The Crown Author Kiera Cass Shares Her Top 10 YA Love Stories

Starting with The Selection and stretching across five books and two storylines, Kiera Cass created the world of the Selection, in which American Singer, a lowly contestant in the competition to become Prince Maxon’s bride, snags his royal heart, survives an uprising to marry him, and gives birth to daughter Eadlyn, the first princess to choose her husband in a Selection of her own. Eadlyn’s story began in last year’s The Heir, and concludes with The Crown, in which Eadlyn must select her husband from among the remaining contendors in her Selection—a choice that becomes more difficult than she could have imagined.
Here’s veteran writer of swoony romance Cass on her own favorite YA love stories.

A Certain Slant of Light, by Laura Whitcomb
This sort-of ghost story is complicated and beautiful with spirits inhabiting bodies who are alive though their souls are dead. When the two spirits want to be together, but their bodies belong to people from considerably different spheres, something as simple as being in love becomes very messy.

The Morning Gift, by Eva Ibbotson
The historian in me loves this book. More complicated love, crossed signals, and near misses make it tense and lovely.

Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein
Now, this isn’t a love story so much in the romance department, but the deep, unyielding love between two friends is as compelling as any boy-meets-girl I’ve ever read. I wasn’t sure what the fuss about this book was until I got to the middle and my heart exploded.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
I’d be denying a huge cornerstone of YA romance if I didn’t mention Twilight. The fantasy elements in her world magnify the “that guy is so far out of my reach” feeling that every teenage girl has had, and there are sections that still make me swoon.

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
I’ll just keep it simple: This one is so sweet.

The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renée Ahdieh
There are so many layers to this story, and many different kinds of love. Exploring what you’ll do for family, for friends, for the person you want to be with, and the one you should run from made me race through this book.

The Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale
Told in dairy format, this story takes you through a servant’s devotion to her mistress and her unlikely attraction to the prince who ends up giving them sanctuary. In another love story that reaches beyond romance, the relationships of the women in this book are precious.

Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr
I guess I’m a sucker for impossible love stories, because I spent the entire five books of this series having no idea who to pull for. The added element of our heroine being drawn into the world of fairies makes it all that more magical.

Pretty Much Anything Ever, by Sarah Dessen
Sarah will go down in history for making a gazillion wonderful contemporary love stories, and you really can’t go wrong if you pick one off the shelf of your local bookstore. That said, the one that stayed with me the longest is probably Just Listen.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
This was the first YA book I read as a teenager, and it has stayed with me forever. It’s another one with many different types of love displayed and leaves you without knowing if Charlie ever gets the girl. But there’s an element of undeniable hope that lingers with you long after you finish.