To All the Boys I've Loved Before byJenny Han
	Reviewed by Anonymous July 22, 2024 Grade 9

Your Rating: ★★★★★

Book Tags: Romance, teenage love, coming-of-age, fake relationship, love letters, high school, drama, siblings, first love

Plot Summary: Lara Jean Covey is a high school junior who writes secret love letters to boys she's had crushes on, but she never intends to send them. However, her world is suddenly turned upside down when somehow her private letters are mailed to her recipients, including her neighbor and sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh, and Peter Kavinsky, her childhood crush. To save face and avoid awkwardness with Josh, Lara Jean and Peter decide to fake a relationship, hoping to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and help Lara Jean to sort out her feelings. However, as they spend more time together, she unfortunately begins to catch feelings for her fake boyfriend jock. With that thrown into the mix, Lara Jean has to confront her feelings, deal with the aftermath of her exposed letters, and find out who mysteriously sent out her letters.

Personal Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before is honestly an amazing and heart-felt book. With Jenny Han's extraordinary writing, reading this book made me feel a rollercoaster of emotions. I love that Lara Jean writes love letters, which is very sweet and old-fashioned, and shows the reader who she is. Lara Jean and Peter's fake relationship was so perfect and made me realize that fake dating trope was my absolute favorite. I loved watching the slow burn and how their fake relationship turned real. There was so much more to Peter, not just being popular and a jock. This books also emphasizes a lot on family and Lara Jean's family is extremely imperfect but loving, which just adds to the beauty. Kitty perfectly resembles an annoying but endearing little sister and big sister Margot, who is the mother and the glue of the family, sadly moving a few thousand miles for college. Overall, I definitely recommend this book for all the times I've laughed and cried when reading it!

Similar Reads: This May End Badly by Samantha Markum , Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn P. Nguyen, The Upside of Falling by Alex Light , The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

	Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
	Reviewed by Anonymous April 5, 2023 Grade 9

Your Rating: ☆★★★★

Book Tags: female and male protagonist, fairy tale, romance, coming of age

Plot Summary: The Montague and Capulet families are at war and have had another fight. The Prince, who keeps the peace in Verona, says that if there are any further fights the head of the houses will be killed. Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, meet at a party at the Capulets' house and they kiss. Juliet's cousin Tybalt sees him and decides to get revenge for the insult of his unwelcome presence. Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard to see Juliet and they declare their love for each other and decide to get married and be together. Romeo and Juliet get married in secret with the help of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Laurence. Another fight breaks out in Verona during this tragic event 2 people get killed. Romeo was blamed for these killings and was banished from Verona. Unlucky on his wedding day, but the Friar had a plan all worked out. This plan failed, leading to a very dreadful ending.

Personal Review: This is not necessarily a book, but a play written by a very famous poet, William Shakespeare. The plot of this story is impeccable, presenting young love to an audience hundreds of years ago. The main characters Romeo and Juliet are star crossed lovers whose families are in a generational feud. They have to keep their love a secret after meeting each other at a party for the first time, but it is cut very short. It uses so many ways to capture the reader's attention like using foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and imagery. All of these captured my attention. Of course, the style of writing is sometimes difficult to understand. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful book. It displays young love in such a complex and intricate way that makes it such a good "book" to read. It is truly a work of art. It is definitely not for everybody, but if you would like to expand your knowledge of old literature this is a great start.

Similar Reads: Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott and When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

	It's Not Summer Without You byJenny Han
	Reviewed by Anonymous April 3, 2023 Grade 9

Your Rating: ★★★★★

Book Tags: female protagonist, dependability, love, lovers

Plot Summary: Belly has spent every summer in her mom's best friend's house. But this summer is different with the death of Susannah, her mom's best friend everything is different instead of spending her summer in a bikini she's dressed in black mourning the loss of her mother like figure all while going through a heartbreak. With all this loneliness Belly gravitates to her ex-boyfriend's younger brother where she thinks she's in love with him but everybody knows that she really isn't. Which then brings us to 3rd book of this series.

Personal Review: I LOVED everything about this book. This book made me even more emotional than the first and that is because Jenny Han is such a talented writer that makes readers feel, and that's something most authors can't do so the fact that she can make me sob with her choice of words and story line makes me love her work especially this book. In this book so many wild and sad things happen and when you read you feel like you are experiencing everything with her like at the funeral for Susannah when Belly sees Conrad with his ex-girlfriend cuddling up to her you feel the same emotions that Belly is feeling because this book is so powerful. This book is perfect for someone who wants to read about a very sad young love heartbreak. So if you enjoy summer love and tragedy this book should definitely be your next read!

Similar Reads: The Summer I Turned Pretty

	The Summer I Turned Pretty byJenny  Han
	Reviewed by Anonymous March 16, 2023 Grade 9

Your Rating: ★★★★★

Book Tags: female protagonist, teen romance, heartbreak

Plot Summary: In The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly, the main character visits her mom's best friend’s house every summer. Her mom's best friend has two sons Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly, the main character has had a crush on Conrad her whole life, but Conrad has only ever seen her as a baby until this summer. This summer everything is different for Belly, she has grown up, guys are asking her out, Jeremiah catches feelings for Belly which gets messy because Belly likes Conrad. Then we find something out about Susannah, Belly’s mom’s best friend which causes things to fall apart but a new romance to rise which is where we end the book.

Personal Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty was such a beautiful book to read and is probably one of my favorite books that I've ever read because it made me feel so many emotions. When I reached the end of the book, I felt so connected to the characters. When I found out about Susannah's fate I cried with the characters, and Jenny Han is such a talented writer for that because she has the ability to make me feel the emotions that the characters were feeling. And for that, I am going to give the book a 10/10 review because of how beautiful it is and how emotional I got while reading it.

Similar Reads: The Summer of Broken Rules; Ugly Love; Love and Other Words; It Starts with Us

	Gossip Girl: A Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar
	Reviewed by Olivia Morrison March 25, 2023 Grade 7

Your Rating: ★★★★★

Book Tags: #You know you love me, Gossip Girl #Gossip

Plot Summary: The Gossip Girl book is an American young adult novel written by Cecily von Ziegesar. It is about Blair Waldorf, a high school student attending an elite private school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. As the story progresses, Blair's friendships and relationships are tested when her best friend, Serena van der Woodsen, returns to New York City after abruptly leaving for boarding school. The return of Serena causes a stir among the students, notably Blair, who feels overshadowed and threatened by her presence. Blair quickly realizes that Serena's return to Manhattan has brought out many dark secrets regarding her past, such as drug addiction and a secret affair with Blair's boyfriend, Nate Archibald. The story delves into the lives of privileged teenagers and their experiences with love, drugs, and other aspects of adolescence. Readers are taken on a journey of self-discovery and growth as the characters navigate the complexities of high school life. Using a mysterious gossip blog called 'Gossip Girl' that documents and reveals the characters' scandalous secrets and behavior; readers are exposed to the scandalous lives of the wealthy and elite teens, adding an element of intrigue and excitement to the novel. Will Serena's friendship be repaired with Blair, or will it be severed due to the revelations brought to light by Gossip Girl's blog?

Personal Review: The first Gossip girl novel was a well-written roller coaster that interested me throughout the entirety of the book. Cecily von Zeigesar has the incredible ability to capture a reader’s interest with each sentence. I became more entranced and engrossed with each chapter’s characters and storyline. I didn’t like all the characters, but my favorite character was Jenny because I felt like I could relate to her the most. This book is one that you can speed through or read slowly. I raced through it though; I couldn’t get enough. There is also a T.V. show called Gossip Girl, based on the book of course, and I look forward to watching it. She can entertain any reader and keep the storyline fresh and relevant. Overall, this experience was extraordinary, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Similar Reads: For some similar yet still great reads, I suggest other series by her, such as The It Girl series, which follows a character from the Gossip Girl series named Jenny. I would also recommend the Pretty Little Liars series, which follows four former best friends while they struggle with the leader of their friend group's murder and with their own little secrets.

	Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
	Reviewed by Anonymous November 18, 2022 Grade 11

Your Rating: ★★★★★

Book Tags: Light funny romance

Plot Summary: Tweet Cute begins with teenage girl Pepper, an teenage girl obsessed with being the best of the best and succeeding in all, and the story of her family's Burger restaurant. While her family life seems to be falling apart, Pepper does anything and everything she can to keep it from crashing, especially when it comes to Big League Burgers Twitter account. Striving for success, she does anything to keep her family's restaurant on top, including tearing down the competition. As she does so, she accidentally comes across Jack, grandson of Big League Burger’s competition and Pepper’s classmate. When the two enter a Twitter war, things get intense until…the internet decides the two are meant for one another? Trying to save their beloved restaurants, the two work together to decide what is best for business and are forced to get to know one another along the way. Will the two become friends, or even more? Find out more in Tweet Cute!

Personal Review: *HINTS AT SPOILERS* I thought that this book was a fun take on the old idea of enemies to lovers. It didn’t feel overdone, and the plot felt more well developed than some of the other teen romance books I have come across. There was a nice bridge between the bitterness of Pepper and Jack disliking one another, the time they tolerated each other, and slowly became friends. I appreciated the realism in the storyline, and that they didn’t jump straight into falling in love. I also appreciated that they already knew each other, and didn't “happen to meet”. The characters already knowing one another helped the story feel more realistic than if they had ran into each other on the sidewalk, or if Jack had noticed Pepper’s Twitter on the subway. Overall, I think the author did a great job creating a vision for the reader, and that the character development was on point.

Similar Reads: Love and Gelato; Throw Like a Girl; How to Break a Boy; A Pho Love Story; Date Me, Bryson Keller

	How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee
	Reviewed by Anonymous November 23, 2022 Grade 11

Your Rating: ☆★★★★

Book Tags: High School LGBTQ+ Romance

Plot Summary: Nolan Grant, the main character of this sweet romance, is painfully single. Living life as a gay high schooler has not been easy for him, and constantly seems to be getting harder. As he tries to dodge the ups and downs of high school drama, he finds himself standing in front of his crush with a prom ticket and a sparkly “prom-posal” sign.

Personal Review: As cute as this book was, I would recommend it for younger teens. It wasn’t as advanced in writing or storytelling as I was expecting, although a very cute plot. I enjoyed reading How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a sweet romance with genuine character development and the fake dating trope.

Similar Reads: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; Anti-Prom; The Upside of Falling