Romance books suitable for 10 year old boy

[ForPetesSakeNotAgain]

DS2 (aged 10) is an avid reader but only likes romantic books (lots of falling in love). He mostly enjoys the sort of books written from the perspective of teen girls sighing (and more) over hunky teenage boys. We don't find many of those in the child section of the library so he has started borrowing from the teen/young adult section of the library. Trouble is that some of the books he has borrowed have been steamier than I would like (verging on the downright explicit). I used to think that we shouldn't agonise too much about the quality of the books our kids read, the key thing is that they are reading but with this I am not so sure. I wouldn't take that line with magazines on the top shelf of the newsagents for example.

Anyway can anyone suggest good romance books for older children that focus more on the romance side than the sex?

I don't think I'd encourage him to read this type of book at his age. Same if it was a girl. Years ago there was a series called point romance which I don't think had any explicit stuff. They weren't very good though and I wouldn't recommend them. But encourage him to read a wide range of fiction suitable for his age group. He's only primary school age after all.

Trouble is Viviennemary he is quite headstrong and is very determined about reading what he wants (or not reading at all). We had a lovely (though rather depressing!) spell when all he wanted to read was Michael Morpurgo but he has had enough of that now. We have had a good go at Malorie Blackman which he quite enjoyed but we have largely exhausted them. Some of those were teen romances but she writes well and has some interesting stories unlike many of the others in the teen section at the library

I disliked those sort of books when I was a teen

However I didn't mind the books where there was gentle coupling off, which was not much more than a close friendship with the implication of leading to marriage. It did tend to be older books 50s/60s. Would he go for those?

If you look for Girls gone by Publishing or on ebay for old versions, ones that I can think of offhand that have that sort of relationship are;

Monica Edwards: No Going back is probably the best, but the story is continued in (if I'm remembering rightly) Dolphin Summer, and lesser so A Wind is Blowing (hard to get hold of). There's also some romance in The Outsider, The Wild One (another hard to get hold of) and Fire in the Punchbowl.

Malcolm Saville: The Buckingham Series has Juliet chasing Charles certainly in the later ones. Diamond in the sky I think is the last and most obvious. Also the Marston Baines if he can cope with spy adventure on top of romance. Simon, in the style of James Bond, always has some girl on the go, although I think in the last (haven't read it GGBP hurry up and publish it!) they marry.
Lone Pine have the gentle romance alongside the mysteries: Not Scarlet But Gold, Man with Three Fingers, Where's my Girl and Home to Witchend have the most, again if I remember rightly.

Nancy Drew has her boyfriend Ned around in a lot of them.

I'm not sure those would really fit the bill. They're stories that some of the characters fall in love rather than romantic stories, but he might enjoy them.

How about the Alanna books by Tamora Pierce - does he read fantasy? She writes excellent books that are full of strong female characters and v feminist, but the first series especially does have a fair bit of romance in, though it's not explicit in any way.

I never liked them but my dsis was obsessed with the Sweet Valley High books from about 10-14. They're tripe but in no way inappropriate and there's hundreds of them plus various spin offs, so he won't run out in a hurry.

Some Jacqueline Wilson books talk about romance. Not sure which titles as DD (11) gets them from the library and rejects the loveydovey ones with a "pshaw!"

What about Judy Blume books? They're not explicit but some do reference teen romance.

The pen pal series might suit.

Has he read 'Fifteen' by Beverley Cleary. It was written about 50 years ago so nothing inappropriate. It's very sweet and I've re-read it as an adult - it's still lovely.

I used to read Judy Blume and Anne Fine books when I was that age. Would they be any good?

I second the Tamora Pierce books, loved them at that age.
How about Melanie Rawn Dragon Prince series? I don't remember the story well, except the bit where Rohan dies and Sioned burns the castle for days, I was crying!

Thanks for these brilliant suggestions. I'll follow them all up.

I have just looked up the Sweet Valley High books on Amazon WindwardCircle - they made me laugh out loud as I can imagine the contents from the pictures on the covers. They do look perfect for DS2.

Bubblysqueak - who wrote the penpal series? On Amazon quite a few books refer to pen pal.

Eva Ibbotson's romances are worth a go. They are very gentle, lots of plot with the romance but not sexual. www.fantasticfiction.com/i/eva-ibbotson/song-for-summer.htm is one but she did a few.

He mostly enjoys the sort of books written from the perspective of teen girls sighing (and more) over hunky teenage boys.

How is that suitable reading for a 10 year old boy?!

I think it's lovely he likes romance :)

Eva Ibbotson is a great suggestion and he might be ready for the classics - Austen and Bronte and so on. He might like I Capture the Castle too.

I have just come across a website set up by the University of Loughborough called whonextguide.com. Unfortunately you have to pay to use it (£7.20 a year) but they do a 2 week free trial so I gave it a go. You can specify the genre the child likes and their age and it comes up with suggestions for authors and their book series

Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging?

How about some fantasy? Main point isn't romance but there are usually romances. Things by David Eddings, and the Wheel of Time.

I used to read Paula Danziger at that age. Teen angst and PG romance.

This is number 8 in the series. They are set in a girls boarding school. The girls get pen pals from the boys school and end up meeting for dances etc. Age appropriate romance for a 10 yr old.

Sorry I've cut off the author Sharon Dennis wyeth.

Sounds like a lot of really good suggestions on these posts. Those penpal ones sound suitable. Hope you find something he likes.

I was going to recommend Sweet Valley High too! I loved those at the same age. Possibly the Twilight series too?

Books I enjoyed as a young teen which may be suitable:
The Secret Life of Sally Tomato by Jean Ure
The Sleepover Club books
The Casson Family series
Meg Cabot The Shadowland series
Ella Enchanted

Also, they aren't romance, but if he happens to like animals I used to love the Animal Ark series, there's loads of them and can usually find them in charity shops.

And the Philip Ridley books are good for kids who like crazy adventures that get the imagination going! :)

Lots of fantastic suggestions - thanks everyone. I know some people feel that his interest in romance and love is odd for a 10 year old boy but plenty of 10 year old girls develop an interest in this sort of thing and we don't think they are particularly strange. It is of course a lot harder for a boy because not many love books are written from a boy's perspective. And who knows what his love interests will be when he is older?

I'm going to make a long list and head off to the library. With this list I should be able to keep him off the inappropriate stuff and maybe find ways to encourage him to broaden his range.