In YA celebrity romances, teens do not just have parental supervision, they have bosses, managers, and PR coaches. They have added burdens to their romantic lives as they decide if they want or can have a public or private relationship. The celebrities and regular people involved in the resulting relationships have a lot to decide, and often, not a lot of time to make decisions. If The Lizzie McGuire Movie and a surprisingly large number of Disney channel original programs have taught me anything, people love to watch teens fall in love with famous people. Even if in real life you would never want to see a middle schooler loose on the streets of Rome with only the assurance that the guy she is falling for is a pop star she has never heard of, in the aforementioned Lizzie McGuire Movie, “Hey now, hey now, this is what dreams are made of.” I could and would go on about the larger implications of YA celebrity romances through the ages, but that is not what today is about. Today is about me telling you what YA celebrity romances you should be reading. An ambitious film student meets an indie film star at her high school who agrees to help her win a student film competition in exchange for her help with his photography contest. Mina is ready to get out of New York City the minute she graduates, and she knows getting into a film program at USC is her best way out. Luckily, a surly actor like Emmitt needs a city tour guide for his own passion and Mina is the local who can help. As they grow closer, they will have to decide if the picture-perfect life they dreamed of is worth everything they stand to lose in the process. Two K-drama actresses compete for the leading role in their new drama and fall for each other in the process. Hana knows she must balance her role as the drama’s lead and her K-pop co-star’s fake girlfriend. She does not know how she is going to handle Minjee, the girl they brought in who’s challenging her position on the show. Now she is at the center of a love triangle she did not sign up for, and it’s up to her to decide how her romance will play out. Ruben and Zach, two members of a boy band at its peak, have always been good friends. But when their friendship develops into a romance their management does not approve of, they soon realize they may never be able to come out on their terms. During one of their most difficult international tours, Ruben and Zach will also have to decide if they will defy their management and potentially break up the boy band by telling their fans the truth. The truth can set you free, but what do you do when it threatens to destroy you in the process? A radio celebrity has three dates to convince an aspiring author to derail her plans and date him long-term. Prince is a teen who gives dating advice to people on his radio segment and takes care of his mother with multiple sclerosis and his younger brother. He doesn’t exactly have time for a relationship, but when he is given a chance to date his longtime crush, Dani, he knows he has to make time for her if he wants a chance at love. Will the dating expert be able to follow his own advice and build something with a girl like her? The only gay member of a top boy band tries to maintain his management-imposed clean image while navigating his first breakup and the development of a new relationship with the drummer of the opening band on his tour. It is hard to pretend to be a perfect queer role model when Hunter’s sexts with his ex-boyfriend are getting press coverage and the new relationship he wants doesn’t fit in with his persona. As a queer teen who never thought he would be in a boy band, much less one that would be this big, Hunter must decide how he wants to move forward in an industry that controls so much of his identity.
