evolutionary history of emperor penguins. Includes historical notes.
 

Let It Snow : Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle, 2008. In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.

Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick, 2010.  Finland, 1910: Fifteen-year-old Sig is shocked to see a hole in the frozen lake outside his family's cabin and to find his father's corpse nearby.  Sig's sister and stepmother go for help, leaving Sig alone with Einar's body in the cabin. Soon after, an armed stranger barges in, demanding a share of Einar's stolen gold.

Snow-walker, by Catherine Fisher, 2004.  The snow-walker Gudrun came from the swirling mists and icy depths beyond the edge of the world to rule the Jarl's people with fear and sorcery, but a small band of outlaws will fight to the death to restore the land to its rightful leader.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George, 2008.  A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.

Stork, by Wendy Delsol, 2010.  After her parents' divorce, Katla and her mother move from Los Angeles to Norse Falls, Minnesota, where Kat immediately alienates two boys at her high school and, improbably, discovers a kinship with a mysterious group of elderly women--the Icelandic Stork Society--who "deliver souls."

Trapped, by Michael Northrop, 2011.  Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean, 2007.  Taken to Antarctica by the man she thinks of as her uncle for what she believes to be a vacation, Symone--a troubled fourteen year old--discovers that he is dangerously obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that supposedly leads into the center of a hollow Earth.

Whiteout, by Walter Sorrells, 2009. Sixteen-year-old Chass makes her way through a Minnesota blizzard, seeking not only the murderer of a beloved music teacher, but also something belonging to the killer who has been chasing her mother and herself around the country.

Wintersmith, by  Terry Pratchett, 2006.  When witch-in-training Tiffany Aching accidentally interrupts the Dance of the Seasons and awakens the interest of the elemental spirit of Winter, she requires the help of the six-inch-high, sword-wielding, sheep-stealing Wee Free Men to put the seasons aright.