Becky Albertalli is a clinical psychologist who has had the privilege of conducting therapy with dozens of smart, weird, irresistible teenagers. She also served for seven years as co-leader of a support group for gender nonconforming children in Washington, DC.
Albertalli attended college in Connecticut and majored in psychology before moving to Washington, D.C. and gaining a doctorate in clinical psychology. She worked as a psychologist until 2012—when her first son was born—and subsequently decided to try writing a novel.
Let Them Stare (2025) Julie Murphy and Jonathan Van Ness "Let Them Stare glitters with humor and mystery, with a narrator whose verve and charm leap off the page. It's a love letter to queer history wrapped in a small-town ghost story romp, and I loved it to pieces."
When the Tides Held the Moon (2025) Venessa Vida Kelley "Kelley's writing lands like music, infusing early 20th century Coney Island with palpable magic. I'm head over heels for Benny, Rio, their unforgettable found family, and this love song of a book."
The Queen's Spade (2025) (Queen's Spade, book 1) Sarah Raughley "Bold, incisive, and deliciously ruthless. Revenge catharsis at its finest."
The Boy I Love (2025) William Hussey "Lyrical, tender, and incredibly moving. William Hussey masterfully balances brutal realism with pockets of sincere hope and joy."
When the World Tips Over (2024) Jandy Nelson "Jandy Nelson is a true virtuoso, and When The World Tips Over left me speechless. I am fervently in love with this brave, funny, tender, exuberant beating heart of a book."
Dear Wendy (2024) Ann Zhao "Charming, vivid, and sweetly subversive-Dear Wendy is an ode to community, kinship, and unraveling others' assumptions. An evergreen reminder that the best love stories aren't always romantic."
We Got the Beat (2024) Jenna Miller "Charmingly wry and sharply perceptive, with characters who aren't afraid to fumble - but who care enough to mend fences. We Got the Beat is an ode to first love, complicated friendships, and the messy joy of rewriting your own story."
This Day Changes Everything (2024) Edward Underhill "Tender, earnest, and unabashedly romantic-an ode to serendipity, liminal spaces, and the joy of marching to your own drumbeat."
Skater Boy (2024) Anthony Nerada "He was a punk (with a secret soft center). Skater Boy is a perceptive, vividly emotional, complicated love story, told with candor and compassion. Can I make it any more obvious that you should drop everything and read it?"
I Loved You in Another Life (2023) David Arnold "Can the power of love follow us from one life to the next? I LOVED YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE dares to say yes. The funniest, saddest, most romantic book on earth."
Going Bicoastal (2023) Dahlia Adler "This is what it looks like when a brilliant high concept is executed to perfection. It's got all the Dahlia Adler trademarks - romance, wry humor, specificity, and genuine emotional depth."
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (2023) Lex Croucher "Congrats to Gwen and Arthur on their permanent acquisition of my ENTIRE heart. Suffice it to say that I loved this book to a degree that's slightly ridiculous."
Chasing Pacquiao (2023) Rod Pulido "Rod Pulido delivers the ultimate two-punch: bare-knuckled, bruising honesty wrapped in humour, sincerity, and sweetness. If you've ever been let down by your hero, this knockout of a book is here to treat your wounds and heal your heart."
Ander and Santi Were Here (2023) Jonny Garza Villa "This book is a living, breathing love letter, and I felt every beat of it. Jonny Garza Villa's fiercely vulnerable writing leaves a permanent mark."
Last Chance Dance (2023) Lakita Wilson "An ode to love in all its beautiful chaos. Leila is funny, irreverent, and next-level charming, and her story is an actual joyride. Sheer delight through and through."
I Kissed Shara Wheeler (2022) Casey McQuiston "Raise your hand if you've been personally victimised by this funny, weird, razor-sharp, intensely compassionate, subversive, sweet, electrifyingly romantic knockout of a book. Casey freaking McQuiston, you've done it again."
Nothing Burns as Bright as You (2022) Ashley Woodfolk "Wildly ambitious, fearlessly honest, and crackling with the top volume feelings of messy first love. Ashley Woodfolk is a virtuoso. Consider my breath fully taken."
Right Where I Left You (2022) Julian Winters "Petition to have Julian Winters rewrite our collective reality with his signature openhearted sincerity. Is it even possible to read this book without smiling?"
And They Lived... (2022) Steven Salvatore "My heart didn't stand a chance-I loved it from once upon a time all the way to its joyfully complex ever after."
Sunny G's Series of Rash Decisions (2022) Navdeep Singh Dhillon "Pitch-perfect nerds-gone-wild shenanigans with real emotional depth. Navdeep Dhillon's debut is an ode to cosplay, a romance, and a meditation on grief, told through one of the most endearing teen voices I've ever encountered."
Jay's Gay Agenda (2021) Jason June "Jason June, please feel free to check 'conquering my heart' off your agenda, because I'm so in love with this book, it's ridiculous."
May the Best Man Win (2021) ZR Ellor "Earnest, charming, and completely unafraid to dive headfirst into the beautifully messy complexity of grief, gender, and growth. May the Best Man Win won my heart completely."
The Sky Blues (2021) Robbie Couch "Earnest, heartfelt, and sincerely moving. Robbie Couch writes with real honesty and compassion about love, family, and friendship in all their beautiful complexity."
Perfect on Paper (2021) Sophie Gonzales "Didn’t know it was possible to pack a book with this much charm, humor, sincerity, and wisdom, but then again, it’s Sophie Gonzales. Perfect on Paper is perfectly wonderful."
Happily Ever Afters (2021) Elise Bryant "Happily Ever Afters is the warm, nerdy, big-hearted rom-com of my dreams and I dare you to read it without grinning your face off."
K-pop Confidential (2020) (K-Pop, book 1) Stephan Lee "I'm still giddy over this electrifying, big-hearted, all-kill smash of a debut. I couldn't put it down."
Dan Unmasked (2020) Chris Negron "Dan Unmasked is a grand slam of a debut: timeless, moving, and filled to the brim with heart. I can’t stop thinking about it."
Felix Ever After (2020) Kacen Callender "Felix Ever After never shies away from the beautiful, messy complexity of love in all its forms. This book is a gift, from start to finish."
The Love Hypothesis (2020) Laura Steven "Laura Steven simultaneously destroyed the patriarchy and made me laugh so hard I choked. I will protect Izzy O'Neill with my life."
Of Curses and Kisses (2020) (Rosetta's Academy, book 1) Sandhya Menon "There's something about the way Sandhya Menon writes love stories."
It Sounded Better in My Head (2019) Nina Kenwood "I am all-caps OBSESSED with this achingly insightful, utterly charming, beautiful heart-punch of a book. Instant favorite."
I Wish You All the Best (2019) (I Wish You All the Best, book 1) Mason Deaver "Heartfelt, romantic, and quietly groundbreaking. This book will save lives."
Opposite of Always (2019) Justin A Reynolds "Read this one, reread it, and then hug it to your chest. Reynolds’ debut is wise, heartfelt, and wildly, infinitely charming."
The Gravity of Us (2019) Phil Stamper "Phil Stamper's The Gravity of Us is the first love, first launch, astronaut story I didn't know I needed. I'm so starry-eyed for this wise, romantic gem of a book."
Dear Evan Hansen (2018) Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul "Even in book form, Evan Hansen's story sings. Require reading, especially for anyone who's ever needed to be found."
(b.1982)
