YA Friday: The PROMised Land

Prom

Prom has arrived. For some, it is a moment they have been dreaming about and planning for their entire high school lives. It can certainly be a dramatic and overwhelming rite of passage, complete with a creative and sometimes elaborate promposal, the search for the right dress/corsage/tux/hair/limo, and all the drama of finding and accepting the perfect date. Whether you are attending yourself or helping someone survive prom season, here are a selection of books that share prom stories from the perspectives of all kinds of lives.

YA Prom Stories

Say No to the Bro book cover

Say No to the Bro by Kat Helgeson

Two teens become entangled in a cut-throat prom date auction in this story that is equal parts dark comedy, high school romance, and timely social commentary; and loosely inspired by true events.

Deacon Locke Went to Prom by Brian Katcher

Deacon Locke Went to Prom by Brian Katcher

When Deacon Locke can't find a date for the senior prom, he decides to invite his grandmother Jean, with whom he has been living for the past two years and has been the sole rock in his life. When a video of the unlikely couple dancing at the prom goes viral, awkward, loner Deacon experiences his first taste of popularity.

Shuffle, Repeat book cover

Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

June and Oliver are complete opposites. Oliver is reveling in his glory days of high school and enjoying football and senior year traditions. June is just trying to get through to graduation. To her, real life starts after high school. Since their mothers are friends, Oliver has been drafted to give June a ride to school every morning. At first things are awkward, but as the days go on, they begin to joke and make bets and become friends, or maybe more, despite the fact that neither is single.

My Kind of Crazy book cover

My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul

Hank Kiby's promposal has gone wrong—starting a fire in Amanda Carlisle's front yard, wrong. Hank thinks he has managed to escape without being seen when a witness pops up, Peyton Breedlove. Rather than turning Hank in, she believes she has found a fellow pyromaniac. The two fall into a friendship that ultimately leads to something more.

Prom & Prejudice book cover

Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

For Lizzie Bennett, a music scholarship student at Connecticut's exclusive, girls-only Longbourn Academy, the furor over prom is senseless, but even more puzzling is her attraction to the pompous Will Darcy, best friend of her roommate's boyfriend.

Liars and Losers Like Us

Liars and Losers Like Us by Ami Allen-Vath

When seventeen-year-old Bree Hughes is asked to be on Prom Court after poorly-treated school outcast Maisey Morgan commits suicide, she must deal with feelings of guilt, her parents divorce, prom date drama, and a final request from Maisey.

Further Reading

Prom book coverThe Fill-In Boyfriend book coverTessa Masterson Will Go to Prom book coverA Prom to Remember book coverPromposal book coverProm Nights From Hell book cover