Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme that was created over at The Broke and the Bookish! I am so happy that Top Ten Tuesday is back! I loved coming up with an idea for this weeks topic. I know that YA Contemporary can sometimes get a bad rep and it used to be a genre that I avoided all together. Lately, I have read some absolutely amazing YA contemporary books so I wanted to share those and recommended them to people who don’t like the genre!
I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Neslon– I can not adequately express to you how good this book is. It has become my favourite YA book of all time! Jandy Nelson is beyond talented and the story is so beautiful and masterfully written.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han– This series has some of the most relatable characters that I have ever read. I recently reviewed the entire series if you want to know more of my thoughts on it.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas– This book deserves all the hype that it has received. I truly believe that THUG is a must read for everyone. It is a book that is so relevant and should be taught in schools.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky– I read this book a few years ago and it remains a favourite. I like all the characters and could relate to the story. It is also a shorter read so I get way to dip your toe in to the genre!
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson– This is another book that I read years ago and still think about! It is also short, but the message is so important.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz– Beautifully written and character-driven. It is a moving coming of age story that I have recommended to others and they have loved it as well.
Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller– A book all about finding yourself when everything falls apart. I cried and laughed while reading this book. I also appreciated that the love story was realistic.
Crank by Ellen Hopkins– I don’t think you can go wrong with anything by Ellen Hopkins. She writes in prose and always writes about difficult but relevant topics such a drug use, prostitution, etc.
I Was Here by Gayle Forman– I really enjoy the main character. This book is pretty dark and depressing but I appreciated that about it and I like how the author handle such hard topics.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton– I couldn’t make a post like this without mentioning The Outsiders. One of my favourites books of all time and a must read! I tear up just thinking about it!
I have just recently gotten in to reading YA contemporary so there are a lot of books that I have heard great things about that I have yet to read! If you have any suggestions that would be greatly appreciated!
I only read I’ll Give You The Sun and Ari & Dante from the books you mentioned but I absolutely adore both of them!!! Two of the softest books I’ve ever read!
I don’t read that much contemporary ya myself, though I keep trying to find new good titles. Well I did just finish We Are Okay by Nina LaCour yesterday which I LOVED. And ofc one of my all time favourite authors – Melina Marchetta – writes mostly that so you should check her out if you haven’t already!
We Are Okay is on my TBR! I have heard nothing but good things about her books! I have not read anything by Melina Marchetta but I am definitely going to look her up on goodreads! Thanks! 😀
I think if you like Ari & Dante, you will also enjoy We Are Okay. :>>>> It has some of the same, gentle vibes.
I’m so excited for you to discover Marchetta!! I hope you will love her books as much as I do & I’d be more than happy to recommend a good place to start (she has a few lbr).
Awesome suggestions! I will check out The Outsiders. THUG is damn amazing! <3
Thank you! The Outsiders is so good!
I’ll give you the sun has been on my radar and you made me wan to read Ben more!! There are some other books I’m interested in, great recommendations!!
Yay! You won’t regret reading it! 😍
I’ve read Perks of Being a Wallflower, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as others did 🙁 I have I’ll Give You The Sun and The Hate U Give on my bookshelf, and Aristotle and Dante and the Lara Jean series on my list of books to read, which I hope to get to soon! I do enjoy YA contemporary, but I don’t read them all the time, I do find them very refreshing when I do pick one up though! Great list 🙂
Thank you! 😊
I hope that you enjoy all those books when you get to them! They are all great in their own way!
I’ll Give You the Sun is on my TBR for this month! And I loved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Hate U Give 🙂
You’re going to love I’ll Give You the Sun! 😍
great list! i read most of the books here and i loved almost every single one! but yeah, i am a contemporary lover 😂
Thank you! I am really starting to love contemporary as well!
that makes me very happy 😂🤗
I’ve got about half of these on my TBR, and I’m so glad for this list, because me + contemporary = mnehhh. Not that I don’t care about these important issues… I just like dragons. 🙂 Thanks for the list!
I totally get that! I am just starting to get in to contemporary more!
I’ve seen The Hate U Give on a few similar lists, it’s definitely going to be a popular one on yearly wrap ups I think! Great list, I love contemporary novels and have really found my groove with them this year. There are still a few from your list I am yet to read such as Speak and I’ll Give You the Sun.
I also used contemporary books for my list but focused on UKYA contemporary novels! Here’s my TTT.
Awesome! Looking forward to reading your list!
I don’t read much YA contemporary though I loved The Outsiders! This is a good list to work from when I want to pick something a little different than my usual reading. The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Aristotle and Dante especially appeal to me. Great list!
Thank you! Those are great choices!
The Outsiders ❤
😍
The level of bromance? made crazy about that book. I so rarely come across that haha
Great post! I don’t read a lot of YA contemporary but I love The Outsiders so much.
I recently read Eliza and Her Monsters and absolutely loved it – very highly recommended! More Happy Than Not but Adam Silvera is also great.
I really need to read Eliza! Everyone is raving about it! I have been wanting to read Adam Silvera as well! Thank you for your recommendations 😊
A few contemporary books I’ve read this year and enjoyed are: Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde, Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer, Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett, Geekerella by Ashley Poston, and Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia.
Awesome! Thanks for your recommendations! I really want to read Geekerella! 😊
I just now realized that basically all of the contemporary books I recommended were fandom related, whether that was characters obsessed with movies, or certain shows or whatever. I’m a geek and I love when I can relate to the characters because of the things we love.
Of these I’ve only read Perks of Being A Wallflower, which I liked, but I have to say actually preferred the movie. I don’t read much contemporary really, a lot of them seem to have a big romance component which I don’t love. Still I’ve heard a lot of good things about all these books!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/15/top-ten-tuesday-120/
There is romance in some of these but not all of them! And its not usually the main theme of the story! Can’t wait to read your TTT!
I’ll have to check them out, see if there’s any that appeal. Thanks!
Perks!!! If you liked Perks you have to listen the audiobook, it is just… a must to do <3 The narration!!!
I'll Give You the Sun is just one of my favorite together with Aristotle… Ethereal is a word that I learn on "I'll Give You the Sun" and its the word that will describe the book completely… For Aristotle… there is a sequel coming… and I just can't… wait…
Thank you for sharing!
I have been waiting for the sequel for Aristotle for ages! I can not wait!!
I am trying to get to in to audiobooks so maybe Perks is a good place to start!
I swear to the gods of the Olympus… that you will love it! The narrator (I have said this already but I have to say it again haha)
Audible.com can give you a 30 day trial haha it is more than enough to love that book <3 I found out about Aristotle's sequel like a month ago, and now I cannot even get out of home eh haha
I’ll Give You the Sun and Speak are on my wishlist, and THUG is on my TBR! They all sound really good.
They are all amazing. Truly can’t go wrong!
Thank you for these recommendations!😊I love Jenny Han’s series, though I haven’t gotten to read the third book yet. AND THE OUTSIDERS, ALL THE FEELS. One of my all time favorites!
Your welcome!! The Outsiders is so amazing! Stay gold 😊
I’m crying…stay gold, Ponyboy…😉
The only one I’ve read is Perks. I need to give more YA Contemporary a try.. I’m always happy when I do.
There are some really great books in the genre! My TBR is ever growing!
I’ve read and loved a lot of these, especially THUG, Perks, and Crank. I love all of Ellen Hopkins’ books so much. It’s been awhile since I’ve read anything by her, I need to get caught up!
I need to read more books by her as well! I like the topics that she touches on and the way she writes!
I love this list!!! LOVE!!! I feel like people who say they don’t like YA Contemporary are mostly thinking about the YA Romance books. There are so many deep/serious/dark/emotional YA books, and I think those are more likely to impact someone. I do love To All the Boys though!!
You’re so right. For some reason when you first think of YA contemporary you automatically think of romance but a lot of the books are so much deeper than that!
I’ve read seven of these books, and I loved them all. Speak was so good; I remember having to read it in school in grade 9, then we watched the movie… talk about a moving book! So haunting, yet so eye opening.
Love this post! Contemporary is my favorite genre, so I’m all about this. Wonderful book recommendations too!
Thank you! I am definitely starting to get more in to it! Some really great YA contemporary out there!
So glad to hear that. There really are!
Wonderful post!! I particularly liked Perks and To all the boys (agree that the characters are so relatable!) And I really need to read Speak!
Thank you! Speak is excellent! I think it should be taught in schools!
You’re welcome!! Oh awesome!!
I *still* need to read the ‘Boys’ trilogy. It’s been on my bookshelf (book one) for a looong time, and since I picked up book three, I now simply need to binge read the pretties (which I expect will become one of my most favorites).
I also have been off and on curious about Gayle’s book especially since I did enjoy “If I Stay” better than anticipated. 🙂
The Boys trilogy is perfect for binge reading! I think you’ll love it!
I think I enjoyed I Was Here even more than If I Stay! 😀
The Outsiders is truly a classic. I read it first in middle school, but I vividly remember crying when the book ended. It was so bittersweet. <3
It really is a special book!
Great list! I read quite a few of these and loved them. I still really need to read I’ll Give You The Sun, To All the Boys, and The Hate U Give! I own them all, so I need to just read them already haha.
All three of those books are fantastic. I really think you’ll love them!
These are great suggestions! I do read contemporary occasionally, but it’s definitely not my favorite genre.
I have yet to read the Outsiders or Wallflower,but I want to someday.
Awesome suggestions!
Thank you!! 😊