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Books
for Valentine Sentiments
By Hollie Parry
“There is never a time or place
for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single
flashing, throbbing moment." (Sarah Dessen, The Truth about
Forever)
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are
four of fantastic love stories. You’ll be surprised that some
of these books are not necessarily classified as romantic fiction.
Nevertheless, look forward to books you’ll LOVE to read.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George
 This
book was definitely one of my recent great finds. Not only did I
think it was cleverly written, but I like the way the author adds
a love interest from an unlikely source — “Beauty and
the Beast.”
The heroine of the book is known as “the
Lass.” The Lass is the youngest daughter to a selfish, lazy
mother who doesn’t see any reason to give her unwanted child
a name; thus the family just calls her pika or the girl, which morphs
into “the Lass.” As seems to always be the case in fantasy,
the terrible mother is offset by a kind father, who loves his children
and tries his best to provide. The Lass finds joy in her simple
life and spends her childhood working hard and struggling to help
her family survive.
One day, things all change for the Lass when
a stranger comes to the door and gives her proposition that will
change the destitute circumstances of her family. If she will travel
to a faraway land and agree to live in an enchanted castle for one
year, her family will have the things they need and desire and she
will be able to return unharmed. Despite the pleadings of her older
brother to stay, the Lass reluctantly takes the opportunity to help
her family and agrees to go with the stranger.
Once in the castle, she finds that although
she is treated well and has every need satisfied, there are mysteries
that beg to be solved. Little does she know that as behind all those
secrets is a love that just might be worth fighting for. I recommend
this book to fantasy lovers, old and young alike.
The Queen of Second Place
by Laura Peyton Roberts
 A
fun, easy read, The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton
Roberts has all the ingredients for a perfect romance novel. Start
with one average high school girl, Cassie, who is crushing hard
on the new hot guy in the school, Kevin. Add the beautiful, popular,
nasty, socialite, Sterling, who happens to be crushing on Kevin
at the same time. Mix it together with a quirky, wild first person
narrative, laugh out loud antics, many essays written from detention,
and a little homework, lunchroom drama, and a dance and you’ll
come up with a book you will not be able to put down until you find
out just who gets the guy.
I loved this book as much as its sequel
Queen B. I highly recommend this book to all teens.
The Faerie Path
by Trewin Jones
 In
this fantasy novel, Anita can only think of one thing, constantly
— her beautiful new boyfriend, Evan. He is romantic, handsome,
and makes Anita feel happier than she’s ever felt. She can
hardly believe that her first boyfriend is someone so amazing.
For her birthday Evan surprises her
with a boat ride on the river. As they skim along the water, he
starts to tell Anita something important. But just as he begins
to talk, a dark, ominous feeling comes over the water. Evan’s
face fills with fear and the boat crashes into a bridge. Anita wakes
up in the hospital to find that although she is not seriously hurt,
Evan is alive but asleep in the next hospital bed. That night strange
things start happening. Whether by a dream or in reality, Anita
finds herself transported to a world where the people she meets
think that she is the lost Faerie Princess. Although being a Faerie
Princess is flattering, being engaged, as a teenager, to a man she
doesn’t even remember, whose name isn’t Evan is NOT.
I enjoyed reading The Faerie Path,
not only because it was a great read, but also because the story
had a new and fresh plot that kept my interest. I recommend this
love story to readers who like fantasy and mystery.
Uglies by
Scott Westerfield
 Although
typically considered a science fiction novel, I found the ever-popular
Uglies to have a surprising romantic subplot. The main
character, Tally, anxiously awaits her sixteenth birthday as the
day when she will turn from an Ugly to a Pretty. In Tally’s
world, advanced technology allows for surgeons to work their plastic
surgery miracles and make everyone dashingly handsome or strikingly
beautiful. After the teens are turned into their pretty selves,
their worlds become one big, constant party. Pretties are happy,
pretties are popular, and pretties are living the high life that
is the envy and aspiration of every young Ugly. Or at least this
is what Tally thinks, until she meets Shay.
Shay introduces Tally to the idea that there
are people who would rather be normal and considered “Ugly”
than to undergo the popular trend of transformation into beautifulness.
She even talks about a world where Uglies can escape the city and
live free among others who want to be neither pretty nor ugly but
normal. While Tally does think she’ll ever consider joining
Shay in such a place, she wonders what life on the outside might
be like.
In a terrible twist of fate, Tally finds herself
seeking Shay and the forbidden land called “Smoke,”
where the “normals” live. She doesn’t come as
a friend, but as a spy to uncover “Smoke” and help the
authorities capture the rebels and make them pretty. What Tally
doesn’t consider is that she might like living in “Smoke”
or that she might meet the one person that she just can’t
leave behind.
I picked Uglies up after strong
recommendations from my fellow readers on goodreads.com. This is
one of my favorite websites because is a place where readers of
all ages and genres come to review, recommend, and discuss the books
we all love to read. I highly recommend www.goodreads.com.
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