I’m the kind of reader who loves to be taken away into a different world where extraordinary things happen. It’s probably one of the reasons I primarily read dystopian, paranormal, fantasy, and mysteries. But Monday’s post about reading in different genres got me thinking.
We can all agree that the tide of YA paranormal, fantasy, and most recently dystopian fiction has taken the spotlight in publishing trends. Just like everything returns in cycles, I see two things happening: a surge of middle-grade fiction returning and also a surge of contemporary fiction in general.
I’ll be the first to admit that if I had to choose between a ghost story and a contemporary novel, that I wouldn’t pick the latter, but one of my reading goals this summer is to find some great contemporary novels (both adult and YA) to put on my reading lists.
I keep a record of books that I’ve read and contemporary novels are not well represented. But here are some contemporary novels (mostly YA) that I’ve read in the last 18 months:
Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
Many Stones by Carolyn Coman
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Jumping off Swings by Jo Knowles
This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Three Willows by Ann Brashares
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
So help me out guys. What are some good contemporary books (both YA and adult) that I can read?
Everyone have a great Memorial Day weekend! Be safe and remember the sacrifices our troops have made for us. Also get some writing done!
I loved Dairy Queen. For me, it’s all in the writing, not the genre – on why I love a book.
Dirty Little Secrets, C. J. Omololu
Harmonic Feedback, Tara Kelly
The Tension of Opposites, Kristina McBride
Black Box, Julie Schumacher
Headlong, Kathe Koja
Holdstill, Nina LaCoeur
Hardlove, Ellen Wittlinger
Godless, Pete Hautman
(and–the jury’s is still out on how good it is–The Freak Observer, by me…)
Most contemporary fiction I read are contemporary romance. I’ve read some great ones by Sara Zarr, Sarah Dessen, and Elizabeth Scott.
Laura: Yes, DAIRY QUEEN was a good read. Have you read the sequel? I heard that it was good as well.
Blythe: Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Always love it when Blue Boarders come by. Actually I saw THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES during my bookstore browse today. The title intrigued me. I’ll definitely have to put it on my TBR list. I’ve read HARDLOVE and it’s one of my YA classic favorites.
Sandy: I’ve read Sara Zarr — STORY OF A GIRL was excellent. I haven’t had a chance to read her latest. I should put them on the list. I’ve read most of Sarah Dessen books. The only book I;ve read from Elizabeth Scott has been LIVING DEAD GIRL, but I know her other work is much more lighter. That book still haunts me to this day.
I absolutely LOVE Sarah Dessen!
FLASH BURNOUT by L.K. Madigan (won the Morris award for debut YA fiction)
HOW TO SAY GOOD-BYE IN ROBOT by Natalie Standiford
IF I STAY by Gayle Forman
TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler
SETH BAUMGARTNER’S LOVE MANIFESTO by Eric Luper
FAT CAT by Robin Brande
Anything by John Green or Laurie Halse Anderson
I could go on and on and on… :)
Happy reading!
Lisa: Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve read the first couple of chapters of TWENTY BOY SUMMER — plus I love reading the author’s blog so I must put this on my list.
Also have heard some good things about Natalie Standiford’s book and L.K.Madigan.
Lots of good stuff!
Wow, I didn’t realize how much fantasy I’ve been reading recently until I tried to think of a contemporary novel I’ve read in the past six months…I’ve got nothing. I’m going to have to add some to my reading pile!!
Anna: Same here Book Twin! I haven’t read a lot of contemporary books either. My goal is to read more of them this summer especially since I’ll be deep in revision mode for this paranormal/mystery novel I’m working on.
A lot of the newer stuff can be pretty enthralling. I just picked up a mystery story, The Eighth Scroll , that was really great. Its easy to think that nothing new is good, but that’s short sighted. There is just more to sift through now.