Ah, a Top Ten Tuesday post! I know, you’re asking yourself, “Amber, is this going to be a post simply rehashing your favorite books from past years?” and the answer is…most likely! It has been forever since I last participated in Top Ten Tuesday and I am rejoining at the best time! Over the past few years, I’ve listened to audiobooks which means I have been able to listen to a lot more backlist titles. I wanted to focus on a list for backlist contemporary YA. I’m excited to share what some of my favorites are. I can’t explain how much I love contemporary YA, it always gives me the chance to relate to characters in a real-life way that I can’t always find in other genres.
Top Ten Tuesday was formerly hosted by the ladies at The Broke and The Bookish but is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. You can read more about past topics and future topics here.
Now keep in mind that I have been a little out of the loop when it comes to backlist titles people have talked about. I did limit myself to Young Adult books published 2018 or before. I will be doing a follow-up post because there are so many of my favorite books not listed here.
Let’s begin.
Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
~Why You Need To Read It~
It is a book about the complexity of family relationships, has a lovely romance plot and there’s an aunt’s past that the main character discovers. I adored it and read it in only a couple sittings a few years ago.
A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
~Why You Need To Read It~
This is my favorite Keplinger novel and it was the first I read. It involves a semi-party girl named Whitley who had me hooked from the first page. There’s a forbidden romance which I am usually not a fan of but Keplinger made it worth. Like Fixing Delilah, A Midsummer’s Nightmare also deals with the complexity of family.
You can read my review for it.
Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
~Why You Need To Read It~
You may be seeing a theme now but Firsts is about a girl named Mercedes who is complex and does things that aren’t always the best. It’s a book about double standards and reputations.
You can read my review for it.
Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando
~Why You Should Read It~
I have a soft spot for books that are about characters going into college. There is friendship here, Veronica Mars references, and a dual POV. The main characters are going to be roommates and it’s told through emails during the summer.
You can read my review for it.
Faking Normal by Courtney C Stevens
~Why You Should Read It~
My emotions exploded when I was reading this book. I related to the main character a lot with the way she was self-destructive and trying to come back from it. She is a recovering self-harmer and the feelings were so real.
Free To Fall by Lauren Miller
~Why You Should Read It~
Free To Fall was one of the books I fell head over heels in love with. It was my profile picture for several years as Shannon can attest to. In this world much like our own, especially as AI advances and shit, there is a decision making app so you don’t have to. Now, I would love this app for small things like say, what book to listen to, what to have for dinner, or if I really need to buy this fidget pen (the answer was yes). When it comes to big things though, I would hope I wouldn’t but honestly, who knows? I loved the characters in here so much.
You can read my review for it.
Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang
~Why You Should Read It~
I will always have a soft spot for Falling Into Place and Liz Emerson. Liz Emerson has decided to unlike herself in this book and as you go through the pages, you will see why. My heart really went out for her. She’s not a nice person a lot of the times and that plays a big part in her suicide attempt. As we see her through an unknown narrator’s eyes though, I feel like you can’t help but care for her.
You can read my review for it.
Because You’ll Never Meet Me and Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas
~Why You Should Read It~
This one toes the line of Contemporary but for the most part it is. I loved this duology so much. It’s told completely through letters between Oliver and Moritz, two boys who are destined to never meet. It is heartbreaking. Please note that there has been criticism against the portrayal of character being blind but having semi-superpowers.
You can read my review for Because You’ll Never Meet Me and my One Day More post for Nowhere Near You.
Fans of The Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
~Why You Should Read It~
This was one of the books that I DMed the author to talk about. Kate was super sweet. I loved getting her perception and wondering what I thought about certain things. Fans of The Impossible Life isa book that gave me Perks of Being A Wallflower where a character is taken under two friends wings. All three characters deal with super hard things and lean on each other, at times more than they should.
Romancing The Dark In The City of Light by Ann Jacobus
~Why You Should Read It~
Content Warning: Alcoholism, Depression, Suicide Ideation
This novel deals with depression and alcoholism. I loved Summer as a character. I felt for her a lot.
You can read my review.
American Girls by Alison Umminger
~Why You Should Read It~
I always love stories that take place in California. American Girls is about Ana who is having a hard time in her relationship with her mother. She stays with her half sister who is trying to make it as an actress. As she stays in LA, she looks into the Mason girls. It’s a lovely darker coming of age story.
Still Life With Tornado by A.S. King
~Why You Should Read It~
It is such an emotional read. A. S. King gets a lot of recognition already and it’s so well deserved. Still Life With tornado is my favorite King book. Like Because You’ll Never Meet Me, it is on the speculative end of Contemporary YA. The storytelling here is so unique and was one of my favorite parts.
Dead Little Mean Girl by Eva Darrows
~Why You Should Read It~
Do you deserve to die even if you’re mean? Short answer, no. Long answer, this book. Now this is not a perfect read and I don’t agree with everything here. I could, however, relate to the very difficult relationship that Emma had with Quinn.
The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
~Why You Should Read It~
Three reasons:
-
Meet Cute at an airport
-
24 hours setting!!!
- Amazing best friend
Before you think it’s all sunshine though, The Chaos of Standing Still is about a girl named Rynn who is struggling with the grief from her best friend, Lottie’s, death. I loved the slow romance and learning more about Lottie.
I Stop Somewhere by T E Carter
~Why You Should Read It~
I Stop Somewhere is a dark read about a girl who’s trapped in a nightmare and has to watch it happen over and over again. Like American Girls, I Stop Somewhere deals with what happens when you’re a girl that no one notices or cares much about. It’s a heartbreaking read.
aside
The Last To Let Go by Amber Smith
~Why You Should Read It~
Because we share the same first name!
Really though, I know The Way I Used To Be is exploding on TikTok now which I absolutely love. My favorite Amber Smith book though is The Last To Let Go. If you like reading about girls surviving in the aftermath of life-changing events, you will love this one.
The Beauty That Remains by Amanda Woodfolk
~Why You Should Read It~
The Beauty That Remains is told in three point of views which happens to be my favorite number of POVs. We have another book that deals with grief, self-destructive behavior and the power of music. All three characters deal with grief in a different way and I felt their pain so much. I love seeing how they grow.
asdf
I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Foreman
~Why You Should Read It~
It’s about three characters who have all lost their way somehow in their life. I love how they form a little found family. It takes place over 24 hours but the effects of it are life changing for the characters.
The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde
~Why You Should Read It~
Okay, I absolutely adored this book. This was one that I had on my backlist for a long time but only gave it a try when it was on Hoopla to borrow. The audiobook was great. I love how so many of the characters were queer. Here we have another sort of messy teenager who is doing the best she can, especially after being somewhat of a train wreck. It’s just such a fun book focused on music and coming back from disaster.
Not The Girls You’re Looking For by Aminah Mae Safi
~Why You Should Read It~
1. Amazing friendship group
2. Imperfect, flawless, sort of messy main character
3. Friends who fall away from each other and find their way back
All of these books really showcase why I love Contemporary YA. I had so much fun going through my reading history on Goodreads to make this list. Now, what are some of your favorite backlist Contemporary YA books that I need to read? Have you read any of them on my list? Which one might you try? Let me know in the comments. Feel free to link me to your Top Ten Tuesday posts!
As always, you can follow me on Twitter (while it exists), Instagram, Threads and Bluesky. My username for BlueSky is YAIndulgences.
These all sound good, especially Dead Little Mean Girl.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
I have to admit, I’m not really a YA contemporary reader, I mean admittedly I read less YA than I used to anyway but even when I was a teenager, I didn’t read much contemporary. Couldn’t relate to all the romance plotlines. Glad you found some great books to love though!
Free to Fall looks fun, and I never read Brightsiders but really liked Queens of Geek by Wilde.
Welcome back to TTT!
I don’t read much YA contemporary these days, but a few of these were on my TBR list back in the day. I haven’t read any of them, though.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com