When did Ms. LGBTQIA+, spec fic, bloody history, magical mayhem, comics, and manga start reading YA romance? About four years ago when I started writing for Book Riot and came to the realization that, like so many others, I was being an insufferable snob about romance in general and YA romance in particular. Which… I call hypocrite on myself considering how much my favorite medium of books with pictures gets slammed as “not real books” and “just for kids” and “oh, you’re reading that?”

Why YA romance? That one I don’t have as solid an answer to. Some of the books I fall into because my favorite adult fantasy authors who cross genres to romance tend to land in YA. YA romance also tends to have more diverse casts than “adult” romance, which is something I look for specifically when making selections these days – both for myself and for books I want to yell about on these here interwebs so other people hear about them.

Everyone deserves to see themselves in what they’re reading, especially the stuff that explores complex dynamics and the deceptive weird navigation of crushes, relationships, and love. I also find that, although there are vast differences, there are also some parallels between growing up in some Asian cultures and growing up Jewish-American in terms of an emphasis on education, practicality, respect for elders, an expectation that input from elders will be heeded, and a focus on the future and having a solid plan that will put one in a position more secure than one’s parents.

And because there’s a lack of Jewish-American-centric YA romance, I gravitate to “for sure not the same but, yeah, I can see it.”

This week, I’m going to introduce you to some of my favorite YA romances starring Asian American protagonists. I say “Asian American” here not because I’m lumping everyone together but because this is an introduction to a list of books with casts from several different, specific backgrounds, each of which influences their story in important ways. I also wanted to give you a general idea of direction so you can decide whether to stay or bail. Good? Good.

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

I  just finished A Pho Love Story, and I absolutely adored it. Food is a common theme in YA romances, which may be something else that draws me to them (amateur chef here), and Le’s book combines a little bit of restaurant culture with a little bit of Romeo and Juliet, a dash of dreams, and a whole lot of family history.

As I said above, YA romance often does something mature romance doesn’t, which is explore not only the couple’s dynamic but also that of each member of the couple with their respective families and then the families with one another. That exploration makes for a much richer world and a more interesting (I think) plot. Le does a particularly excellent job of working intimate family dynamics from both sides into her larger story.

Bao and Linh met once when they were kids. Both of their families freaked out and they were never allowed to hang out again, despite the fact they’ve gone to the same schools and their families own restaurants across the road from each other. One night, Bao offers to help when he sees Linh’s restaurant overwhelmed, and suddenly… sparks.

It turns out, however, that Bao and Linh’s relationship isn’t as simple as convincing their parents to set aside their differences; the history between the families goes all the way back to Vietnam before the war and straddles the stories of each group’s grueling escape and hard work to scrape out a life in a new home, knowing they can never go back. It is also the story of someone beloved who didn’t make it.

It’s all very complicated. Can love conquer all? Maybe. But maybe not.

A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

Liza is smart. She works hard. She’s kind, and she’ll take on any challenge. Maybe she’s a little rebellious. Maybe she dates white boys. Maybe she rejects the Chinese-American boys her mom picks out for her on principal, but, in fairness, it usually turns out they’re pretty awful anyway. Maybe she’s not as perfect as her sister Jeannie.

But at least she and her mom share a love of baking, right? That should be enough. Her mom owns a bakery; the fact that it’s in Liza’s blood should make her happy!

It doesn’t. Baking isn’t a real future. It’s not stable or steady. It’s long hours for little return. A business degree… now that’s useful.

But, Liza thinks when her mother offers to let her help judge the local, yearly baking competition, maybe she’s coming around. Maybe she sees how good Liza is. Maybe…

She just wants to turn it into a Bachelorette scenario to find Liza a boyfriend. And maybe one of the boys she chooses is the quiet, moody, borderline obnoxious James Wong. The unexpected Mister Darcy who rudely waltzed into Liza’s life while she was out with a friend earlier in the summer and just won’t go away.

I’m a sucker for a good Pride and Prejudice retelling, and I appreciate that Yen borrowed what worked but didn’t try to shove what didn’t into weird corners and hidden stairways. A Taste for Love is another romance with great family dynamics, and this one gets to play with a sister relationship, which can be the best of the best and still be fraught – a hard thing to capture but Yen snapshots perfectly.

From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn

Mwahahahahhaahahahaha. I have it. Yaaas!

I’m always so, so happy when an ARC of one of Sarah’s books appears in my inbox. I’m still reading this one, but I couldn’t leave it off the list because it is so much yes and you should go preorder it now.

Rika grew up with her aunties and cousins, told her mother died when she was born. She loves her family, even though she never quite fit in to their rom-com loving, princess-daydream clan, spending most of her energy trying to tame her kaiju temper just to fly below the radar.

She already attracts enough attention for being biracial and the product of a scandal.

After a freak meeting with a movie star, it turns out everything Rika has been told about her mother may be a lie. And everything she’s been told about magical romance may be possible, even if she’s willing it not to be.

As a girl who never fit in, and as a mom who still doesn’t (no, sitting around talking about the intellectual achievements of my kids when they were 5 doesn’t sound like fun… and yes, I do watch cartoons and read manga and say fuck in public, thanks), this story is both difficult and comforting. Which probably sounds weird, but stay with me. I hate seeing other people go through what I’ve gone through, but I’m glad they have the space to do it younger than I did (even when they’re fictional) and that they get to spend more of their lives as themselves.

Also: sapphic aunties and an alternative family structure FTW.

I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn

It’s only fair that I also give you a Sarah Kuhn book you can read now because they are a delight and a joy and the angst is of the perfect degree to “make the story engaging without totally stressing you out.”

Japanese-American Kimi loves the drama of fashion but not the family drama that comes with convincing her mother why she should be allowed to live her dream. So when the opportunity to spend the summer in Japan with her grandparents, from whom her mother is estranged, pops up unexpectedly, Kimi grabs it.

What she finds it both familiar and new, and what’s new is pretty remarkable – including Akira, a mochi mascot dedicated to helping his beloved uncle and to becoming a doctor. Kimi also discovers she and her mother aren’t as different as she thought, though what that means for her future isn’t as clear.

And it’s okay not to know.

I Love You so Mochi is a little different than the other books on the list in that it’s a book about letting go rather than holding on; it’s about accepting parents as equals, as people, rather than mothers and fathers who have your best interests at heart, even if they don’t always express that care in the way you’d prefer.

As much as we think we want independence, actually separating is one of the hardest things we’ll ever do. That’s why, in our 30s and 40s, we’re still seeking approval from our trusted adults, still want them to tell us we’re doing a good job, that we’ve done the right thing, that they’re proud of us. By the end of I Love You So Mochi, Kimi, though she appreciates those things, can exist in a world where she provides those things for herself.

We should all be so lucky.

I’ve heard a lot of folx saying they’ve been in a reading slump lately, and I feel that in my soul. However, these wonderful, honest YA romances have totally busted me out of mine, so learn from my mistake, stop being a snob, and dive into one of them. I am 100% sure you will not be sorry and you may find yourself with a delightful, healthy, new addiction.