Alex and Eliza: A Love Story, tells the story of Alexander Hamilton’s romance with Elizabeth Schuyler. This book explores through their courtship, from their first meeting at a ball to their marriage and the challenges they faced. Eliza, a strong-willed and independent woman, captures Alex’s heart. Throughout the book, they navigate the obstacles of war, family expectations, and social class.
The Cruel Prince, a novel written by Holly Black, introduces us to the world of Faerie. Jude Duarte, our main character, is a mortal, along with her twin sister, living in a world of immortals. Jude wants nothing more than to prove herself and show that she can be their equal. She craves power and is very cunning. This book is full of plot twists, betrayal, and incredible world-building. Each character is complex and has secret ulterior motives.
Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star details the relationship between teenagers Natasha Kingsley—a Jamaican American faced with the threat of deportation, and Daniel Bae—a Korean American struggling to live up to his parents’ expectations. Natasha hopes to stay in the United States; she spends her final day in New York City seeking legal help to avoid deportation. The two meet in New York, and Daniel decides to miss out on a potentially life changing interview to spend the day with Natasha.
Betting on You, by Lynn Painter, is the quintessential young adult romance novel. Bailey is dealing with her parents’ divorce and move to a new town when she meets Charlie, a witty and cynical boy who doesn’t believe in love. They are forced together on an hours-long plane ride, and by the end can’t be more thoroughly annoyed with each other. They part ways, expecting never to meet again, until they find themselves working together at the same waterpark.
If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin is a moving story about self-discovery that follows childhood best friends who grow apart but continue to have a shared connection. Autumn and Finn have been raised as family since childhood with their mothers being best friends and living next door to each other. After they began middle school, popular Finny and alternative Autumn found different friends, styles, and relationships as they stopped interacting with one another.
If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin is a beautifully written subpar book that I wish gave me more. This book is a coming-of-age book about two best friends harboring secret feelings for each other while also dealing with the ins and outs of high school.
Belly Conklin has been going to Cousins Beach every summer since she was little with her mom and brother Steven to spend the summer with Beck and the Fisher boys. They would make tons of memories and hang out every summer, but this summer was different. Belly realizes she likes one of the Fisher boys but doesn’t know which one and is stuck in a love triangle between Conrad and Jeremiah. Along with this, something is wrong with Beck, and no one knows what it is. I rate this book a ten out of ten, and I liked the summer vibes of this book.
If you grew up reading The Selection series, a contemporary YA classic that graced many, many bookshelves in the 2010s, then you might be interested in author Kiera Cass’ other work, A Thousand Heartbeats. Published in 2022, the novel centers on Princess Annika and Commander Lennox, two young people on opposite sides of a violent conflict between their two countries.
The Do-over follows Emilie, a teenage girl who is forced to relive the worst Valentine's Day over and over again. Each day she wakes up and it’s February 14th again, and the same things always seem to happen no matter what she does to change it.
Throne of Glass follows Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin who has spent the past year as a slave in the salt mines of Endovier. When the crowned prince shows up and takes her away she has to fight for her freedom in a competition to become the king’s assassin. However, dark forces are at play, and she might not make it out of the castle alive.
