Here are some tasty teasers of a few contemporaries I've read over the past few months. I know I mostly focus on YA sci-fi and fantasy on this blog, but I love realistic too, and in fact my next WIP is a MG contemporary!
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - by Becky Albertalli
You may have heard me and 5 million other people fangirling over this 2015 debut author's book on Twitter. Yes it is really that good.
The recipe ... for an adorable disaster:
2 not-so-openly-gay boys meet via Tumblr (but not in person) and fall in crush
... Someone finds out
Add: Blackmail + Oreos + Waffle House = Gah!
Twist: They go to the. same. High. School.
It was love at first reblog,
...but will they ever find each other in real life?
Brown Girl Dreaming - by Jacqueline Woodson
In case you can't tell by all the awards on the cover, this is a really, really, really good book. It's a semi-autobiographical MG novel-in-verse. It's hard to explain it and do it any justice. You really must read it.
The recipe ... for an imagination loosed:
Girl born just removed from the time of struggle
Memories flowing through bloodlines, through places.
Ohio. South Carolina. Brooklyn, New York.
A poem of life.
A journey to be free ... to dream.
And to write.
Speak - by Laurie Halse Anderson
This book is more than a decade old now, but I've just gotten around to reading it, and wow. It deals with tough subject matter (the after-effects of rape) in a very compelling and thought-provoking way.
The recipe ... for voice:
Loud, silent tangle of thoughts/feelings/emotions.
Ostracism.
Loss.
Friends both false and true.
Hands to art: pencil, brush, clay.
No one knows the hurt she's held inside, until she
Speaks.
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Any other recommendations for fans of these books?
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - by Becky AlbertalliYou may have heard me and 5 million other people fangirling over this 2015 debut author's book on Twitter. Yes it is really that good.
The recipe ... for an adorable disaster:
2 not-so-openly-gay boys meet via Tumblr (but not in person) and fall in crush
... Someone finds out
Add: Blackmail + Oreos + Waffle House = Gah!
Twist: They go to the. same. High. School.
It was love at first reblog,
...but will they ever find each other in real life?
Brown Girl Dreaming - by Jacqueline Woodson
In case you can't tell by all the awards on the cover, this is a really, really, really good book. It's a semi-autobiographical MG novel-in-verse. It's hard to explain it and do it any justice. You really must read it.
The recipe ... for an imagination loosed:
Girl born just removed from the time of struggle
Memories flowing through bloodlines, through places.
Ohio. South Carolina. Brooklyn, New York.
A poem of life.
A journey to be free ... to dream.
And to write.
Speak - by Laurie Halse Anderson
This book is more than a decade old now, but I've just gotten around to reading it, and wow. It deals with tough subject matter (the after-effects of rape) in a very compelling and thought-provoking way.
The recipe ... for voice:
Loud, silent tangle of thoughts/feelings/emotions.
Ostracism.
Loss.
Friends both false and true.
Hands to art: pencil, brush, clay.
No one knows the hurt she's held inside, until she
Speaks.
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Any other recommendations for fans of these books?
Yes, I looooved SPEAK! I don’t think that’s a controversial opinion, though, lol. I still think about how well she wove everything together and how emotionally resonant it was. It’s one of those books that’s really stuck with me.
ReplyDelete