Dating (social customs) book series in reading order

by Becca Fitzpatrick

by Jenny Han

by Laurie Friedman

by Jane O’Connor

by Ali Novak

by Jenna Evans Welch

Francine Pascal (née Rubin, 1932–2024) was an American author whose name is tied to the Sweet Valley books for young adults. Sweet Valley High anchored that collection, was adapted for television, and branched into spin-offs such as The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. The catalogue opens with Hangin' Out with Cici (1977) and also carries the Fearless series. Subjects include twins, sisters, high schools, friendship and dating. Most Sweet Valley books came out in the 1980s and 1990s, and several titles were re-released decades later.

Kieran Scott, born 11 March 1974, is an American author who also publishes as Kate Brian. Under the Kate Brian name come chick lit books such as The Princess and the Pauper, The Virginity Club, Sweet 16, Fake Boyfriend and the Private series. Books under Scott's own name include She's So Dead to Us, Brunettes Strike Back, Geek Magnet and I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader, a YALSA Teens Top Ten nominee. The catalogue subjects include boarding schools, high schools, cliques and teenage girls, and the listing runs from 1998 to 2026.

Rachel Hawthorne is a pen name of Lorraine Heath, an American novelist who also publishes as J.A. London and Jade Parker and writes contemporary, historical and paranormal romance as well as young adult fiction. Under the Hawthorne name this listing gathers 20 titles dated 2000 to 2015, from London: Kit & Robin (2000) to Trouble from the Start (2015), across the Dark Guardian, Love Stories: His, Hers, Theirs, and Boyfriend / Trouble series. Recorded subjects include teenagers, dating, friendship, werewolves and the supernatural. Heath took the Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Short Historical Romance in 1997.

R.L. Stine

589 books• 64 series

Robert Lawrence Stine, born October 8, 1943, is an American novelist who writes horror fiction for children. Goosebumps, the series Stine created, sold more than 400 million copies in 35 languages and grew into a franchise of two television series, video games, comics and two feature films. Fear Street, Stine's horror sequence for teenagers, passed 80 million copies and was adapted for film. Stine has been called the Stephen King of children's literature. The listing runs to 590 titles, from How to Be Funny (1978), published as Jovial Bob Stine, to How to Train Your Dummy, scheduled for 2027.

Melody Carlson, born March 2, 1956 in San Francisco, is an American author of more than 250 books for women, teens and children, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. The catalogue lists 298 books from 1995, when Contemplative Bible Reading and How to Start a Quality Childcare Business in Your Home appeared, to All Booked Up (2026). Series include Carter House Girls, On The Runway, TrueColors, 86 Bloomberg Place, Secret Life of Samantha McGregor, Beary Patch Bears and Fruit Troops. Subjects include Christian life, high schools, friendship, Bible stories and stories in rhyme. Carlson grew up in Springfield, Oregon, attended Lane Community College and lives in Sisters, Oregon.

Katherine Applegate

228 books• 20 series

Katherine Applegate, born October 9, 1956, and sometimes published as K. A. Applegate, is an American author of children's and young adult fiction. Animorphs, Remnants and Everworld are the series most tied to Applegate, and The One and Only Ivan (2012) won the 2013 Newbery Medal. Applegate received the Publishers Weekly Best New Children's Book Series Award in 1997. The catalogue lists 228 books, from Welcome to Junior High! (1990) to The Littlest Elephant (2026), including Girl Talk, Making Out and Roscoe Riley Rules.

Laurie Friedman writes children's fiction, with 159 books catalogued from A Big Bed for Jed (2002) to Duck and Dog Bake a Pie (2022). Mallory McDonald is a recurring character, and titles include Back to School, Mallory (2004), Mallory vs. Max (2004) and Happy Birthday, Mallory! (2005). The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair also appears in the listing. Friedman's series include Mallory McDonald, Ruby Valentine, Spots and Stripes, Chef Kate, Beans, Moose and Silly Milly. Subjects include friendship, family life, school, diaries, dating and stories in rhyme. The median book runs to 159 pages.

Stephanie Perry Moore's 66 catalogued books date from 2000 to 2023, beginning with Saved Race, Sober Faith and Staying Pure in 2000. Subjects include Christian life, African Americans, high schools, universities and colleges, dating, friendship, family problems and sisters, along with children's fiction. Series include Payton Skky, Laurel Shadrach, Carmen Browne, Perry Skky Jr., Beta Gamma Pi Novels, Yasmin Peace, Morgan Love and Sharp Sisters. Women of Color Devotional dates from 2002, and Circus Web (2023) is the most recent title.

Catherine Clark writes for young readers about high school, dating, friendship and family life. The catalogue holds 28 titles published between 1991 and 2016, from What's So Funny about Ninth Grade? (1991) to The Summer of Everything (2016). Part of the listing is media tie-in work, including the Gilmore Girls titles and the My So-Called Life books. Courtney Von Dragen Smith, Angela Chase and Unforgettable Summer are the other series named. The 2000s are the busiest decade.

Abbi Glines writes contemporary and young adult romance, with dating, family trouble and love triangles across the subjects. Sea Breeze, Rosemary Beach, Field Party, the Vincent Boys, the Existence trilogy and the Smoke series carry the catalogue, which holds 85 books from Breathe (2011) to Up To No Good. Alabama and rock musicians appear among the settings and occupations.

Sarah Mlynowski

57 books• 8 series

Sarah Mlynowski is a Canadian and American writer of middle-grade, young adult and adult fiction, living in Los Angeles. The catalogue opens with adult novels, Milkrun (2001), Fishbowl (2002) and As Seen On TV (2003), then turns to children's fantasy: Bras & Broomsticks (2005) and its sequels, Whatever After, Upside-Down Magic, Best Wishes and the Luckies. Fifty-eight books are catalogued through Rumor Has It (2026), with Two Truths and a Lie scheduled for 2027. Magic, fairy tales, siblings and school are the recurring subjects.

Kasie West writes young adult fiction about dating, families and school life, with one series turning to the supernatural. Pivot Point (2013) and Split Second make up that pair, while The Distance Between Us, On the Fence, The Fill-In Boyfriend and P.S. I Like You are standalone romances. Twenty-six books reach 2027, when The View from Here follows.

Ann M. Martin

446 books• 24 series

Ann Matthews Martin, born August 12, 1955, is an American writer of children's and young adult fiction and a Smith College graduate. The Baby-Sitters Club, first published in 1986, is the series Martin is known best for, and Martin remains involved with the series and its spin-offs. The catalogue lists 446 books, beginning with Inside Out and Bummer Summer in 1983. Related lines include Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries, California Diaries, Kids in Ms. Colman's Class, Main Street and Doll People. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter: A Graphic Novel (2025) is the newest listed title.

Louise Rennison (1951–2016) was an English comedian who wrote comic fiction for teenage girls. The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson sets down the diary of a teenager and her friends, the Ace Gang, starting with Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (1999); the first two books became the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. The Misadventures of Tallulah Casey follows Georgia's younger cousin. The catalogue holds 17 titles, ending with The Taming of the Tights (2013).

Lisi Harrison

41 books• 10 series

Lisi Harrison is a Canadian author of young adult fiction, known for three series: The Clique, Alphas and Monster High. The Clique (2004) opens a catalogue of 41 titles, with middle schools, cliques, friendship and competition in the subject tags, and monsters, boarding schools and prejudice beside them. Graphic novels, a Clique Summer Collection and the Graveyard Girls follow. Two Truths and a Lion (2023) is the most recent title.

Cecily Von Ziegesar

34 books• 5 series

Gossip Girl (2002) opens Cecily von Ziegesar's catalogue and is the series she is best known for. Thirty-four titles are listed between 2002 and 2020, including You Know You Love Me (2002), All I Want is Everything (2003), Because I'm Worth It (2003), I Like It Like That (2004), Nobody Does it Better (2005) and Nothing Can Keep Us Together (2005). The It Girl, Gossip Girl: The Carlyles, the Gossip Girl manga graphic novels and a set of standalone novels divide the rest, ending with Cobble Hill (2020). Teenage girls, wealth, private and boarding schools and dating run through the subjects. Von Ziegesar is American and was born in 1970.

Becca Fitzpatrick

7 books• 2 series

Becca Fitzpatrick, an American author born February 3, 1979, wrote the young adult novel Hush, Hush, a New York Times bestseller published in 2009 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Three sequels followed: Crescendo (2010), Silence (2011) and Finale (2012). Fitzpatrick then published two separate novels, Black Ice (2014) and Dangerous Lies (2015), and contributed to the anthology Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love. The catalogue lists 7 Fitzpatrick books, with angels, the supernatural, high schools and secrets among the subjects.

Elizabeth Eulberg is an American children's author. Eulberg is the only credited name across 22 books published between 2010 and 2026, from The Lonely Hearts Club (2010) to Cruel Summer (2026). Girl Detective, Scared Silly and Taylors Version are the recorded series. Friendship, dating, clubs, high schools, pianists and mystery and detective stories head the subject list, and the Beatles sit among the headings too.

Christina Lauren's catalogue holds 43 books from 2013 to 2026, opening with Beautiful Bastard and reaching The Romance Revival. Several early titles carry the Beautiful name, among them Beautiful Player, Beautiful Stranger and Beautiful Bombshell, all from 2013. Series listings include Wild Seasons and Improbable Meet-Cute, next to a group of standalone novels. Subject tags mark the books as contemporary romance and erotica, with workplace, dual POV, marriage and dating themes.

Sarah Dessen

17 books• 2 series

Sarah Dessen writes young adult fiction about teenage girls, families, friendship and first relationships. That Summer (1996) opens a catalogue of 17 books, followed by Someone Like You, Keeping the Moon, Dreamland, This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever. Dessen's novels are standalones, and the catalogue runs to 2026 with Change of Plans.

E. Lockhart

14 books• 3 series

E. Lockhart is a pen name of Emily Jenkins, an American writer born September 13, 1967, whose work spans picture books, young adult novels and adult fiction. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (2008) and We Were Liars (2014) are the best-known novels, and We Were Liars became a television series in 2025. The catalogue lists 14 books from The Boyfriend List (2005) to The Pools (2026), including the Ruby Oliver series. High schools, boarding schools and dating feature in the subjects.

Rebecca Serle is an American novelist and television writer with 11 catalogued books, from When You Were Mine (2012) to Once and Again (2026). The Famous in Love series became a young adult television series on Freeform, and In Five Years (2020) was a New York Times best seller. Other titles include The Edge of Falling (2014), The Dinner List (2018), One Italian Summer (2022), The Magician (2023) and Expiration Dates (2024). Love, fame, dating, family problems and high schools are recorded subjects.

Wendy Corsi Staub's catalogue lists 87 books between 1993 and 2026, beginning with Summer Lightning and ending with Toil and Trouble. Lily Dale Mystery, Mundy's Landing, Nightwatcher, Live To Tell, Foundlings, Psychic Killer and Campus Life 101 are among the series, and one series appears under the name Wendy Morgan. Thrillers, serial murders, psychics and New York share the subjects with children's fiction, women college students and chick lit. Witch Hunt (1995) and Help Me! (1995) are among the early titles.

Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American young adult novelist whose books feature teenage protagonists. The best-known Stolarz series begins with Blue is for Nightmares (2003), and Dark House is the other Stolarz series. White Is for Magic (2004), Silver Is for Secrets (2005) and Deadly Little Secret (2008) are among the other titles. Witchcraft, psychic ability, nightmares, stalking and high school life are among the subjects. The 19 catalogued books run to Blue Is Also for Dreaming (2023).