Are you a fan of Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy of books (and/or the movies they inspired)? Here are some more charming YA rom-coms that you might like. And in the spirit of Asian/Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, they all feature characters with Asian/Pacific Islander heritage.
To all the boys I've loved before
by Jenny Han Keeping private love letters written to five secret crushes she has had, Lara Jean Song finds her personal life going from imaginary to out of control when the letters are unexpectedly mailed. |
Perfectly Parvin
by Olivia Abtahi Heartbroken and humiliated when she is dumped just days into her first relationship, Iranian American Parvin Mohammadi struggles to remain true to herself while attempting to prove to a school heartthrob that she is rom-com girlfriend material. |
A match made in mehendi
by Nandini Bajpai A 15-year-old girl from a family of Indian vichole matchmakers accidentally sets up a cousin with a law student before struggling to convince her loved ones to support her dreams of becoming an artist. |
Rent a boyfriend
by Gloria Chao Chloe Wang is nervous to introduce her parents to her boyfriend, because she hasn't met him yet either. She hired him from Rent for Your 'Rents, a company specializing in providing fake boyfriends trained to impress even the most traditional Asian parents. Drew Chan's passion is art, but after his parents cut him off for dropping out of college to pursue his dreams, he became a Rent for Your 'Rents employee to keep a roof over his head. |
The surprising power of a good dumpling
by Wai Chim Working almost constantly to help out at her father’s restaurant and care for her siblings, a teen from a migrant Asian family starts dating a delivery boy before her mother’s progressing mental illness upends everything she understood about her family. Simultaneous eBook. |
Somewhere only we know
by Maurene Goo A rising K-pop star on the eve of her breakout television performance and a tabloid reporter on assignment meet by chance at a fancy hotel during a search for a good hamburger in ways that transform both of their careers. By the author of Since You Asked. |
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating
by Adiba Jaigirdar Everyone likes Hani Kahn-she's easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can't be bi if she's only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she's in a relationship...with a girl her friends absolutely hate-Ishita Dey. Ishita is the complete opposite of Hani. She's an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl. Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after. |
Tell me how you really feel
by Aminah Mae Safi A tale told in alternative viewpoints and inspired by classic romantic comedies follows the unlikely on-camera romance between an overachieving cheerleader and the senior film project director who secretly hates her. |
Meet cute diary
by Emery Lee Noah Ramirez thinks he's an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There's just one problem; all the stories are fake...When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah's world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn't have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah's life, and the pieces fall into place. |
I'll Be the One
by Lyla Lee A nuanced celebration of body positivity by the author of the Mindy Kim series follows the experiences of a plus-sized teen girl who shatters expectations on a televised competition to become the next big K-pop star. |
David Tung Can’t Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets into an Ivy League College
by Ed Lin David Tung is a New Jersey high school student who is navigating the streets of multiple social circles (regular school in an upscale, Asian-majority suburb versus weekend Chinese school in working-class NYC Chinatown), parental pressures to get As, two possible girlfriends he's not allowed to have, and the fear he will die alone, whether or not he gets into Harvard. David Tung can't get a Girlfriend Until He Gets Into an Ivy League College is a heartfelt and hilarious look into the complexities of being Asian American. |
There's something about Sweetie
by Sandhya Menon A brokenhearted Indian-American teen agrees to allow his parents to set him up on culturally approved dates with a track athlete, who is tired of being nagged by her traditionally minded family about her plus-sized body. |
My so-called Bollywood life
by Nisha Sharma Betrayed by Raj, who she thought she was fated to marry, seventeen-year-old Winnie Mehta teams with fellow film fan Dev to get her life back on track and find her true soul mate. |
Made in Korea
by Sarah Suk Running a successful beauty-care sales business at school, Korean-American teen Valerie clashes with newcomer Wes, who is selling a competitor’s K-pop products to raise funds for his musical ambitions. |
Loveboat, Taipei
by Abigail Hing Wen Sent from her Ohio home to Taiwan to study Mandarin for the summer, a Chinese American girl struggles through strict educational practices and unfamiliar dating norms before discovering the painful secrets held by an assortment of new friends. |
A taste for love
by Jennifer Yen Resisting her professional baker mother’s traditional beliefs about relationships, high school senior Liza resolves to prove herself during an annual junior baking competition only to discover that all of the other contestants are Asian-American men her mother picked for her to date. |
Super fake love song
by David Yoon Misrepresenting himself to a crush who mistakes him for his cool older brother, a self-proclaimed nerd convinces his best friend to organize a fake rock band and gains unexpected popularity before his lies spiral out of control. |
The sun is also a star
by Nicola Yoon A scientifically minded girl who avoids relationships to help keep her family from being deported and a dutiful student who endeavors to live up to his parents' high expectations unexpectedly fall in love and must determine which path they will choose in order to be together. By the best-selling author of Everything, Everything. |