Books like 'Once and for All'
Readers who enjoyed Once and for All by Sarah Dessen also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance realistic season-summer high-school friendship family coming-of-age grief humor
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November Blues by Sharon M. Draper
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she's faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh's parents take the news? She's never needed a friend more... -
![Bronxwood by Coe Booth]()
Bronxwood by Coe Booth
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe acclaimed author of TYRELL and KENDRA returns to PUSH to continue Tyrell's astonishing story. Tyrell's father is just out of jail, and Tyrell doesn't know how to deal with that. It's bad enough that his brother Troy is in foster care and that his mother is no help whatsoever. Now there's another thing up in his face, just when he's trying to settle down... -
![The Year of Chasing Dreams by Lurlene McDaniel]()
The Year of Chasing Dreams by Lurlene McDaniel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Readers will swoon over this story of love despite impossible odds."--Romantic TimesFrom the author of Don't Die, My Love comes this young adult novel that intertwines a family saga with a grand love story. This novel stands alone or can be read as the companion to The Year of Luminous Love and Wishes and Dreams. For fans of Sarah Dessen's The Moon and More and Ann Brashares's Forever in Blue... -
![Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford]()
Carter's Unfocused, One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter an eventful freshman year and disastrous summer, fifteen-year-old Will Carter returns to Merrian High none the wiser. His sophomore year will present a host of new problems: the return of Scary Terry from juvie, the pregnant presence of Amber Lee, friends-with-benefits negotiations with Abby, prom night expectations, and the ever-constant harassment from his boys... -
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![The Good Girl & the Bad Boy by M.L. Collins]()
The Good Girl & the Bad Boy by M.L. Collins
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhat happens when Jackson High’s Good Girl and Bad Boy are forced to work together? I’ll tell you:I destroy his guitar. (Accidentally!)He uses my guilt to trick me into doing his work.For three weeks!Until I find out he lied. Oh, heck no. This bad boy has crossed the wrong girl.I call him out on it. In front of the whole school.Check mate, bad boy. “It feels good to be bad,” he whispers... -
![You’re the One That I Want by Simon James Green]()
You’re the One That I Want by Simon James Green
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFreddie has a reputation as a ‘nice guy’ – inoffensive, sweet, kind – and therefore completely un-dateable.As he starts sixth form, Freddie decides that this nice guy isn’t going to finish last any more. No more missing out on parties because he’s got to do his homework. No more saying no when he really wants to say yes... -
![The Gossip File by Anna Staniszewski]()
The Gossip File by Anna Staniszewski
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Gossip File:-Chandra lets little kids pee in the pool.-Melody stole $ from the cafe register.-Ava isn’t who she says she is…Ava is cool. Ava is confident. Ava is really Rachel Lee who is lying her butt off.Rachel is visiting her dad at a resort in sunny Florida and is ready for two weeks of relaxing poolside, trips to Disney World and NOT scrubbing toilets... -
![The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz]()
The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's the summer before freshman year in high school and Nina decides to follow what someone said at her middle-school graduation: "Be unnoticed, but be remarkable." Her best friend Jorie is focusing on boys, clothes, and popularity, her lawyer parents are diving into a new case, and this is the first summer without her beloved Grandma, so she's is feeling a little lost... -
![Beach Blondes: June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic by Katherine Applegate]()
Beach Blondes: June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic by Katherine Applegate
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThree months. Three guys. One amazing summer. Summer Smith is in for the best summer of her life. Between the cold weather and her boyfriendless existence in Minnesota, Summer is ready for sun, sand, and boys in the Florida Keys. And by the end of the first day, she has more than enough to keep her busy: Adam , the senator's son, has looks, power, and all the money in the world... -
![Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story by Jason Reynolds]()
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...A Love Story by Jason Reynolds
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJason Reynolds tackles it—you know…it—from the guy’s perspective in this stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first.Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria... -
![What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume]()
What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsYou know all those movies where teenagers have, like, THE SUMMER OF THEIR LIVES?This summer is probably not going to be that.Source: Everything that's happened since yesterday ... The last thing sixteen-year-old Maisie Martin thought she'd be doing this summer is entering a beauty pageant.Not when she's spent most of her life hiding her body from everyone... -
![Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck]()
Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe future is anything but certain in this alternately funny and heartbreaking contemporary story about food trucks, festivals, and first loves.It's easy to look at high school senior Oscar Olsson and think: lost. He hates school, struggles to read, and wants nothing to do with college. But Oscar is anything but lost---he knows exactly what he wants and exactly how to get it... -
![Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi]()
Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFourteen-year-old Iranian-American Parvin Mohammadi sets out to win the ultimate date to homecoming in this heartfelt and outright hilarious debut.Parvin Mohammadi has just been dumped--only days after receiving official girlfriend status. Not only is she heartbroken, she's humiliated. Enter high school heartthrob Matty Fumero, who just might be the smoking-hot cure to all her boy problems... -
![Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens]()
Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Hazel Clarke is no stranger to heartbreaks, and being sent to live with a father she’s never met is the latest in a string of them. Even the beauty of eastern Australia isn’t enough to take her mind off her mother and the life she had to leave behind in England... -
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![Access Denied: And Other Eighth Grade Error Messages by Denise Vega]()
Access Denied: And Other Eighth Grade Error Messages by Denise Vega
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsComputer whiz Erin Swift is ready to start eighth grade. The Year of Humiliating Events (aka, seventh grade) is behind her and she's ready to rule the school. But eight grade comes with its own set of problems for Erin to navigate, including her first boyfriend, her first break-up, and the fact that her mom has been treating her more like an eight year old than an eighth grader... -
![Noah Goes Nuclear by Simon James Green]()
Noah Goes Nuclear by Simon James Green
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNoah Grimes is back, in a new, original short story!Noah is v excited: his class have been shipped off to a hotel in the Lake District to study a nearby Nuclear Power Station! On arrival, all Noah wants to do is settle in to his crisp hotel sheets and get proper rest, but his conniving secret half-brother Eric Smith has other plans... -
![The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger]()
The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRussel Middlebrook needs to get away. It's tough being sixteen and out at your high school. So being a summer camp counselor sounds like the perfect solution -- but Russel has no idea how crazy this summer will be. Rowdy ten-year-old burn survivors, Indian legends, moonlit skinny dipping, and passionate summer romance are just the beginning . . -
![Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles]()
Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter fathering a baby, a teenager moves in with his karate-loving uncle and tries to come to terms with his guilt — and find a way to forgive. This isn’t how Josh expected to spend senior year. He thought he’d be hanging out with his best friends, Dave and Caleb, driving around, partying, just like always... -
![What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen]()
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsWho is the real McLean? Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva... -
![We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis]()
We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPart Coming-Out Story.Part falling-in-love story.Part falling-apart story.Harvey's dads are splitting up. It's been on the cards for a while, but it's still sudden. Woken-by-his-father-to-catch-a-red-eye sudden. Now he's restarting His Life In A New City, Living Above A Cafe With The Extended Greek Family He Barely Knows.Sotiris is a rising star... -
![Save the Date by Tamara Summers]()
Save the Date by Tamara Summers
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVictoria Finnegan to marry Kevin Ork in the Rose Bower of Cynthia Flair Botanical GardensSunday, June 17, 3 p.m.Dress: very flowery.Yay.Paris Finnegan is marrying Jiro Kuan on the beach at Huntsville National ParkSaturday, August 11, 1 p.m.Dress: Um . . -
![Carter Finally Gets It: A Novel by Brent Crawford, Nick Podehl]()
Carter Finally Gets It: A Novel by Brent Crawford, Nick Podehl
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMeet Will Carter, but feel free to call him Carter. (Yes, he knows it's a lazy nickname, but he didn't have much say in the matter.) Here are five things you should know about him:1. He has a stuttering problem, particularly around boobs and belly buttons.2. He battles Attention Deficit Disorder every minute of every day...unless he gets distracted.3... -
![Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson]()
Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAfter a not-quite-peachy year apart, three Georgia peaches come home to Darlington Orchard When Murphy chose New York City, she left her first love behind. Now, a summer in Bridgewater means trading subway trains for pickup trucks and facing the boy she turned her back on... -
![Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake]()
Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Just let it go.”That’s what everyone keeps telling Hadley St. Clair after she learns that her father cheated on her mother. But Hadley doesn’t want to let it go. She wants to be angry and she wants everyone in her life—her dad most of all—to leave her alone.Sam Bennett and his family have had their share of drama too... -
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![7 Clues to Winning You by Kristin Walker]()
7 Clues to Winning You by Kristin Walker
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen a humiliating picture of Blythe goes viral, she's instantly the target of ridicule at her new school. To salvage her reputation, Blythe teams up with Luke to win the Senior Scramble scavenger hunt. But Luke is an unlikely ally and potentially can't be trusted. Perhaps it's his Shakespearean witticisms that reel Blythe in despite her better judgment . . -
![Forever Changed by Tiffany King]()
Forever Changed by Tiffany King
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKassandra Cole has it all—a stable home with great parents, popularity and all the friends she could ever need. She is used to a lifestyle where everything comes easy to her, from good grades to being captain of the cheerleading squad.Her entire world is shaken to the core when a fatal accident takes her father, causing Kassandra to re-examine the course her life was on... -
![Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell]()
Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRebecca Blue is a rebel with an attitude whose life is changed by a chance encounter with a soon-to-be dead girl. Rebel (as she’s known) decides to complete the dead girl’s bucket list to prove that choice, not chance, controls her fate. In doing so, she unexpectedly opens her mind and heart to a world she once dismissed—a world of friendships, family, and faith... -
![Little Big Love by Katy Regan]()
Little Big Love by Katy Regan
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne of Real Simple's Best Books of 2018About a Boy meets Parenthood in this smart, big-hearted love story about a family for whom everything changed one night, a decade ago, and the young boy who unites them all.Ten-year-old Zac Hutchinson collects facts: octopuses have three hearts, Usain Bolt is the fastest man on earth... -
![Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods]()
Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"Whether or not you believe in fate or reading the stars, if you believe in happiness and love to laugh, read Summer of Supernovas."--Jay Asher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why Fans of Jennifer E. Smith and Jenny Han will fall in love with this heartfelt and humor-laced debut following one zodiac-obsessed teen as she struggles to find the guy of her cosmic dreams... -
![A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt]()
A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDr. Villapando told me to get a good attorney. He wasn't serious. But I am. I'm going to sue my parents.Juniper Jade's parents are hippies. They didn’t attend the first Woodstock, but they were there for the second one. The Jade family lives an all-organic homeschool lifestyle that means no plastics, no cell phones, and no vaccines... -
![How to Speak Boy by Tiana Smith]()
How to Speak Boy by Tiana Smith
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsQuinn and Grayson have been fierce speech and debate rivals for years. They can't stand one another, either in competition or in real life. But when their AP Government teacher returns their school assignments to the wrong cubbies, they begin exchanging anonymous notes without knowing who the other is... -
![Rock On by Denise Vega]()
Rock On by Denise Vega
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOri Taylor is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the Band To Be Named Later, a garage band he started with his friends. After years of being known only as the kid brother of sports star Del, Ori is looking forward to stepping out of his older brother's shadow, learning to perform in public, and rocking the Battle of the Bands contest... -
![Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin]()
Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA tragicomic story of bad dates, bad news, bad performances, and one girl's determination to find the funny in high school from the author of Denton Little's Deathdate .Winnie Friedman has been waiting for the world to catch on to what she already she's hilarious.It might be a long wait, though. After bombing a stand-up set at her own bat mitzvah, Winnie has kept her jokes to herself... -
![Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland]()
Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsToday Tonight Tomorrow meets A Pho Love Story in this whip-smart young adult novel about a girl who embarks on a “breezy road trip romp” ( Publishers Weekly ) with her longtime rival to win back her best friend and his girlfriend... -
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![Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin]()
Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTeen rocker Ritchie Sudden is pretty sure his life has just jumped the shark. Except he hates being called a teen, his band doesn't play rock, and "jumping the shark" is yet another dumb cliché. Part of Ritchie wants to drop everything and walk away. Especially the part that's serving ninety days in a juvenile detention center... -
![The Edge of Summer by Erica George]()
The Edge of Summer by Erica George
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson will be swept away by this big-hearted novel about one girl navigating first loss and first love during her summer on Cape Cod.Saving the whales has been Coriander Cabot and her best friend Ella’s dream since elementary school... -
![Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey]()
Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJolie's a lot of things, but she knows that pretty isn't one of them. She has mandibular prognathism, which is the medical term for underbite. Chewing is a pain, headaches are a common occurrence, and she’s never been kissed. She’s months out from having a procedure to correct her underbite, and she cannot wait to be fixed... -
![Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer]()
Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsGemma Mitchell is a normal girl who somehow gets herself into abnormally embarrassing circumstances. And while she thinks she's the biggest loser in school because of them, there are a few people in her life who would disagree. One of those people is her best friend, Jess Tyler, who is opposite to her in every way... -
![Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman]()
Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLooking for a new beginning after a terrible mean girl past, Charlie Healey realizes there's no escaping high school drama... Charlie Healey thinks Harmony Falls is the beginning of a whole new life. Middle school was brutal. But high school is Charlie's big chance to start over and stay out of drama, except that on her first day she runs into Will, her ex-best friend, who had moved away... -
![Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton]()
Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLove blossoms by the lake in this sweet summer romance, in the tradition of Seventeeth Summer and Sixteenth Summer.Chelsea isn’t looking forward to her summer at the lake. It’s the first time her family has been there since her grandmother died, and she can’t break out of her funk. But her summer takes a turn for the better when she meets a boy who works in the bookstore... -
![Next Summer by Hailey Abbott]()
Next Summer by Hailey Abbott
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThings are heating up again. Can you handle it?The SUMMER BOYS girls are back for another dose of sizzling drama... -
![Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley, Heather Hepler]()
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley, Heather Hepler
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCalliope (or Cal as she calls herself ) wants nothing more than to stay put, to stop traveling cross-country with her mother, sleeping in a tent, abandoning all belongings whenever they pull up stakes. Eliot misses the happy times he left behind when his father decided to open a camp for kids looking to lose weight and find Jesus... -
![Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell]()
Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBig-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly... -
![The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody]()
The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this romantic road trip story perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson, a teen girl discovers the value of ordinary objects while learning to forgive her absent father.After Ali’s father passes away, he leaves his one and only prized possession—a 1968 Firebird convertible—to his daughter. But Ali doesn’t plan on keeping it...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama enemies-to-lovers family grief high-school realistic season-summer -
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![10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston]()
10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe new story focuses on two different teens from the large Italian-American family of the first novel. When they swap phones—and life challenges—in the party-circuit run-up to high-school graduation, disastrous but transformative consequences unfold. Publication is set for spring 2021...Categorized as:
realistic family coming-of-age season-summer high-school enemies-to-lovers humor friendship -
![The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler]()
The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA powerful and gripping contemporary YA from the author of I'm Not Her that's "Just right for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jodi Picoult."-BooklistThe truth is that Jess knows she screwed up.She's made mistakes, betrayed her best friend, and now she's paying for it. Her dad is making her spend the whole summer volunteering at the local soup kitchen... -
![Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley]()
Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSometimes a good-bye is just the beginning.When Emily Carson’s parents die in a plane crash, she’s left with nothing but her mother’s last words scrawled in lipstick on a tray table: Emily, please forgive me.Now it’s fall and Emily moves to New York City, where she attracts the attention of two very different boys: the cute, popular Owen, and her quirky chemistry partner, Anthony... -
![Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro]()
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSophomore year, Nicolette Antonovich was dumped two days before prom by the hottest guy at school. As a result, she became the proud owner of one unworn, perfectly magical pink vintage dress. But Nic is determined to put that night behind her for good. She's a junior now— older, wiser, and completely overwhelmed by a new set of problems: (1) The bank's ready to foreclose on her childhood home... -
![For Keeps by Natasha Friend]()
For Keeps by Natasha Friend
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJosie's never met her dad, and that's fine with her. To Josie, Paul Tucci is just a guy who got her mom pregnant and then moved away. It all happened sixteen years ago, when Josie's mom was still a teenager herself... -
![Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor]()
Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIf Kate were Lady Brett Ashley, the devastating heroine of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises , she'd spend her summers careering around the Riviera in her coupe, breaking hearts by the dozen—because why not ? In reality, Kate's never even had a boyfriend, and she'll be spending the summer abetting her mom's lame ploy to make her dad jealous: running off to Cape Cod and crashing at the seaside...
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