In 2005, Carolyn Mackler published The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, a critically acclaimed and popular book with a super clever title. This idea of titles featuring lists of two or three where the last item is an “other” that compares or comments upon the previous items in a funny way took off, and the publishing industry’s love of it doesn’t seem to have dimmed in the 10+ years since. (It’s possible that this sort of title was around long before Mackler’s book, but this is the first one I remember that was really popular and the oldest one I could find.) I think when Jen Petro-Roy was blogging with us, she even wrote a post about it, but due to our migration to WordPress and a less-than-stellar search function, I can’t seem to locate it. In any case, it’s high time for an update. Here are some of the more recent lists-of-two (or three) titles; I hope they give you a chuckle. Descriptions are from Goodreads.
It’s funny to note that love is the most popular topic riffed upon. Judging from the list below, love is a filter, a theory, a train wreck, a foreign word, a lie, an alien experience, imaginary, perishable, and carnivorous. Reading these titles should be enough to scare off any teen from falling in love for good.
Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (January 16, 2018)
American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school. There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs.
Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things by Betsey Aldridge and Carrie DuBois-Shaw (August 8, 2017)
Samantha Berger is pretty sure that other nice Jewish girls don’t have parents who force them to spend their weekends tromping through the wilds of Ohio in search of Bigfoot. Now, a reality TV show at least makes sense of some of it, holding out the promise of a cash prize big enough to pay for college. The show, however, also pits Samantha against a snotty prep school boy who puts down her beloved, eccentric family. That is, until chance strands Samantha and Devan alone in the wilderness, where she begins to learn that he has troubles of his own… and that there just might be something very real and very eerie out there waiting for both of them.
Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass (December 30, 2014)
If you want more, you have to give less. That’s the secret to dating in high school. By giving as little as they expect to get in return, seventeen-year-old Aubrey Housing and her three best friends have made it to the second semester of their senior year heartbreak-free. And it’s all thanks to a few simple rules: don’t commit, don’t be needy, and don’t give away your heart. So when smoking-hot Nathan Diggs transfers to Lincoln High, it shouldn’t be a big deal. At least that’s what Aubrey tells herself. But Nathan’s new-boy charm, his kindness, and his disarming honesty throw Aubrey off her game and put her in danger of breaking the most important rule of all: Don’t fall in love.
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown (August 20, 2016)
Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees. Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo (December 11, 2012)
From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost…head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming, man-about-Woolies, but he’s 21, and the 6-year difference in their ages may as well be 100. Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes?
Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn (May 13, 2014)
Gemma had her summer all planned out, but it takes a sharp turn when she gets dumped and finds herself back in the Hamptons after a five-year absence. Being there puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friends (that is, before Gemma ruined her life). But people don’t hold grudges forever. Do they? Gemma intends on making amends, but a small case of mistaken identity causes the people she knew years ago—including Hallie and her dreamy brother, Josh—to believe she’s someone else. As though the summer wasn’t complicated enough already. Filled with summer sun, boys, and friendships gone sour, Katie Finn’s first novel in the Broken Hearts and Revenge series sizzles and delights. [The sequels also have similarly funny titles: Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold; and Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross]
Love & Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves (May 15, 2018)
Freshman year at Harvard was the most anticlimactic year of Danny’s life. She’s failing pre-med and drifting apart from her best friend. One by one, Danny is losing all the underpinnings of her identity. When she finds herself attracted to an older, edgy girl who she met in rehab for an eating disorder, she finally feels like she might be finding a new sense of self. But when tragedy strikes, her self-destructive tendencies come back to haunt her as she struggles to discover who that self really is.
Heartache and Other Natural Shocks by Glenda Leznoff (October 13, 2015)
When fifteen-year-old Julia Epstein and her Anglophone family flee Montreal in October 1970, she struggles to adjust to a new life in the suburban wasteland of North York, Toronto. Next door lives Carla Cabrielli, who works her “assets” and knows how to get what she wants. Julia and Carla get on a collision course, not only for the same role in the school production of Hamlet, but also for the leading man – sword-wielding bad boy and sex magnet, Ian Slater. Heartache and Other Natural Shocks explores teen rivalry. When events take a dangerous turn, both Julia and Carla become vulnerable to deception and betrayal. Full of unexpected twist and turns, Glenda Leznoff’s unique novel marks the debut of an important new voice in young-adult fiction.
Kale, My Ex, and Other Things to Toss in a Blender by Lisa Greenwald (May 20, 2017)
When Mia’s summer starts with an epic breakup, she s sure the rest of the vacation will be miserable. But her best friend, Justine, would never let that happen. Their plan has two parts. One: use their summer job driving a snow cone truck to keep tabs on Mia s ex in person. Two: create a fake persona to connect with Mia s ex online. Soon both plans have morphed into something so much bigger. Add some kale to a snow cone and they ve got the hottest smoothie in town . . . and more money than they could have imagined. And when Mia s ex starts falling for the online girl, there s a revenge plot just waiting to be born. A guy who dumps a girl because he thinks her thighs are too thick deserves to have his heart broken by a fake girlfriend, right? All’s fair in love and smoothies.
Love and Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen (January 2, 2018)
Noah is a hopeless romantic. He’s heading back home for one last chance with his first love, whom he broke up with when he went off to college. Ammy doesn’t believe in true love—her parents being prime examples. She’s escaping from a mom who can’t take care of her to a dad who may not even want her. That is, until one winter night when Noah and Ammy find themselves in the same Amtrak car heading to Upstate New York. After a train-wreck first encounter between the two of them, the Amtrak train suddenly breaks down due to a snowstorm. Desperate to make it to their destinations, Noah and Ammy have no other option but to travel together. What starts off as a minor detour turns into the whirlwind journey of a lifetime, and over the course of the night they fall in love. But come morning their adventure takes an unexpected turn for the worst. Can one night can really change how they feel about love…and the course of their lives forever?
Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan (May 1, 2014)
Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue — the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn’t always like, and the best friend who hasn’t said a word — at least not in a language Josie understands.
Love Songs & Other Lies by Jessica Pennington (April 24, 2018)
Two years after rock-song-worthy heartbreak, Virginia Miller is looking forward to a fun, carefree summer. Her friends just landed a spot on a battling bands reality show, and Vee is joining them for her dream internship on tour. Three months with future rockstars seems like an epic summer plan. Until she learns she’ll also be sharing the bus with Cam. Her first love, and her first heartbreak. Now Vee has more than just cameras to dodge, and Cam’s determination to win her forgiveness is causing TMZ-worthy problems for both of them. With cameras rolling, she’ll have to decide if her favorite breakup anthem deserves a new ending. And if she’s brave enough to expose her own secrets to keep Cam’s under wraps.
Airports, Exes, and Other Things I’m Over by Shani Petroff (May 15, 2018)
A bad storm, two canceled flights, stuck in an airport with a hot stranger and the guy who broke her heart… what could go wrong? After Sari caught her boyfriend Zev cheating on her, their romantic Florida vacation was ruined. She can’t get back to NYC soon enough. Unfortunately, mother nature may have different plans. A huge storm is brewing in the Northeast, and flights all over the country are getting canceled—including Sari’s. She winds up stuck at the airport for hours. With Zev! When another stranded passenger (a hot NYU guy) suggests a connecting flight to Boston, Sari jumps at the chance. But when her mom freaks out about her traveling alone, she has no choice—she has to include Zev, and somehow survive being trapped with the guy who broke her heart!
The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) by Amy Spalding (April 5, 2016)
Filled with romance, rivalry, and passive-aggressive dog walking, Amy Spalding delivers a hilariously relatable story about how even the best-laid plans sometimes need to be rewritten. What’s the only thing that could derail overachiever Jules’s perfect senior year? Alex Powell–former member of boy-band sensation Chaos 4 All and newest transfer to Eagle Vista Academy. Alex seems cool enough when he starts spending time with Jules. In fact, he turns out to be quite the romantic (not to mention a killer kisser). And after getting over the initial shock that someone like Alex might actually like her, Jules accepts that having a boyfriend could be a nice addition to her packed schedule. That is, until Alex commits the ultimate betrayal, which threatens to ruin her high school career, and possibly her entire future.
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga (February 10, 2015)
Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness. There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.
Trusting You and Other Lies by Nicole Williams (June 20, 2017)
Phoenix can’t imagine anything worse than being shipped off to family summer camp. Her parents have been fighting for the past two years–do they seriously think being crammed in a cabin with Phoenix and her little brother, Harry, will make things better? On top of that, Phoenix is stuck training with Callum–the head counselor who is seriously cute but a complete know-it-all. His hot-cold attitude means he’s impossible to figure out–and even harder to rely on. But despite her better judgment, Phoenix is attracted to Callum. And he’s promising Phoenix a summer she’ll never forget. Can she trust him? Or is this just another lie?
Love and Other Alien Experiences by Kerry Winfrey (November 10, 2015)
Mallory hasn’t left the house in sixty-seven days–since the day her dad left. She attends her classes via webcam, rarely leaves her room (much to her brother’s chagrin), and spends most of her time watching The X-Files or chatting with the always obnoxious BeamMeUp on New Mexico’s premier alien message board. But when she’s shockingly nominated for homecoming queen, her life takes a surprising turn. She slowly begins to open up to the world outside. And maybe if she can get her popular jock neighbor Brad Kirkpatrick to be her homecoming date, her classmates will stop calling her a freak. In this heartwarming and humorous debut, Mallory discovers first love and the true meaning of home–just by taking one small step outside her house.
Homicidal Aliens and Other Disappointments by Brian Yansky (September 10, 2013)
Jesse has had the worst year of his life. First a race of homicidal (but very polite) aliens invaded Earth, killing pretty much everyone and enslaving the few people left behind, including Jesse; his best friend, Michael; his sort-of girlfriend, Lauren; and the girl of his dreams, Catlin. Now Jesse is revered as some sort of Chosen One all because he managed to kill one of the alien lords and escape — even though he’s not really sure how he did it. But it’s hard to argue with the multitude of new talents he is developing, including (somehow) killing aliens with his mind and grasping glimpses of alternate futures. With thousands of aliens already on Earth and thirty million more about to arrive, Jesse has to decide whether to embrace his maybe-destiny before the world is completely destroyed. No pressure. [This is the sequel to Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences.]