Love, Hate, and Other Filters, by Samira Ahmed

Wow, what a great romance novel this is! Reminds me a lot of the Jenny Han books, like To All the Boys I Loved Before...well written, especially for a first book by author Ahmed. Maya, the main character, is a teenage girl living in Illinois, though her parents immigrated from India before she was born. She is trying to balance her culture, strongly enforced by her parents, and being an American teenager, with school, friends, responsibilities, and yes, romance! Her background as an Indian comes into play more and more as the story unfolds, but it's the romances she grows that are at the heart of this story (pun intended!). I could hardly put this down - you owe it to yourself to read this! Fans of Han, Sarah Dessen...any good romance writer will really like this one! 5 paws!