Romance Selections

This booklist was compiled and annotated by the Young Adult Librarians representing libraries throughout Monroe County and distributed by the Young Adult Section of Consultant Services, Monroe County Library System.

WHAT HEARTS by Bruce Brooks.
In this segmented, short story format, we observe Asa's life at ages seven, nine, eleven, and twelve. Throughout the four stories we join Asa in confronting the mysterious questions of life . . . can you be cunning, but not dishonest, extremely smart, but not cold? Most of all, can you trust yourself when you feel love?

TOM LOVES ANNA LOVES TOM by Brute Clements.
Two weeks was enough time for Tom and Anna to learn to trust one another. They trusted, too, that their future would be together.

THE WIND BLOWS BACKWARD by Mary Downing Hahn.
This thoughtful story is about two teens, Lauren and Spencer, who share interests and troubled families. It is Spencer's mood swings and reckless behavior, however, that forces Lauren to realize that sometimes love is not enough.

THE SILVER KISS by Annette Curtis Klause.
In this award-winning romance suspense novel, a lonely young woman is seduced by a beautiful yet frightening man who could change her life forever.

PICTURES OF ADAM by Myron Levoy.
Fourteen-year-old Lisa, a talented amateur photographer, becomes involved in a bittersweet relationship with an emotionally disturbed boy when she does a photo essay on his run-down home up in the hills.

LET HIM LIVE by Lurlene McDaniel
Megan must chose between isolating herself from the world or extending love and care to people in need. This novel explores the importance of giving and love in life's relationships.

WHEN WE FIRST MET by Norma Fox Mazer
A teenage girl, Jenny, has the misfortune to fall in love with Rob, the son of the woman who killed her sister in a car accident. In this modern day Romeo and Juliet scenario, Rob and Jenny are eventually able to work out the external problems associated with their relationship, and as a result, reach a higher level of maturity.

MOTOWN AND DIDI: A LOVE STORY by Walter Dean Myers
Two teenage loners in Harlem become allies in a fight against Touchy, the drug dealer whose dope is destroying Didi's brother. Emotional conflicts haunt Didi, while Motown is adamant in his quest to protect Didi from physical violence. While working through their own personal demons, both Motown and Didi discover that they are falling in love with each other.

THE MAGIC CIRCLE by Donna Jo Napoli
The redemptive power of innocence and love is played out at the end of this familiar yet ancient tale. In a fascinating twist on the Hansel and Gretel folktale, a simple village woman is tempted by devils as she tries to harness their power to be used for healing.

REVOLUTIONS OF THE HEART by Marsha Qualey
Cory's seventeenth year is marked by her mother's death, the return of her hotheaded older brother, and the eruption of bigotry in her small Wisconsin town. A nicely handled bi-racial romance between Cory and a Native American boy underlies this novel about personal growth and maturity.

MIRIAM'S WELL by Lois Ruby
When Miriam develops bone cancer, a battle follows over whether or not she must be treated ... a conflict between the health community and church beliefs. This sensitively charged and provocative story is told in alternating first-person voices by Miriam and her classmate, Adam, with whom she becomes romantically involved.

A COUPLE OF KOOKS AND OTHER STORIES ABOUT LOVE by Cynthia Rylant
This slim, easily read bouquet of vignettes is a collection of eight short stories in which a variety of special characters experience the transfiguring power of love. The message is clear throughout--love comes in unexpected ways.

THE DREAM HORSE by Virginia Campbell Scott
Miranda, a girl with no roots, finds comfort in her horse, Drummer. In the process of training her horse she meets and falls for Gary Walker, a young man with a bad reputation. Will she risk her own reputation to stay with the boy a whole town despises?

A STRANGER HERE by Thelma Hatch Wyss
Sixteen-year-old Jada falls in love with the spirit of a World War II pilot who was shot down the day she was born.

Reads for Romance from the Adult Shelves:

I HAD SEEN CASTLES by Cynthia Rylant
Patriotic John, eager to enlist in the Armed Services during World War II, falls in love with a pacifist, Ginny. Their differences lead to spiritual and mental analysis in facing the reality of war.

BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY by Robert James Waller
This short novel is essentially a sweptaway-by-love, soft-focus fantasy about an Iowa farm wife's brief encounter with a shamanlike National Geographic photographer in the summer of 1965. It's more fantasy than reality, but have the tissues nearby.