Transatlantic love

Some things should just be obvious and they aren't. At least not to me. If I were to make a list of some of my favourite YA love stories of recent times, a lot of the following books would definitely be included. And until a wonderful guest post by Luisa Plaja last November, I could never really pinpoint what it is about these books that appealed to me so much.

They're all books with a transatlantic relationship, in which one person is from the UK and the other is American! Why didn't I see this before? Aside from the fun aspects of the slight misunderstandings that occur with language and customs, these types of romance stories are also a big reflection on my own relationship with N.

I am an American citizen, N was born in London. We met, we fell in love and that love transcended our cultural differences and the differences in our age and backgrounds and our language. I love books like the books below that feel very personal as well as having this sometimes fascinating relationship in which some of these other things are explored.


Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Yay for this book! I thought it was utterly sweet when I read it. I love the Paris setting and I really wish that there are more YA books set there in the future. I thought the attraction and tension between Anna and St. Clair at the start of this book was amazing! And while I found the ending to be slightly too much, I loved the journey that I went on to get to that fairy tale happily ever after.

Anna is an American student studying in Paris. Etienne St. Clair is a hot English boy. In Paris, they meet, they fall in love. *happy sigh*


The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith - AWW, this book is so sweet and romantic. I read it in a single sitting because I just could not tear myself away from these characters and this story. There's something very cool about a book that takes place over a single day but that doesn't feel rushed or not enough time to completely tell a full story. This book felt perfect though.

Hadley and Oliver are two strangers who meet in an airport - Hadley is American, Oliver is British. Coincidentally they are both headed to London on the same plane and they spend the long flight getting to know each other. I loved every second I spent with this book!


Nobody's Girl by Sarra Manning - What I love more than almost anything else in a YA novel is some travelling. I like visiting places alongside my characters. Especially if we end up in Paris with a hot American boy like in Nobody's Girl. Sarra Manning is one of my favourite authors right now, and Nobody's Girl is definitely my favourite of her YA stories. I love how Bea thinks she's plain and boring when really she's anything but. And it takes a bad trip with some schoolmates and a spur of the moment decision to travel through Europe to find out more the dad she's never known for Bea to realise this.

She falls in with some American backpackers, including Toph and the time they spend together in Paris is just really incredible!


13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson - Here's another fab book involving European travel. And I just generally adore Maureen Johnson. I think she can make absolutely anything entertaining.

I love the premise of this one. A teenage girl gets letters from her recently deceased aunt urging her on this crazy European adventure in order to share with Ginny some of her life before she died but also to give advice and direction for Ginny to do specific things. And this crazy story leads Ginny to meet some really interesting characters, including an English drama student, Keith. Things don't go so well for these two in the follow-up, but I thought it worked nicely in this book.


Finding Sky by Joss Stirling - Here's a book that I was pretty unconvinced about before I picked it up to read. I thought, oh no, another paranormal romance. But Finding Sky really surprised me. It felt new and different and was an incredibly addictive read. This is a series that I'm really excited about and I'm so glad that I gave it a chance. Both Finding Sky and the sequel, I believe, contain transatlantic romances.

A teenage girl and her family move from England to America, and in her new school, Sky meets local bad-boy Zed who has the ability to speak to her telepathically ... and she finds out that she is a savant, capable of other cool tricks. This is a fun and actiony story but with a really sweet love story.


Split by a Kiss/Swapped by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja - I really love books by Luisa Plaja, they're so much fun. I always end up snorting with laughter at the dialogue and the characters but there's also a lot that it really sweet and relateable as well. Especially in these two books, I can really understand the character's need and want to be somebody else - either a different version of yourself or an entirely different person. I wasn't comfortable or confident in who I was as a teenager either. I think it's a pretty common thing for young people to feel, and I love books like Split and Swapped by A Kiss which deal with exploring what might happen in a body swap situation.

Plus, I love the relationships in these books - with both Jo and Albie and Rachel and David. I probably prefer Rachel and David, but that could be just because of how much I love goth Rachel and her attitude!


Jessie Hearts NYC by Keris Stainton - Can I just say, I absolutely love this trend for books to be set in a particular setting like this? Especially if it presents the place like a character all of its own like with Jessie Hearts NYC. I adore the detail and atmosphere of NYC that we take away from this story of an English girl (and her best friend) staying the summer with her mother. And at the same time we have this American boy Finn, completely in love with his best friend's girlfriend going about the streets of New York City. But in such a big place and filled with so many people, can Jessie and Finn ever meet?

One of my favourite things about this book is how many different times where Finn and Jessie almost meet. It plays a little bit with chance and destiny and two people really MFEO.


So these are my top stories involving transatlantic love, do you have anything to add to the list?