Genre Mash: RTW x Romance

Participating in Read the World this year? Hear are some of our most romantic picks.

Updated April 14, 2026
D
Dana Hall School Librarians
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The map of love
Soueif, Ahdaf
Paper Book
Booker Prize Finalist Here is an extraordinary cross-cultural love story that unfurls across Egypt, England, and the United States over the course of a century. Isabel Parkman, a divorced American journalist, has fallen in love with a gifted and difficult Egyptian-American...

RTW Africa (Egypt)

The secret sky : a novel of forbidden love in Afghanistan
Abawi, Atia
Paper Book
An eye-opening, heart-rending tale of love, honor and betrayal from veteran foreign news correspodent Atia Abawi Fatima is a Hazara girl, raised to be obedient and dutiful. Samiullah is a Pashtun boy raised to defend the traditions of his tribe. They were not meant to fall in...

RTW Asia (Afghanistan)

Goodbye, my princess
Feiwosicun; Tianshu, (Translator)
Paper Book
The only thing more dangerous than a king is his heir in this first English translation of the "beautifully heartbreaking" (Kirkus Reviews) historical novel inspired the popular TV series from one of China's best-known authors of romantic tragedy. There is no room for love...

RTW Asia (China)

The book of everlasting things
Malhotra, Aanchal
Paper Book
FOR FANS OF ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, A LUSH, SWEEPING LOVE STORY ABOUT A HINDU PERFUMER AND A MUSLIM CALLIGRAPHER, SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF PARTITION "Monumental...A far-reaching love story." --NPR (A Best Book of the Year) "Mesmerizing." -...

RTW Asia (India)

A silent voice
Oima, Yoshitoki
Paper Book
LEARNING TO LISTEN Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can't hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children's cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the...

RTW Asia (Japan)

Unmarriageable
Soniah Kamal
Paper Book
"This inventive retelling of Pride and Prejudice charms."--People   "A fun, page-turning romp and a thought-provoking look at the class-obsessed strata of Pakistani society."--NPR Alys Binat has sworn never to marry--until an encounter...

RTW Asia (Pakistan)

Crazy rich Asians
Kwan, Kevin
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The international sensation and blockbuster Hollywood rom com. * "A Pride and Prejudice-like send-up about an heir bringing his Chinese-American girlfriend home to meet his ancestor-obsessed family." --People   ...

RTW Asia (Singapore)

Pardalita
Estrela, Joana
Paper Book
MILDRED L. BATCHELDER HONOR WINNER School Library Journal Best of the Year BCCB Best of the Year (Blue Ribbon Selection) A beautiful slice-of-life story that is This One Summer meets Ursula K. Le Guin's Very Far...

RTW Europe (Portugal)

Fire from the sky
A?stot, Moa Backe
Paper Book
MICHAEL L. PRINTZ HONOR WINNER KIRKUS BEST OF THE YEAR From 23-year-old Sámi debut novelist and reindeer owner Moa Backe Åstot, Fire From the Sky is a queer coming-of-age story about heritage, family ties and age-old commitments to the past....

RTW Europe (Sweden)

Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to...

RTW Europe (U.K.)

Highly suspicious and unfairly cute
Hibbert, Talia
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A pair of ex-best friends turned high school rivals must work together to survive the great outdoors--and each other--in this cozy enemies-to-lovers romance from the beloved author of the Brown Sisters trilogy. "A pure delight. This book...

RTW Europe (U.K.)

Sense and sensibility
Austen, Jane
Paper Book
In its marvelously perceptive portrayal of two young women in love, Sense and Sensibility is the answer to those who believe that Jane Austen's novels, despite their perfection of form and tone, lack strong feeling. Its two heroines, Marianne and Elinor--so utterly unlike each...

RTW Europe (U.K.)

Anne of the island
Montgomery, L.M
Paper Book
Anne Shirley is off to college in this artfully packaged edition of the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. Anne is finally off to Redmond College! While she's sad to be leaving Marilla and the twins, she's excited to finally become a full-fledged BA, and to embark on...

RTW North America (Canada)

The dating plan
Desai, Sara
Paper Book
Ever the obedient daughter, Daisy Patel always follows the rules, but the one thing she can't give her family is the marriage they expect. With few options left to her, and desperate to escape a parade of unwanted suitors, she asks her childhood crush to be her decoy fiance. When Liam learns that...

RTW North America (Canada)

The matchmaker's list
Lalli, Sonya
Paper Book
One devoted modern girl + a meddlesome, traditional grandmother = a heartwarming multicultural romantic comedy about finding love where you least expect it. Raina Anand may have finally given in to family pressure and agreed to let her grandmother play matchmaker, but that doesn...

RTW North America (Canada)

We contain multitudes
Henstra, Sarah
Paper Book
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets I'll Give You the Sun in an exhilarating and emotional novel about the growing relationship between two teenage boys, told through the letters they write to one another. Jonathan...

RTW North America (Canada)

Like water for chocolate : a novel in monthly installments, with recipes, romances, and home remedies
Esquivel, Laura
Paper Book
Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. The classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops...

RTW North America (Mexico)

Secret of the moon conch
Bowles, David; McCall, Guadalupe Garcia
Paper Book
Award-winning authors David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall join forces to craft a sweeping fantasy romance about falling in love despite all odds. In modern-day Mexico, Sitlali is all alone after the death of her beloved abuela. Targeted by a dangerous gang member,...

RTW North America (Mexico)

Stars in their eyes
Walton, Jessica; As?ka, (Illustrator); Graphix (Firm)
Paper Book
A Stonewall Honor Book In this lighthearted YA romance, Maisie and Ollie discover that nothing beats the feeling of falling in love for the first time. Maisie is on her way to Fancon! She's looking forward to meeting her idol, Kara Bufano, the action hero from her...

RTW Oceania (Australia)

The thorn birds
McCullough, Colleen
Paper Book
"Beautiful....Compelling entertainment." --New York Times "A heart-rending epic...truly marvelous." --Chicago Tribune One of the most beloved novels of all time, The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough's sweeping family saga of...

RTW Oceania (Australia)

Furia
Maendez, Yamile Saied
Paper Book
A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK Recipient of the 2021 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Medal One of BuzzFeed's Must-Read YA Books of 2020 A Best Book of the Year: Cosmopolitan * Kirkus...

RTW South America (Argentina)

Daughter of fortune : a novel
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
An Oprah Book Club selection! "Allende has created a masterpiece of historical fiction that is passionate, adventurous, and brilliantly insightful. . . . suspenseful and surprising." --Denver Post From the revered New York Times bestselling author of The...

RTW South America (Chile)

The house of the spirits
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
A best seller and critical success all over the world, The House of the Spirits is the magnificent epic of the Trueba family -- their loves, their ambitions, their spiritual quests, their relations with one another, and their participation in the history of their times, a history that becomes...

RTW South America (Chile)

Love in the time of cholera
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
Paper Book
Set in a country on the Caribbean coast of South America, this is a story about a woman and two men and their entwined lives. From the author of the legendary One Hundred Years of Solitude.

RTW South America (Colombia)

Atmosphere : a love story
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go...

RTW Outer Space

Starflight
Landers, Melissa
Paper Book
Solara Brooks needs a fresh start, someplace where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. The outer realm may be lawless, but it's not like the law has ever been on her side. It's been a long time since Solara has believed in anyone,...

RTW Outer Space


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