Riot Recommendation: What’s Your Favorite YA Romance?

This post is sponsored by South of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf.

Kaycee Jean McCoy has lived her entire life in Sunshine, Tennessee. She knows what is—and what isn’t—expected of her. She certainly would rather let gross Dave Bradford kiss her on occasion than come out. But then Bree Dawson—beautiful, sexy, impossibly cool—moves to town, and Kaycee is swept up in a whirlwind of exciting new emotions and lets her guard down. When her best friend catches them kissing, Kaycee’s whole world goes to hell in a handbasket. What is she willing to risk for the sake of love? And for acceptance?

Young love is so fraught and we assign it so much meaning and depth and angst, it’s no wonder it’s an excellent subject for fiction. Talk about built-in drama and conflict! YA love often includes so many issues adults usually don’t have to face: will my parents forbid me from seeing this person? What do we do with the knowledge that this probably isn’t forever (and might not even be Past This Summer)? How am I going to get involved with someone while I’m busy saving the world from doom?