Young adult realistic fiction

Today's post was inspired both by the fact that the last book I read was an awesome young adult novel, and by my friend Joanna, who asked for recommendations of books that are good for teenagers.  So I decided I would write about young adult realistic fiction.  I've previously written about young adult dystopian fiction, and in a future post I'll cover young adult fantasy.

This is not to suggest that only young adult fiction makes for good reading for teenagers - my own teenage daughter Allison also reads adult fiction and non-fiction, with some of her favorites including some of the adult dystopian novels in my dystopian fiction post, and also a couple of the books in my post on contemporary fiction with a science fiction edge.  (Interestingly, Allison has not read most of the books below because she generally finds realistic young adult fiction to be too romance-y.)  And when I was a teenager myself, the young adult genre was definitely not as robust as it is now, so I read a lot of mysteries and science fiction - I specifically remember working my way through all the books by both Agatha Christie and Robert Heinlein, among others.  Nor is a book being labeled young adult any guarantee it is more appropriate, especially for younger teens - I've definitely read a few young adult books that have a lot more sex/drugs/alcohol than many adult books!  But to the best of my recollection, that's not true of the books below.

That being said, here are some favorites of mine in the genre of  contemporary realistic young adult fiction:

John Green - John Green is definitely the reigning leader of realistic young adult fiction, so I'm just going to list him as a writer.  I've read 5 of his 6 books and loved them all, but my favorite is his most famous book, which you've probably read if you're a fan of young adult realistic fiction - the teenagers with cancer weepie "The Fault in Our Stars."  Note that Allison didn't like "The Fault in Our Stars" but loved "Paper Towns."

Rainbow Rowell - Rainbow Rowell has written two absolutely wonderful realistic young adult novels, "Eleanor and Park" and "Fangirl."  "Eleanor and Park" is set in the 1980s, about 2 misfit teens who meet on the school bus and the surprising relationship they form.  "Fangirl" is about an introverted identical twin and avid fan fiction writer trying to make her way through her first year of college.  Both books are both funny and poignant and filled with the most wonderfully real characters.  And both made my top 10 favorites lists in years past.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli - I read this last week, and it was so great that I literally couldn't put it down and tore threw it in 24 hours (it also helps that it's a short book).  This novel is about a gay teenage boy named Simon, who is only out to an anonymous person at his school who he e-mails with under his own anonymous identity.   Simon and his friends and family all just felt so real and true, and I hated to finish the book because I wanted to keep hearing about them.  As I mentioned in my list of movies coming out this year, a movie adapted from this book is coming out this month.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum - This book made my top 10 books of 2017 list.  This was a laugh and cry book, a young adult novel about a 16 year old girl whose mom died a few years ago, who has to move from Chicago to Los Angeles when her dad remarries, and adjust to a fancy new school.  Although my experience was nothing like that of the main character, it really brought back for me the feeling of being a teenager in high school.  Interestingly, just like "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," this book has the angle of an anonymous online correspondence with another student at school.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu - I mentioned this book on my post on light fiction.  This novel is about a teenage girl in a conservative, football-crazy small town in Texas who, inspired by her mother's Riot Grrrl past, starts distributing a zine in the school bathroom speaking up against the sexist stuff going on at school. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and definitely inspirational, this was a fast and entertaining read.

Flight Season by Marie Marquardt - This book switches between the perspectives of 3 characters: Vivi, who has almost flunked out of Yale after her father's death, and has to complete an internship at a Florida hospital in order to go back; TJ, who has almost graduated from nursing school and is working at the hospital; and Angel, an immigrant teenage heart patient at the hospital. A moving  novel with very real, compelling, and unique characters. I couldn't put it down.

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom - This book is about a blind teenager dealing with family, friendship, and relationship stuff. The interactions between characters felt very real, and it was really interesting to read a book describing what it is like to be blind. And the main character is very endearing in her own prickly way.