Asking for a Friend by Kara H.L. Chen

Asking for a Friend by Kara H.L. ChenTitle: Asking for a Friend
Author: Kara H.L. Chen
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Publication Date: July 23, 2024

Summary (from Goodreads):

This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao.

Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:

1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.

2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.

When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior. Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview. With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.

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About Kara H.L. Chen

Kara HL Chen

Kara H.L. Chen is a Taiwanese American writer who received her MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. She grew up in Ohio but now lives with her husband and two daughters in Northern California.


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Last updated on May 22, 2024

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

This Lullaby by Sarah DessenTitle: This Lullaby
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: May 27, 2002

Summary (from Goodreads):

When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn't mess around. After all, she's learned all there is to know from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. But there's something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy's rules. He certainly doesn't seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can't seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy's starting to understand what those love songs are all about?

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About Sarah Dessen

Image of Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, which have received numerous awards and rave reviews, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association.  Sarah lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, Jay, and their daughter, Sasha Clementine.

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Last updated on May 25, 2024

Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal by Gretchen Schreiber

Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal by Gretchen SchreiberTitle: Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal
Author: Gretchen Schreiber
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: March 5, 2024

Summary (from Goodreads):

The Breakfast Club meets Five Feet Apart in this big-hearted novel from debut author Gretchen Schreiber.

Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a proud member of her high school’s speech and debate team alongside her best friend and her boyfriend. At the hospital, Ellie has a team of doctors and a mom who won’t stop posting about the details of her illness online. It’s not hard for Ellie to choose which of the two she prefers.

But this latest hospital stay is different. Ellie becomes close with a group of friends, including Ryan, a first-timer who’s still optimistic about the doctors that Ellie stopped trusting years ago. Despite their differences, she can’t seem to keep him out of her head. Ellie’s life has never been ordinary—but maybe this time it will be extraordinary.

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About Gretchen Schreiber

Gretchen Schreiber

Gretchen Schreiber grew up between the hills of Kansas and the hospitals of Minnesota, but now calls the hills of Los Angeles home. After getting her MFA from USC Film School, she works as a professional bookworm for Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media company. She is always down to run away to Disneyland or a bookstore.

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Last updated on June 1, 2024

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

A Pho Love Story by Loan LeTitle: A Pho Love Story
Author: Loan Le
Genre: , ,
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 8, 2021

Summary (from Goodreads):

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.

If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.

For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.

But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity despite their best efforts and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.

Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

When Dimple Met Rishi meets Ugly Delicious in this funny, smart romantic comedy, in which two Vietnamese-American teens fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship amid their families’ age-old feud about their competing, neighboring restaurants.

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Last updated on March 21, 2026

Secret Santa by Sabrina James

Secret Santa by Sabrina JamesTitle: Secret Santa
Author: Sabrina James
Genre: , , ,
Publisher: Point
Publication Date: October 1, 2007

Summary (from Goodreads):

A tale of love, romance, confusion, and Christmas perfectly timed for the holiday season.

Noelle, a hopeless romantic, just knows that her gifts have to be from her senior crush! And geeky Froggy thinks the game is the perfect way to get super-popular Celia to fall for him...except she thinks his gifts are from Jake, the school's resident bad boy, and starts to crush on him! Romantic mishaps abound, but all is revealed the night of the Winter Dance, where there's more than one surprise waiting under the mistletoe!

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About Sabrina James

Sabrina James

One of the reasons why Sabrina James loves writing romantic comedies is because she loves reading them and watching them! Two of her favorite romantic comedies are Clueless and Legally Blonde. When it comes to “classic” romantic comedies, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring Audrey Hepburn, is her absolute favorite. Has anyone ever worn a tiara and black dress better?! Sabrina has always been a huge reader. As a teen, some of her favorite authors were Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, R.L. Stine and Lois Duncan. When she got older, she devoured the novels of Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins and Sidney Sheldon. Sabrina currently lives in New York City, with her cat, Miss Thing, and an apartment way too small for all her Pop! Funko figures – she can’t stop buying them! Sabrina loves to hear from readers.

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Last updated on May 12, 2024