Throwback Thursday: My Favorite Teen Standalone Novels

This week has been a SEVERELY busy one for me, so on a lighter note, I thought today would be the perfect time to post a fun follow up to my last #throwbackthursday blog post with a list of my favorite standalone novels from when I was a teenager! It’s kind of fun to look back and see what books really shaped me as a young reader, since it was then that I became the bibliophile that I am today!

This list includes 5 standalone books I just LOVED as a teenager. (I probably read them each 50-million times. 😅) Let me know if you’ve read any of these titles, and if you did, whether you liked them or not. ☺️

And if you’re curious about my favorite book series from when I was a teenager, you can check them out here!

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

Kate Brown’s life has gone downhill fast.

Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate’s invisible.

And then there’s Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can’t stand even though she can’t stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she’s sure she’s just his latest conquest.

Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn’t realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen — but only if she lets them…

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

Right away I got that Something About To Happen feeling. Right away I knew he was bad, and that it didn’t matter.

It is summer in the Northwest town of Nine Mile Falls, and sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen, ordinarily dubbed The Quiet Girl, finds herself hanging out with gorgeous, rich, thrill-seeking Travis Becker. But Ruby is in over her head, and finds she is risking more and more when she’s with him.

In an effort to keep Ruby occupied, Ruby’s mother Ann drags Ruby to the weekly book club she runs. When it is discovered that one of the group’s own members is the subject of the tragic love story they are reading, Ann and Ruby spearhead a reunion between the long-ago lovers. But for Ruby, this mission turns out to be much more than just a road trip…

Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

High school junior Jenny Greenley is good at solving problems … so good she’s the school newspaper’s anonymous advice columnist. Even if solving other people’s problems doesn’t make her own—like not having a boyfriend—go away, it’s still fun. But when nineteen-year-old screen sensation Luke Striker comes to Jenny’s small town to research a role, he creates havoc that even levelheaded Jenny isn’t sure she can repair … especially since she’s right in the middle of it.

Can Jenny, who always manages to be there for everybody else, learn to take her own advice, and find true love at last?

As you can see a was HUUUUGE fan of teen romance novels back in the day… something I definitely still enjoy even now! In fact, making this list gave me a hankering to reread these books in particular and see if they stand the test of time. 👀

What books did you love reading when you were younger?

Has your taste in books changed a lot since then?

Let me know!