Looking for swoony, heartfelt love stories with Black teens at the center? Our latest teen blog post highlights powerful romances and coming-of-age journeys featuring Black characters as romantic leads in books. From sweet meet-cutes to complicated second chances, these stories celebrate joy, vulnerability, and Black love in all its beautiful forms.
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he's navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican--but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. As he gets older, Michael's coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs--and the Black Flamingo is born. Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are--and allow us to shine.
The Black Flamingo | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling by Elise Bryant
Delilah hides her messy emotions behind indifference and reluctantly sings in her friends’ punk band, while Reggie, a proud D&D Dungeon Master and secret “Blerd”, keeps his passions hidden from his disapproving family. When they keep running into each other on major holidays, it begins to feel like the universe is determined to bring these total opposites together.
Reggie and Delilah's year of falling | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Friday I'm In Love by Camryn Garret
Mahalia Harris wants. She wants a big Sweet Sixteen like her best friend Naomi. She wants the super cute new girl Siobhan to like her back. She wants a break from worrying, about money, snide remarks from white classmates, pitying looks from church ladies . . . all of it. Then inspiration strikes: It's too late for a Sweet Sixteen, but what if she had a Coming Out Party? A singing, dancing, rainbow-cake-eating celebration of queerness on her own terms.
Friday I'm in love / | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
Quinn's journal is where she writes down everything, in list format, that she doesn't want to admit out loud, or even face; once they're written, she can release them and feel a little bit more at peace. When the journal goes missing and her list of biggest fears is posted online with a challenge to face each of them or else have the entire journal go public, it's time for Quinn to move out of the realm of her mind and into real life. She's not going quietly, however, and finds herself working to track down the blackmailer before time runs out.
Excuse me while I ugly cry | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Bradley Graeme may seem perfect, star football player, top student, managing his OCD, but his fiercest rival is his former best friend, Celine Bangura, who still hasn’t forgiven him for choosing popularity over her. When they’re forced to team up in a wilderness survival course, they must confront their messy past and decide whether their history is too broken to fix—or just ready for something new
Highly suspicious and unfairly cute | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N Jamal
Rochelle “the Shell” Coleman is determined to become valedictorian, get into Wharton, and outshine her academic rival, Amira Rodriguez—so she takes a job at the beloved Black-owned Horizon Cinemas to boost her college application, only to discover Amira is her boss. As they work together to save the struggling theater from mysterious threats, Rochelle begins to see Amira in a new light and wonders if love might steal the spotlight after all.
If we were a movie | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle
Prince Jones, a self-professed teen love doctor known for his radio segment on the local hip-hop station, believes he can get the bookish, anti-romance Dani Ford to fall in love with him in three dates.
Love radio / | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Opposite of Always by Justin A Reynolds
Jack Ellison King, the “king of almost,” finally finds something real when he falls for Kate—until she suddenly dies and their love story is cut short. But when Kate’s death sends him back to the night they first met, Jack seizes the chance to save her, only to discover that changing the past comes with devastating consequences.
Opposite of always | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Chaos Theory by Nic Stone
Since she’s only at Windward Academy for her senior year, Shelbi avoids making friends to protect herself from being hurt again like she was at her last school. When she connects with the troubled Andy Criddle after seeing him at his lowest, their growing relationship forces them to confront grief, mental health struggles, and the painful pasts that could tear them apart.
Chaos theory | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
This Ain't Our First Rodeo Liara Tamani
Josie and Shawn, two teens who reconnect at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for a second chance at love, navigating family expectations, personal dreams, and the legacy of Black cowboys and cowgirls. The story follows Josie, who wants to save her grandparents' ranch, and Shawn, a bull rider dealing with family pressure, as their lives become intertwined through the rodeo world.
This ain't our first rodeo / | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Evie Thomas has stopped believing in love after she begins seeing visions of couples’ romances, how they start and how they end in heartbreak, whenever she watches them kiss. As she tries to understand her strange ability, she finds herself drawn into ballroom dancing with the daring and adventurous X, forcing her to question whether love might still be worth the risk.
Instructions for dancing | Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks...A first meeting. Long-time friends. Bitter exes. And maybe the beginning of something new. When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.