The 2010s felt like a bit of a growth spurt for YA romance, offering us some of the most memorable stories, many of them contemporaries that were a refreshing change of pace from the paranormal boom of the 2000s. Looking back at the 2010s, we put together a list highlighting one book from each year that, to us, still feels like a standout today. From zombies in love to royal alternate histories, these are the stories that found a permanent home on our shelves.
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2010: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
While in 2010 paranormal romance was reaching peak saturation, Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies offered a fresh take on the subgenre that would later inspire a hit film. This unconventional love story follows R, a zombie who can barely remember his name but still feels a persistent longing for connection. After consuming the brain of a young man named Perry, R finds himself inexplicably protecting Perry’s girlfriend, Julie, rather than hunting her. Hidden away in R’s airplane home (a converted 747 in an abandoned airport), their unlikely bond—built over vinyl records and hesitant conversations—begins to literally bring R back to life. Marion’s zombie romance asks whether empathy might be the most powerful force in any world, dead or alive.
2011: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
In 2011 Miranda Kenneally burst onto the YA scene with Catching Jordan, the first book in her Hundred Oaks series. Jordan Woods isn’t your typical romance heroine—she’s the star quarterback of her high school football team, with dreams of playing for Alabama while living in the shadow of her NFL legend father who can’t seem to take her seriously. Her comfortable existence as “one of the guys” alongside best friend Henry gets thrown for a loop when talented new quarterback Ty Green arrives from Texas, threatening both her position and her carefully guarded heart. What makes this novel stand out is how skillfully it balances authentic football action with the vulnerability of first love, all while exploring the pressure of being a girl in a male-dominated world.
2012: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Katie McGarry’s 2012 novel Pushing the Limits redefined what a contemporary YA romance could be with its complex characters and raw emotional depth. There’s something magnetic about the way Echo Emerson and Noah Hutchins circle each other—she’s the former golden girl now hiding mysterious scars beneath long sleeves, while he’s the quintessential leather-jacket bad boy with a reputation that masks his honor student past. What do they share? Broken pieces that somehow fit together. After his parents died in a house fire, Noah’s fighting the system to reunite with his younger brothers, while Echo’s desperately trying to recover memories of the night that left her scarred and shattered. When their school counselor throws them together for tutoring, they cut an unlikely deal—SAT prep for Noah in exchange for breaking into the counselor’s office to find Echo’s hidden files. What starts as mutual desperation blooms into not only a beautiful romance but also a powerful story about healing, family, and finding your voice when the world has silenced you.
2013: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Ever wonder if a simple email typo could change your life? In Jennifer E. Smith’s 2013 novel This Is What Happy Looks Like, that’s exactly what happens when a misdirected email about a pet pig named Wilbur sparks an anonymous, nightly ritual between Hollywood movie star Graham Larkin and small-town Maine teen Ellie O’Neill. Their connection moves from the inbox to the real world when Graham orchestrates his latest film production’s move to Henley, Maine, hoping to finally meet the girl behind the screen. While the town is starstruck by the Hollywood invasion, Ellie is busy guarding a massive family secret, and the last thing she needs is a paparazzi-magnet boyfriend. The story follows the two as they navigate the messy collision of fame and ordinary life. This is a fun and soulful summer read.
2014: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Jenny Han’s 2014 breakout hit, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, introduced us to Lara Jean Covey, whose practice of writing cathartic goodbye letters to her crushes backfires spectacularly when her teal hatbox of private confessions somehow gets mailed to their intended recipients. Mortified and desperate to save face—especially with her sister Margot’s ex-boyfriend Josh—Lara Jean strikes a deal with recipient Peter Kavinsky: pretend to date so she can avoid Josh and Peter can make his ex jealous. It’s the fake dating trope perfected—sweet, funny, and grounded in the messy reality of family dynamics as Lara Jean navigates life at home after Margot leaves for college in Scotland. The characters feel like people you actually knew in high school, complete with teenage awkwardness and miscommunications.
2015: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Becky Albertalli’s 2015 debut, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, follows Simon Spier, a high school junior in suburban Atlanta who’s been secretly emailing a mysterious classmate known only as “Blue.” Their digital safe space is shattered when Martin Addison—an awkward classmate with a major crush on Simon’s friend Abby—stumbles onto their messages and decides to use them as blackmail. Suddenly, Simon is forced into a pact, playing matchmaker for Martin in order to protect his and Blue’s privacy. Narrated with a witty, conversational first-person voice, the novel perfectly captures that stomach-flipping tension of first love.
2016: The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Jennifer L. Armentrout’s 2016 novel The Problem with Forever follows Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, a high school senior who spent her early childhood suffering abuse in the foster care system—a trauma that left her struggling with selective mutism. After years of homeschooling with her adoptive parents, she decides to tackle a public high school for her final year. In speech class, she finds Rider Stark, the boy who protected her in their foster home and took the brunt of the abuse. While their reunion feels like a lifeline, Rider is battling his own savior complex and deep-seated guilt, forcing them both to challenge their old “protector and protected” roles. This is a raw, sensitive story about the hard work of finding your own voice and learning that you don’t have to be “fixed” to be worthy of taking up space in the world.
2017: Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Ashley Poston’s 2017 novel Geekerella is a great read for anyone who has ever found a home in a fictional universe. Danielle “Elle” Wittimer is a Starfield superfan living with a wicked stepmother and two cruel stepsisters who have turned her life into a chore-filled nightmare. Her only escape is her blog and her late father’s legacy, which drives her to enter a cosplay contest. Darien Freeman, a teen heartthrob cast as the lead in the new Starfield movie reboot, is suffocating under the weight of fan cynicism and a controlling father-manager. A random misdirected text sparks a digital friendship between Danielle and Darien, the two bonding over shared vulnerability and witty banter. The story does a great job of capturing the magic of convention culture and the courage it takes to be yourself.
2018: What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera’s 2018 collaboration, What If It’s Us, captures the frantic energy of a New York City summer through the eyes of two total opposites. Arthur is a wide-eyed intern from Georgia who believes in the “universe,” while Ben is a local guy just trying to get through summer school and mail back his ex’s belongings. Their accidental meeting in a post office sets off a chain of events involving missed connections, flash mobs, and “do-over” dates meant to fix their initial awkwardness. Told in alternating perspectives, the novel explores the question of whether fate is enough to keep two people together when their lives are moving in different directions.
2019: American Royals by Katharine McGee
Imagine that modern-day America was ruled by a royal dynasty established by George Washington. This is the intriguing “what if” that Katharine McGee’s 2019 book American Royals is based on. The story follows the Washington siblings—specifically Beatrice, the first female heir to the throne; her rebellious sister, Samantha; and the charming Prince Jefferson—as they navigate the suffocating expectations of the monarchy. While Beatrice deals with a forbidden attraction to her bodyguard, Samantha’s best friend, Nina Gonzalez, gets caught in a messy spotlight after falling for Jefferson. To complicate things further, Jefferson’s ex-girlfriend, Daphne Deighton, is determined to win him back and secure her future as a royal. This is a captivating look at the tension between public duty and private desire, exploring the high cost of protecting a legacy in a world that never stops watching.
It’s pretty amazing how much ground YA romance novels covered in just ten years. These books explored everything from healing and identity to the simple, heart-flipping chaos of a first crush. Revisiting them now is a nice reminder of why this era was such a cornerstone for so many readers.
