Feature: Why YA Contemporary is the Best

Crushed on by kelly, on July 27, 2017, in Feature / 3 Comments

Feature: Why YA Contemporary is the Best

Today let’s talk about Why YA Contemporary is the Best. I used to barely ever read contemporary, it was too young, too cheesey, or too annoying. Now I read almost as much contemporary as fantasy (if we are doing vast generalizations of genres)! So I am going to give you some insight as to why I have been a big fan lately, along with some of the books I have been devouring. Plus a few that are always recommended to me and that I always recommend!

 

This feature post is inspired by the Brooding YA Hero Street Team! If you haven’t heard, the twitter sensation the Brooding YA Hero, is now going to be a book! Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me by Carrie Ann DiRisio so add it to your TBR or preorder it now!

 

Reasons Why YA Contemporary is the Best:

1. It’s so Varied. YA Contemporary can be anything. Any person, any experience, any gender, any sexuality…get the drift? Any subgenre like mystery, or suspense, or most commonly romance. The one thing it has to be is realistic, current, and modern. So basically it is realistic and modern.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig – Mystery

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandha Menon – Romance

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven – Obesity, Bullying

 

2. All the Feels. Most YA contemporary books really pull out the feelings in the reader. Of course there are tons of fluffy contemporary too. That’s the brilliance of the genre. The same book can make me laugh and cry.

The Serpent King by Jeff Zetner

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

 

3. Characters. Endless possibilities for character development.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston – Modern fairytale retelling, romance

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry – Motorcycle Club romance

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

 

4. Relevance. Since contemporary is about the modern world, it makes it so easy to pull in certain poignant IRL events.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – Black Lives Matter

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp – School Shootings

American Street by Ibi Zoboi – Immigration

 

*links to goodreads

 

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3 responses to “Feature: Why YA Contemporary is the Best”

  1. Kristy Petree

    I love YA contemporary (and even some fantasy) for several reasons. First, the nostalgia of first love, high school, etc. Second, the sex or the lack of sex. It’s either missing or it’s more a sweet and/or awkward coming of age thing rather than the detailed account you get in NA or adult stories (I’ve been married over 20 years, so I don’t really need or want details lol).

    And while I don’t face most of the issues that teens are facing in the books I read (bullying, eating disorders, struggles with sexuality, etc), I don’t face most of the issues in adult books either (infidelity, infertility, etc). So I guess I’d rather read about the teen issues. And sometimes I just want a nice fluffy YA read with mild drama, to take the edge off the more serious ones.