Spotlight On is a monthly feature here at Stardust and Words, where each month I talk about something random/bookish/life-related of my own choosing. You can find the rest of the Spotlight On posts here! And to make up for being basically AWOL through the month of February, I'm trying to make this a Spotlight On post worth waiting for :) I decided to compile a list of the books that make my heart go SQUEE every time I think of them. Whether that's an adorable romance, friendship, or just a really cute pet, these books are super cute to me. (Though, just because these books are "cute," that doesn't mean they aren't deep, sad, lovely, or well-written. They are a multitude, each) Enjoy!
1. The Names They Gave Us – Emery Lord (I know this is sort of unfair, since this book doesn't come out until May, but I'm just going to try to get you guys as excited as possible for this book. Or at least annoy you into buying it.)
Lucy Hansson was ready
for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible
camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in
faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses”
their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one
for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle.
Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her
vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a
fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy
set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?
2. One Paris Summer – Denise Grover Swank
Most teens dream of
visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for
Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer
with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As
if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to
remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and
stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the
city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to
make Sophie miserable.
Sophie could deal with all the pain and
humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a
pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a
scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue
his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide
her with a piano goes unfulfilled.
Still, no one is immune to
Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie
finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that
he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of
Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded
promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it
all.
3. The Loose Ends List – Carrie Firestone (this was my absolute favorite book of last summer!)
It’s a summer for first love, last wishes, and letting go.
Maddie
has big plans to spend the last months before college tying up high
school “loose ends” alongside her best friends. Then her beloved
grandmother drops two bombshells: (1) Gram is dying. (2) She’s taking
her entire family on a round-the-world cruise of dreams come true—but at
the end, Gram won’t be returning home.
With a promise to live in
the now without regrets, Maddie boards the Wishwell determined to make
every moment count. She finds new friends in her fellow Wishwellians,
takes advantage of the trip’s many luxuries, gets even closer to her
quirky family, and falls for painfully gorgeous Enzo. But despite the
copious laughter, headiness of first love, and wonder of the glamorous
destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram, and she
struggles to find the strength to let go in a whirlwind summer shaped by
love, grief, and laughter.
4. My Lady Jane – Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, and Cynthia Hand (the LOL factor is through the roof with this one)
The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride,
featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble
steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because
sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey
is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy
to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling
problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane is about to become the
Queen of England.
5. To All the Boys I've Loved Before – Jenny Han
To All the Boys I’ve
Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted
her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt,
sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean
discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed,
causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters:
her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's
ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to
face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these
letters after all.
6. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli
Sixteen-year-old and
not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school
musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at
risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being
blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his
sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of
Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With
some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends,
and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every
day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated.
Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort
zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising
himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing,
adorable guy he’s never met.
7. Steering the Stars – Erica Cope and Autumn Doughton
Two girls. Two stories. One journey.
Be careful what you wish for…
Aspiring
writer Hannah Vaughn worries that she is doomed to live out the rest of
her existence in a sleepy Oklahoma town. For as long as she can
remember, she’s dreamed of something more – adventure, excitement,
intrigue. When her sister invites her to London and she’s accepted to a
prestigious writing program at The Warriner School, she jumps at the
chance. But will it be epic or an epic fail?
You’ll never know if you don’t try…
Nothing
ever happens to straight-A student Caroline McKain and that’s exactly
the way she likes it. With her best friend in London and junior year
looming on the horizon, all she wants is to remain invisible. So when
she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, she must ask herself: Can an
invisible girl really take center stage?
Follow Hannah and
Caroline as they navigate the complexities of first love, family and
growing up. As their bond is tested, the girls will learn that being
apart can ultimately bring you together. Steering the Stars is a fresh, heartfelt young adult story about fate, discovery, and the magic of friendship.
8. Love & Gelato – Jenna Evans Welch
“I made the wrong choice.”
Lina
is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for
Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there
because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father.
But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants
to do is get back home.
But then she is given a journal that her
mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a
magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that
inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her
mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too
long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her
mother, her father—and even herself.
People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.
9. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Aristotle is an angry
teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual
way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool,
they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending
time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the
kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this
friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about
themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
10. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour – Morgan Matson
Amy Curry is not looking
forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country
and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to
Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car
accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old
family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has
plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar -
especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory -
but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.
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