If I liked “Mixtape” by Jane Sanderson…

[Wbeezer]

Watched the TV adaptation of Mixtape on the BBC and enjoyed it but had a feeling the book might be better so, as it was 99p on Kindle I read it and was proved right.
i seem to have a thing for books with a very intense but realistic teenage romance at the heart of the story ( got a bit obsessed with Normal People!). Probably something to do with the fact that DH and I met when we were 16, the nostalgia gets to me and seems to help me remember “ us” before we were middle aged.
Any recommendations in this vain?

I haven't read Mixtape so I might be completely off the mark, but how about Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls? Older narrator looking back at the summer that changed his life as a teenager.

I haven’t heard of that one, although I’ve read One Day. I’ll check it out, thanks.

I would second Sweet Sorrow - one of the best descriptions of teenage first love from a male protagonist. I adored it and re-read it again recently.

Also Guard your Heart by Sue Divin. It’s officially YA but was in the adult section of our library when I found it. It’s about two NI teenagers, both born on the day of the Good Friday Agreement, one Catholic and one Protestant. They then meet age 18. It details the post Troubles Life in NI but fundamentally is a teenage love story. I loved it!

@englishmummyinwales I’ve started reading it already. DH and I used to go to a local Youth Theatre so it’s bringing back lots of rather cringey memories already!