Hello! I heard that you like romance books, but you don’t love the mushy stuff. Am I correct? A fantasy book I like with some mushy elements (kind of) is the Keeper of the Lost cities books. It only starts to have a lot of romance is in the last few books. 
I hope his helps!

Personally, I quite like romance… It adds interest to a book, for me. But not if it becomes dirty.

The bad language is also pretty negative… Almost every single recent YA book has quite awful words. Why??

@Seadragon, thank you for the recommendations! I haven’t read Imogen, Obviously but I did read another book by the same author a while ago! Here’s some of my recommendations (all of them are clean and family-friendly).

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. I was just reading it last month, and it’s relevant for adolescence because it’s about finding your path, discovering where you’re meant to be and what life is all about. It’s intriguing and thought-provoking, but also a very enjoyable read, and it has beautiful language (at least in the translation I was reading).

Sandy by Elizabeth Gray Vining – it has a spunky, lovable protagonist who comes of age and learns about the world. It’s got superb writing, great characters, humor, and lots of interesting episodes and adventures. It really comes to life, and I would definitely recommend it.

–the Vanderbeekers series, by Karina Yan Glaser; this one is about a family, and it practically has no romance at all! It’s very warm and funny, but touching too. It’s sort of bordering on middle-grade but definitely still good for teenagers.

–Momo, by Michael Ende – super original and fascinating and also just a really enjoyable read; if you’re tired of the typical YA novel, this one is a great choice. It whisks you away to a world of Italian nights, original quirky people, a talking tortoise, mysterious flowers, and joy.

–Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pearce – it’s a richly written, surprising fantasy about a boy who discovers a mysterious garden.

Interesting… practically all the YA books nowadays are United States-focused, all the same – about American teenagers (usually girls) trying to achieve some accomplishment that’s focused on themselves. The Alchemist, on the other hand, is set in Spain and North Africa; it seems inspired by the essence of the desert, golden sand and long endless days and green oases, and it’s about a young man who’s traveling the world, learning about new perspectives instead of staying within his own box. Momo is set in Italy, and it’s relevant for all of humankind, because it deals with things that are important to the essence of existence. It’s sort of like the difference between a piece of candy and a delicious fruit – one is nice but artificial, and the other one is so much more vibrant.

There’s just such a lack of perspectives in YA novels. And that brings me to how immigrants are always misrepresented… like how Latin families are always supposed to be restrictive, and how people keep getting all carried away by the Day of the Dead and inserting ghosts and ancestors and spirits into their storylines, where actually Latins are really grounded in reality.

Another thing I don’t like about romances specifically, is how the protagonists are inconsiderate to the boys they fall in love with. They’re generally kind of whiny and weak and self-oriented in general – like Liz in Love and Olives, who never tries to see anyone else’s perspective, and literally faints (this isn’t the Victorian age!!), and has the opportunity to go to a gorgeous Greek island but never appreciates its beauty. Most of the protagonists are like that, and then they meet super-cute, super-sweet, super-obliging boys who magically run around solving their every problem and going to very unrealistic lengths just to make the protagonist happy. Anyway, the boy characters deserve someone who can support them too! They need to be treated with consideration and respect, especially given how sweet and considerate they always are.

But YA can still be enjoyable! The negative parts mainly apply to recently-published books (which also tend to feature excessive violence, and illness, and other dark themes). It’s really enjoyable when a novel has a group of characters who are all friends and have banter-y conversations and do fun things together, and beautiful settings are lovely too because it’s so nice to imagine yourself there. And families and themes of love and friendship, and new points of view, and characters who become like your best friends…

There should be more YA books that celebrate the joy of adolescence and coming of age. Every day you discover more, the world seems bigger and more within your reach, you get to do more adult things but also still have the protection and comfort of your parents. At least, that’s the way it should be when you’re an adolescent. It would be nice to have more books incorporate that theme of discovery.

@Elizabeth–that is right. Thank you for the recommendation! I’ve requested the first book from the library but it has yet to come.
@Poinsettia–also, thank you. I think that part of my problem might be that I like to read newer books–a lot of newer middle-grade books were ones that I really liked, but not so much newer YA. Also, I love the Vanderbeekers!

Guys I had a really good idea – what if we wrote to the agents, editors, and authors who are in charge of YA, and told them what we’d like to see in YA books and what should be done differently?

Most of the people in the book-publishing business are probably really attentive to what will sell – so if they find that actual, real teenagers want a specific type of thing, maybe they’d take it into consideration.

I read Keeper of the Lost Cities recently; I liked it, and I thought the story was good, but it wasn’t outstandingly well-written, in my opinion.
I’ve also been reading books by Gail Carson Levine; I was never interested in her books that much, but I read a book that she wrote about writing and decided to see what she had written. The two I’ve read are Ella Enchanted and Fairest. Both are very well-written. They’re sort of YA-ish; both Ella and Aza are fifteen during the course of the story and they both fall in love and go on quests. My library age-rates them as middle grade; nonetheless, they’re good to read. (They’re retold fairy tales, Cinderella and Snow White respectively.)

I began my first Sarah Dessen novel! Apparently she’s very important in the world of YA, but I’d never read any of her books.

It’s interesting – and at least it’s written in the past tense. Lots of books are in present tense, which can get a little monotonous for me. But it’s just a little slow… The main character’s love interest is simply silly!! He’s supposed to be irresponsible and charming, but he’s irresponsible on a five-year-old’s level.

I was thinking, it’s really noticeable how the pandemic seems to have affected YA books. Before the pandemic, they were in a certain style, and now they seem to be different; like there’s a little bit more focus on the real world, maybe? It’s hard to put my finger on it because so many characteristics have stayed the same, but it’s like YA books before the pandemic were somehow glossier and a little slower-paced while at the same time having darker themes like a dying family member. And they tended to have less funny text conversations, and a bit less energy. For instance, before the pandemic there was Sarah Dessen (who doesn’t seem to have written anything since Covid??) She seems to have a sort of glossy style; it all seems to be out of a magazine. Nowadays, you have Maria E. Andreu (as just one example) who writes about immigrant families and is still quite unrealistic, but just seems a bit grittier and more upbeat?? Overall it seems like YA has improved in the long run. There’s also a lot more emphasis on different ethnic groups – that’s really exploded since 2020.

I have a couple YA recommendations!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson: I don’t know how to write a description without spoiling anything, but it’s  perfect if you love bread crumb mysteries, a small town setting, and a touch of romance. I’d recommend it to 13-14 year olds and not any younger, because it is a bit dark and has some more mature themes. (But it’s clean, besides some language.)

The Inheritance Games, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Avery finds out that she has inherited billions of dollars from a complete stranger; the only catch? She has to live in his mansion with his four grandsons for a year if she wants to keep the money. She slowly starts to unravel the mystery of why the money was left to her, along with getting to know the grandsons. I’d recommend it for 12+ because it’s completely clean, and honestly under 12 could read it too I just can’t imagine them being that interested in it. 

ooh, thanks for the recs! The Inheritance Games sounds especially interesting. I’d heard about it, but never knew what it was actually about :/ Let me go see if the library has it~

Ooh awesome! If you read it let me know your thoughts!