ereks mom Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 (edited) She absolutely LOVED the Christy Miller series and the Glenbrook series--pretty much anything by Robin Jones Gunn. Do you know of authors with similar writing styles or books with similar plots? EK loves to read, but is having a hard time finding something she likes at our small local library. We can get almost any book through interlibrary loan, but we don't know which books to request. HELP! :001_smile: ETA: EK prefers realistic romantic fiction in a modern-day setting--NOT Victorian or pioneer (Love Comes Softly, etc.) romance stories. Edited March 19, 2011 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I assume you've tried Grace Livingston Hill? That was the standard when I was growing up, though I haven't read any in AGES. I found some at the library I want to pre-read for dd. No clue if they'd be good or not. There's a really nice amish series by Mary Borntrager that are still pretty modern (if an amish topic can be modern, hehe) that I enjoyed. I've read Ellie and Rebekah so far and found more at the library to try. Dd isn't jumping, so I'll probably have to read them myself. Not hard reads, but very thought-provoking. They're in the teen fiction section of our library but are well below say a GLHill. And for something that isn't really a romance but still interesting, she might look at "Never Done" by Susan Strasser. It's a history of american housework, well-written, with lots of pictures and interesting rabbit trails. There's also sometimes romance in missionary biographies. For instance anything about the lives of Jim and Elisabeth Elliott will include their romance (waiting, trying to decide when, etc.). Has she read anything by Elisabeth Elliott yet? "Quest for Love" is MARVELOUS. Gladys Aylward even had a brush with romance, one of those ill-fated ones where he saves her but isn't destined to marry her... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 I assume you've tried Grace Livingston Hill? That was the standard when I was growing up, though I haven't read any in AGES. I found some at the library I want to pre-read for dd. No clue if they'd be good or not. There's a really nice amish series by Mary Borntrager that are still pretty modern (if an amish topic can be modern, hehe) that I enjoyed. I've read Ellie and Rebekah so far and found more at the library to try. Dd isn't jumping, so I'll probably have to read them myself. Not hard reads, but very thought-provoking. They're in the teen fiction section of our library but are well below say a GLHill. And for something that isn't really a romance but still interesting, she might look at "Never Done" by Susan Strasser. It's a history of american housework, well-written, with lots of pictures and interesting rabbit trails. There's also sometimes romance in missionary biographies. For instance anything about the lives of Jim and Elisabeth Elliott will include their romance (waiting, trying to decide when, etc.). Has she read anything by Elisabeth Elliott yet? "Quest for Love" is MARVELOUS. Gladys Aylward even had a brush with romance, one of those ill-fated ones where he saves her but isn't destined to marry her... I've heard of Grace Livingston Hill, but I don't know anything about her writing. EK wants stories about contemporary teens and their struggles with friends, boys, school, dating, waiting, etc. She is not at all interested in the "classic" romance stories--no "old" people, just teens--complete with television, computers, cell phones, and texting. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFwife Claire Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I read some Grace Livingston Hill books when iw as growing up because my mom was a fan. They are definitely Victorian, and I didn't feel like the characters were very realistic at all. I doubt they are what your daughter is looking for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 I found some that I think she'll like, and I've put several titles on reserve at our local library: My Boyfriends' Dogs by Dandi Daley Mackall Becoming Me by Melody Carlson Forgotten by Melody Carlson Premiere by Melody Carlson Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson Perfectly Dateless by Kristin Billerbeck So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones Motorcycles, Sushi & One Strange Book by Nancy N. Rue Boyfriends, Burritos & an Ocean of Trouble by Nancy N. Rue Familiar with any of them? What did you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) Melody Carlson and other Christian teen fiction tends to be "problem" novels, not my cup of tea! I've heard the Christy Miller are really good, and I want my daughter to read them for summer fun reading. A contemporary Christian author that I love, she's absolutely hilarious, is Kristin Billerbeck. Her grown up series fiction about single working girls would likely interest a teen, but she also has a teen fiction book out. HTH. http://www.christianbook.com/perfectly-dateless-universally-misunderstood/kristin-billerbeck/9780800734398/pd/734398?item_code=WW&netp_id=742647&event=ESRCN&view=details Edited March 22, 2011 by LNC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 I've heard the Christy Miller are really good, and I want my daughter to read them for summer fun reading. EK loved every single one of the Christy Miller series books. She also liked the Sierra Jensen and Glenbrook spin-offs, but not as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 These may not be exactly what you're looking for, but Dee Henderson writes Christian romance books and while I don't care for romance novels, per se, I do enjoy hers. I feel the characters are realistic and their struggles are easy to relate to. There's also some action and suspense in many of her novels. Here's her site so your dd can check out book synopses and decide if she's interested. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 These aren't really pure romance, and they are not necessarily Christian either, but they are clean and fun and about teens. They are an older series though, not modern (maybe written in the 1940's??). But, each of my girls got totally caught up with them! They are the Betsy-Tacey series. There are about 10 of them in the series, although their level of reading goes with the ages that the girls actually are in the stories. So, the earlier ones are really for younger girls. Your daughter would probably start with "Heaven to Betsy," knowing that after that they get more and more into high school school and the lives of teens and fun and friendship, even college eventually and traveling around the world and then marriage. They are a WONDERFUL series, and are actually based on the life of the author Maude Hart Lovelace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 My favorite Christian author is Francine Rivers. Just avoid Redeeming Love until she's a bit older as it's quite adult and intense. Angela Hunt Another idea is to browse the books being published by OakTara. Fabulous selection there. http://www.oaktara.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 My favorite Christian author is Francine Rivers. Just avoid Redeeming Love until she's a bit older as it's quite adult and intense. EK absolutely LOVES Francine Rivers! Her very favorite is Atonement Child, which she read when she was 14. She says it is her favorite book EVER, and she buys used copies when she finds them so she can give them away to her friends. :001_smile: She read Redeeming Love last year (age 15), and loved it almost as much. She begged me to read it, and I read it last summer. I enjoyed it too, although I do think it is "adult", and I kind of taken aback because I had let her read it. Angela Hunt Another idea is to browse the books being published by OakTara. Fabulous selection there. http://www.oaktara.com/ Thanks; I'll check into these. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 ...help us find "cheesy teen romance novels that are clean" (EK's exact words). The library was really, really busy when we were there, but the librarian is going to do some looking and make some recommendations for us. And many thanks to all of you for your recommendations here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachmejoy Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I have a friend who has published a novel called Kiss, Bang, Boom! by Leslie Lamb. It is really good and is specifically for Teen girls. I enjoyed reading it, too! The second one should be out soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jami Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know you said not historically set stories, but Eva Ibbotson has some really lovely YA romance novels. They're like fairy tales and set in Europe around WW2 if I recall correctly. The Countess Below Stairs Company of Swans The Morning Gift There may be others I'm forgetting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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