The Happy Librarian
Romance:
A work of extended prose fiction with a theme of love.
Instant Karma
By: Marissa Meyer
Summary:
Chronic overachiever Prudence Barnett is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her.
Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to mean gossips, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner. Quint is annoyingly cute and impressively noble, especially when it comes to his work with the rescue center for local sea animals.
When Pru resigns herself to working at the rescue center for extra credit, she begins to uncover truths about baby otters, environmental upheaval, and romantic crossed signals—not necessarily in that order. Her newfound karmic insights reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed, love and hate . . . and fate.
Review:
An overachiever with a big family and a tube of red lipstick, Prudence Barnett can’t believe she got stuck with Quint Erickson as her lab partner. Quint is a notorious goofball who never seems to get to class on time or complete his homework. Prudence won’t let him ruin her class project and decides to spend her summer volunteering at a local sea animal rescue center to improve her grade. But when Quint unexpectedly shows up at the center, Prudence realizes there is more to him than the goofball persona she knows.
After a fun night of karaoke at her favorite local restaurant, a small head injury grants Prudence the ability to exact instant karma! With the point of her finger, she can now dole out punishments to those she deems in need of behavior change. But, will the power of cosmic justice go to her head, or will Prudence hone her skills and make the world a better place?
Readers will fall in love with Prudence, who is perhaps the most unlikeable and yet relatable character in Marissa’s repertoire. As more of her personality comes to the surface, we see the injustices of the world through Prudence’s eyes. The character of Quint surprises everyone with his true personality, and we can’t help but find him endearing and attractive. Instant Karma will leave everyone full of joy and hope, and wondering, what would you do if you could exact Instant Karma on the world?
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Key Elements: Karma, Teens, Young Love, Friendship, Family Dynamics, Ocean Animals
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Magical Realism
Serendipity
Edited By Marissa Meyer
Summary:
Ten Romantic Trope Stories retold.
The secret admirer.
The fake relationship.
The matchmaker.
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From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will swoon for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.
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With Stories By: Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen.
Review:
What a delightful way to spend an afternoon! Filled with our favorite romantic tropes, this anthology collects the classic rom-com situations that we all love and wraps them in a delightful YA bow! It's hard to create character backstory and development in a short story but each of these authors rose to the occasion and delivered beautifully. Each story has a unique and beautiful message, and of course a happily ever after.
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Key Elements: Rom-Com Tropes, Teens, Young Love, Friendship, Family Dynamics, LGBTQ, Short Stories
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Anthology
So, This is Christmas
by Tracy Andreen
Summary:
When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn't changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother's inn.
And she certainly didn't expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother's doorstep. It's up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley's Christmas. It's about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.
Review:
I love a good Christmas love story and this one did not disapoint. Finley is like any other teen, trying to survive high school with hard classes and social cliques. But she's also struggling to accept her new circumstances, and coming to terms with the life she left behind when she went to boarding school. Now home for the first time in months, Finley is confronted with how much her home has changed and how much her family and friends have changed along with it. This story is filled with quirky characters and scenes, surprising friendships, and the romance we all want in a Christmas love story.
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Key Elements: Rom-Com Tropes, Teens, Young Love, Friendship, Family Dynamics, LGBTQ, Short Stories
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Anthology