Books About First Crushes for Tweens

"Would-be amusement park aficionado Dalia only has two items on her summer bucket list: (1) finally ride a roller coaster and (2) figure out how to make a new best friend. But when her dad suddenly announces that he's engaged, Dalia's schemes come to a screeching halt. With Dalia's future stepsister Alexa heading back to college soon, the grown-ups want the girls to spend the last weeks of summer bonding--meaning Alexa has to cancel the amusement park road trip she's been planning for months. Luckily Dalia comes up with a new plan: If she joins Alexa on her trip and brings Rani, the new girl from her swim team, along maybe she can have the perfect summer after all. But what starts out as a week of funnel cakes and Lazy River rides goes off the rails when Dalia discovers that Alexa's girlfriend is joining the trip. And keeping Alexa's secret makes Dalia realize one of her own: She might have more-than-friend feelings for Rani" -- Amazon.com.

Told in alternating voices, soccer teammates and former friends Tory and Mel develop feelings for each other when they unknowingly meet anonymously online.

One girl. One boy. A small-town ice rink. This sweet story of hockey, friendships, and crushes is perfect for tween readers in search of a hockey rom-com that's just right for them.Harper was born to play hockey. She was captain of her school's hockey team...but after she causes an accident during a game, Harper is terrified to ever get back on the ice again.Instead, she gets a job at the local ice rink's snack shack and resigns herself to days spent making hot chocolates.Until Jason, a cute figure skating champion and Harper's new classmate, comes to town. Suddenly, Harper wonders if she's truly happy with never putting her skates back on.With the help of her new crush and best friend, Bea, can Harper break the ice around her heart and forgive herself enough to lace up her skates again?

When the group dynamic among Jorge's friends starts to shift, he must learn to balance what his friends expect of him and what he really wants.

"Heidi is settling in at Broomsfield Academy. She and Melanie are trying to get along and Heidi is getting used to her classes, all her new friends, and her very first crush, Hunter! The problem is: Hunter is really popular. How will Heidi get him to notice her? Her friends tell her to just be herself, but that sounds so boring! After all, Heidi is a witch-in-training. What good is having magic if you can't use it? She knows she can find the perfect love spell to make Hunter fall in love with her. What could possibly go wrong?"-- Provided by publisher.

Frustrated by how love seems to change those closest to her, twelve soon to be thirteen-year-old Berry sets out to prove that life is better without romance.

Twelve-year-old Bea joins her school's first all-girls hockey team to support her best friend, navigates rocky relationships with her crush Gabi and best friend Celia, and steps up to help save the team when its funding is threatened.

Fourteen-year-old Coco, working as her family park's mascot, bonds with new hire Henry over their struggles, budding feelings, and the park's financial woes, until a secret is revealed that puts much more than their summer on the line.

"Best friends Ivy and Ash arrive for a third summer at arts camp, but Ash struggles to tell Ivy about their developing feelings for her"-- Provided by publisher.

"Susannah Mikami dreams of becoming a famous sushi chef like her dad. And this summer, she plans to learn everything about his traditional kitchen. Only he refuses to teach her, and won't tell her why. Is it because he doesn't want her to embarrass him in front of the documentary crew filming at his restaurant? Or worse, because she's a girl? Either way, Sana decides he's not the only one who can keep secrets. So when she meets Koji, a cute boy who wants to help her cook up some trouble in the kitchen -- and film online tutorials to show the world her mad skills -- Sana is all in. But sneaking around means lying to her parents, something Sana's never done before. Can she take the heat, or will she get out of the kitchen for good?"-- Provided by publisher

After surviving their first friendship hurdle, Fonda, Drew, and Ruthie are stronger than ever and ready to face all the hard seventh-grade stuff together. Or so they think... Fonda has a cool idea for the annual class trip. But Henry and Ava have ideas of their own. Will Fonda's first chance to make a name for herself end before it even begins? Drew still like-likes Will, but when he sides with Henry, will Drew's loyalty to Fonda mean crushing her crush and moving on for good? Ruthie desperately wants a phone and needs a job to pay for it. She starts tutoring her sort-of-cute neighbor--who has a shocking secret that could ruin everything. Will her efforts to stay connected leave her more disconnected than ever? The only thing these girls know for sure is that they have each other's backs for the big stuff, the little stuff, and all the awkward stuff in between.

"This is going to be the summer Julie finally catches the attention of her crush, James! She has the perfect outfits, ice-breaking jokes, and a list of places she can oh-so-casually run into him. At least that was the plan until Julie's parents decided to surprise her by inviting a friend to their beach house for the next three weeks. Honestly, Julie's not even sure she would call Sophia a friend, but one thing is for sure: having to play nice with Sophia who is always hanging around was not on the agenda. Now, Julie has no idea how this summer is going to go--especially since she's unexpectedly feeling flutters around a new friend, Liam...and she thinks he might like her, too. Can Julie figure out how she feels about James and Liam? Or will having Sophia around ruin everything?"-- Amazon website.

Told in verse in two voices, with a chorus of fellow students, this is a story of two girls, opposites in many ways, who are drawn to each other; Kate appears to be a stereotypical cheerleader with a sleek ponytail and a perfectly polished persona, Tam is tall, athletic and frequently mistaken for a boy, but their deepening friendship inevitably changes and reveals them in ways they did not anticipate.

In this cute and queer contemporary middle grade comedy about friendship, first crushes, and first kisses, twelve-year-old Noah Frye comes up with a foolproof plan to teach herself how to have a crush on a boy to fit in better with her friends--only to discover she's been looking in the wrong place, and her crush was right beside her all along... Noah Frye just had the Best Summer Ever. Not only did she have an epic time at science camp, but her new camp friend Jessa is going to Noah's school in the fall. Noah can't wait to introduce Jessa to her best friends Zoey and Luna when classes start. But when the friend group is reunited after their summer apart, something seems to have changed: Zoey and Luna have discovered boys, and now it's all they want to obsess over. Suddenly, it feels like Noah is the odd one out in their friend group, especially since Noah hasn't ever even considered boys in that way. When Noah finds herself caught in a lie about having a boy crush of her own, she decides she'll do anything to fit in with her friends again--even if that means using the scientific method. Noah's crush experiment is simple: find a boy, fake a crush until it turns real, and get her friends back. But that might be easier said than done, especially when Noah can't stop thinking about Jessa. What ensues is a hilarious and heartwarming turn of events in this queer contemporary middle grade story about friendship, first crushes, and self-discovery.

"Thirteen-year-old Tara skips eighth grade to go directly to high school and struggles with adjusting, until she meets her classmate Libby"-- Provided by publisher.

Twelve-year-old Korean American Emma uses her fickle witchy powers to keep her best friend's parents together so they do not move away.

When thirteen-year-old Erin discovers she is the daughter of the love god Cupid, she uses her newfound ability to sabotage her rival Trevor by making him fall in love with her, but she soon realizes love has a funny way of complicating things.

Living in the penthouse suite of San Francisco's Hotel Coeur, matchmakers-in-training (and cousins) Rose and Cora learn how to use magic to bring about love connections. They must perfect their charms and enchantments to pass a test that will determine their future. Rose thinks her magic can help her handle any assignment, but when she's faced with a bitter rival will she be able to rise to the challenge? Cora's powers allow her to see others' emotions-- but will her power help with her own crush? -- adapted from jacket.

"Twelve-year-old Luca Salvatore is always running interference: in arguments between his younger twin siblings, in his parents' troubled marriage, and between Will, the cute new boy in town, and Luca's best friend, June, who just can't seem to get along. When the host of his favorite culinary TV show announces an open call for submissions for its final season, Luca is sure getting his family's failing pizzeria on the show will save it and bring his falling-apart family together. Surprisingly, securing a spot is easier than kneading dough, but when the plan to fix everything comes out burned, Luca is left scrambling to figure out just the right recipe to bring his family and his friends back together."--Page [2] of cover.

Middle school is bad enough for braces-wearing, manga-loving, uncoordinated Kat, but helping her two best friends get together will mean that Kat has no chance of winning Tyler's affection for herself.

While twelve-year-old Andi has suffered from anxiety attacks ever since her mother died ten months ago, Zora starting hurting herself whenever she feels out of control; they are both at Camp Harmony, an elite summer music camp, trying to deal with their problems and also the stress of competition--but as the summer passes they find themselves increasingly drawn to each other, and maybe not just as friends.

"Brian has always been anxious, whether at home, or in class, or on the basketball court...but after he and his brother are placed in foster care, Brian starts having panic attacks...Ezra wants to help, but he worries if he's too nice to Brian, his friends will realize that he has a crush on him...But when Brian and his brother run away, Ezra has no choice but to take the leap and reach out. Both boys have to decide if they're willing to risk sharing parts of themselves they'd rather hide"-- Provided by publisher.

"Dulce doesn't want to spend the summer helping at her family's restaurant, but with the business needing all the help it can get, she doesn't have a choice. Julian doesn't want to be in California. But his food vloger parents have relocated the family as part of an attempt to keep their marriage going, so he doesn't have a choice, either. When the two literally crash into each other, it's so not the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But as they're both forced to enroll in a cooking class together and slowly get to know each other, things get heated--and not just the tacos! Julian and Dulce each have something to learn from the other about friendship, family, community, and food."-- Publisher description.

Eighth-grader Ingrid runs a popular blog anonymously and has online personal more popular than she is, but when a wrong-number text message offers her a chance at connection, Ingrid opens herself to the opportunity to make a real live friend.

María Emilia's life turns upside down when she and her family immigrate from Argentina to the US. How can she make new friends when simply speaking English all day is exhausting? Luckily, she has the company of a stray dog in the neighborhood, who happens to look and act just like her beloved pet cat back home. Eventually, it turns out the pup isn't a stray after all--she belongs to María Emilia's new neighbor, Donovan. In order to spend more time with the dog (who totally isn't her reincarnated cat ... right?), she agrees to sing in Donovan's band. But can Emilia find her new voice without losing herself?-- Provided by publisher.

Best friends Eve and Andrew go to their first eight grade dance together, and suddenly everybody assumes they are dating, so they each try and arrange a break-up--except they are both beginning to feel a different kind of attraction.

"Alicia Ramirez has always loved baking. Her family owns Say It With Flour, the small bakery in town. And Ali's specialties are cake pops: delicious confections on a stick. But Ali's sweet life turns sour when a sleek coffee shop opens across the street, giving her bakery a run for its money. Worst of all, the owner's son, Dane McGuire, is Ali's age, and he loves to bake, too. Plus he's annoyingly cute. When Dane and Ali engage in a bake-off, will Ali be able to rise to the occasion? Or will her crush get in the way?" -- Page [4] cover.

"Katie turns 12 and finally has her first crush, but growing up is much more complicated than Katie thought it would be"-- Provided by publisher.

Essie is a thirteen-year-old girl feeling glum about starting a new school after her professor dad takes a temporary teaching position in a different town. She has 110 days here and can't wait for them to end. Then she meets Ollie: delicate, blue eyes, short hair, easy smile. At first, Essie thinks she has a typical crush on a beautiful boy. But as her crush blossoms, she soon realizes that Ollie is not a boy or a girl, but gender non-binary. Meanwhile, Ollie is experiencing a crush of their own ... on Essie. As Ollie struggles to balance their passion for queer advocacy with their other interests, they slowly find themselves falling for a girl whose stay is about to come to an end. Can the two unwind their merry-go-round of feelings before it's too late?

"Maya Reynolds has practically grown up in her family's Brooklyn pizza shop, Soul Slice, and is a true city girl. When her family moves to a small town in Pennsylvania to open another pizza place, everything changes. Being the new girl is hard enough. At Soul Slice 2.0, Maya is assigned delivery duty. And her first delivery is a disaster. Can you make a worse impression than tripping ... and falling face-first into a rude boy's pizza order? When that same rude--and, okay, cute--boy shows up at her school, Maya's convinced nothing can go right. But she may be in for some surprises. Could good friends, secret crushes, and creative pizza toppings turn Maya's new home into her own slice of heaven?"-- Provided by publisher.

"A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been a good kid. The kind of kid who listens to his teachers, helps his mom with grocery shopping, and stays out of trouble. But being a good kid doesn't stop him from being bullied and feeling like he's invisible, which is why Dan has low expectations when his parents send him on a class trip to Europe. At first, he's right. He's stuck with the same girls from his middle school who love to make fun of him, and he doesn't know why his teacher insisted he come on this trip. But as he travels through France, Germany, Switzerland, and England, a series of first experiences begin to change him--first Fanta, first fondue, first time stealing a bike from German punk rockers... and first love. Funny, heartwarming, and poignant, A First Time for Everything is a feel-good coming-of-age memoir based on New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat's awkward middle school years. It celebrates a time that is universally challenging for many of us, but also life-changing as well."-- Publisher marketing.

"Nova doesn't lie--she tells hopes for the future. That's why she tells her mom she got an A on her math quiz, even though she got a B. It's also why she doesn't tell her mom about her secret Instagram that she's almost old enough to have. When a viral video of her cat pushes her into the popular crowd, and next to her crush, Lily, Nova tells even more 'hopes for the future' to try to fit in. The more lies she tells, the more everything spins out of control! Nova wants to come clean...but will it mean losing everything?"-- Amazon website.

Dee begins the sixth grade school year feeling like a loser, embarrassed by her mother, and minus her best friend, but ultimately she finds herself through kindly and secretly giving out advice to her schoolmates.

A senior camper at Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness and Enrichment Experience (Squee), Chinese American tween Phoenny Fang finds her summer even more transformative than she could've imagined, with new friendships, her first crush, and a bigger love for and understanding of her community.

Korean American Pippa Park picks up right where she left off ... trying to balance basketball, school, friends, working at the struggling family laundromat, and fitting in. Eliot, her math tutor--and the cutest boy at school--is finally paying attention to her. And Marvel--her childhood friend--is making her required volunteering much more interesting. But things with the Royals, her new friends and teammates who rule the school, still feel a bit rocky. Especially because Caroline, a head Royal, would like nothing more than to see Pippa fail. So when Pippa is faced with hosting the annual Christmas Eve party that could make or break her social life, how can she say no? Will Pippa make enough money to cover the costs while juggling crushes and everything else? With courage and determination, Pippa sets out to host the party, find the perfect dress, pick the right boy, and stay true to her real self.