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15 Books About Falling in Love for the First Time

There's nothing quite like the feeling of falling in love—that sense of floaty, full-throated euphoria that makes you feel like you might just break out in song. It's all-consuming, especially when it's your first love. As we look ahead toward Valentine's Day, we're feeling a bit twitterpated and we want to shout it from the rooftops! Here are fifteen poignant novels about first love.

Forever by Judy Blume

Katherine and Michael are in love, and Katherine knows it's forever—especially after she loses her virginity to him. But when they're separated for the summer, she begins to have feelings for another boy. Is this the love of a lifetime, or the very beginning of a lifetime of love? A groundbreaking YA romance.

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. Now a hit show on Netflix, this charming graphic novel is the first in a series. When shy and softhearted Charlie sits next to rugby player Nick in class one morning, it is the beginning of a transformative relationship for both of them.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara Batista feels unheard. So she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook. The love story at the center of this award-winning novel-in-verse is twofold. As Xiomara is catching feelings for Aman, the sweet boy in her bio class, she's also finding her voice as a poet. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Despite the "miracle" treatment that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal. But when she meets Augustus at Cancer Kid Support Group, her story is about to be completely rewritten. This heartrending YA novel has also been made into a tearjerker of a film. 

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads to the US. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to follow her there, but he ends up in London, instead. Fifteen years later they are reunited in a newly democratic Nigeria. 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Lou Clark is pretty sure she doesn't love her boyfriend. But, what is love anyway? When she takes a badly needed job caring for the privileged, angry Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident, she is surprised when, after a rough start, she begins to have a surprising feeling toward him. Is it love? 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Chinese-American Henry and Keiko, a Japanese immigrant, are living in Seattle during World War II when they fall in love. Faced with the harsh realities of fear and racism, their burgeoning romance is cut short when Keiko's family are sent to internment camps. A poignant exploration of first love and heartbreak. 

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

When Lilah becomes a counselor at a summer camp for the deaf and blind, she finds, for the first time, a community she belongs to. Romance was never on the agenda, but then she meets Isaac, a dreamy fellow counselor who volunteers to help Lilah brush up on her ASL and all the signs seem to point to love. 

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in San Francisco's Chinatown. In this National Book Award-winning novel, Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. Will Lily risk everything to pursue her budding romance with Kath?

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

When Don, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, decides it's time he found a wife, he goes about it in the evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things. But when charismatic Rosie whirls unexpectedly into his life, it throws his orderly process into chaos.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Rookie cops Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are neighbors in the suburbs of New York City. A lifelong friendship and love blossoms between their children Kate and Peter, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next thirty years.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Under an engulfing blanket of snow, Craig and Raina fall in love at winter church camp, revealing to one another their struggles with faith and their dreams of escape. Dreamy and meditative, this award-winning graphic memoir offers an eloquent and beautiful portrait of adolescent yearning.

My Ántonia by Willa Cather

Through Jim Burden's endearing, smitten voice, we revisit immigrant life in late nineteenth-century Nebraska. Jim delivers a lyrical ode to his childhood in Black Hawk, Nebraska, extolling both the land and the people he knew. At the heart of his reminiscences, of course, is the bewitching, free-spirited Ántonia.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Brothers Jeremiah and Conrad are the boys that Belly has known from summers at the beach her whole life. They have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, everything changes. Is this the way it was always meant to be?

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

1958, North Carolina: High school rebel Landon never expected to fall for Jamie, the shy, ethereal daughter of the town's Baptist minister. But destiny had other ideas. Innocence and impossibility are recurring themes in this star-crossed tale plumbing the depths of the human heart—and the joy and pain of life.

Fall in love all over again with these heartfelt reads. And be sure to let us know if you have any favorites to add to the list.

Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon