It’s Valentine’s Day and one of the best ways to celebrate love is through our love of books! We have selected five YA romance novels that celebrate diverse love stories and self love. We hope you enjoy these and please let us know if you have other favorite romance novels!
Fat Chance Charlie Vega
Charlie Vega represents what it is like to be a plus size Puerto Rican girl in New England. She is determined to see her self worth beyond the number on the scale. While she focuses on her good grades and artistic skills, her mother constantly brings her down by leaving her weight loss shakes on her dresser or taking her to clothing stores that remind Charlie of her size.
She begins to gain self confidence when her crush, Cal, invites her to the school dance. Charlie begins to doubt herself as she quickly realizes that things aren’t going exactly how she anticipated. Luckily, her best friend, Amelia, is by her side to remind her of all her amazing qualities. In addition, her friendship with Brian is starting to bloom as she learns more about his Korean heritage and about his childhood through his moms. Join Charlie on her adventure of self love, valuing friendships and the importance of having a partner that can understand the complex relationship one can have with their body.
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
Lila Reyes had a plan for her summer, which included taking over as head baker at her and her abuela’s panadería, move in with her best friend, and live a happy ending with her boyfriend. Plans quickly changed when the trifecta happened and everything fell apart. As a result, Lila’s parents had to make a new plan for her to spend three months in England with family friends to recuperate her mental health.
At first, Lila struggles as she is missing her home life but then she meets a tea shop clerk, Orion Maxwell, who becomes determined to help bring her out of her funk. Orion shows Lila what Winchester has to offer by showing her the music scene and the English countryside. This quickly changes Lila’s mind and her plan. Once again leaving her previous plans behind.
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
Ophelia Rojas has always been self aware, which includes knowing what she likes. This list comprises her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys. Her friends and family can attest that she is boy crazy but little do they know that deep down, Ophelia is a hopeless romantic that couldn’t change even if she wanted to. This all becomes challenged when she meets Talia Sanchez. Ophelia begins to feel feelings she’s never experienced for a girl. Along with her new confusion, the end of high school and the destruction of her solid friend group, Ophelia feels like she is losing control. Ophelia must decide who she wants to be after all.
Café con Lychee by Emery Lee
Theo Mori is counting down the days until he leaves college in Vermont. Not only will he be freed from working at his parents’ Asian American cafe but he will also be free from their archrivals’ son, Gabi, who has been responsible for their soccer teams’ losses.
Gabi Moreno feels stuck in the closet and he is not happy about it. To hide his love for dance, he is forced to play soccer. The only positive is that the only other openly gay guy at school is on the team but this quickly turns into a negative when Theo ices Gabi out. Therefore, the only positive in Gabi’s life is his plans to take over his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery after graduation.
Everyone seems to have a plan for their bakeries until a new fusion cafe changes everything. Theo’s parents’ bakery struggles and Gabi’s parents begin to contemplate selling their bakery, which jeopardizes both boys’ dreams. Theo has an idea of selling photo-worthy food at school to offset their losses. Unfortunately, he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets pulled in to help. They both realize that their teamwork is necessary to save both their parents’ bakeries until new feelings between each other potentially threaten their plans.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Felix is a transgender high school student just trying to make it through school. He constantly thinks about how he has never been in love even though his last name is Love. He is so interested in knowing what it’s like and even though he is proud of his identity of being a Black queer transgender, he wonders if this is why he hasn’t had his happy ending.
As if high school wasn’t difficult already, an anonymous bully vandalizes the school with his dead name and begins sending Felix transphobic messages. Felix begins to plan for revenge until he realizes that his catfish scenario puts him in a quasi-love triangle. Felix goes through a journey of self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship of how he feels about himself.
Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books
