This post is going to be incomplete and it is going to be overwhelming. At least, I’m overwhelmed, and I’m also overwhelmed at knowing it’s incomplete. But because I know I like to have books on my radar and because I know that goes for many readers, I wanted to do a roundup of the 2014 contemporary YA titles that I am aware of already.
I’ve pulled from my own knowledge, as well as dug through publisher catalogs, and I’ve compiled a massive list. Again, I know it’s incomplete. And I know my ability to know for certain whether a book is contemporary or not is not perfect when I’m given just a short catalog description. I’ve tried my best to stick to the ones I know are, so yes, there are going to be titles missing and it’s possible there will be a title or two included that may not be “contemporary” in the way I define it.
Not all of the books have covers, but I’ve pulled out covers where I can. Because this post would never, ever end if I included descriptions, I’ve instead linked to the Goodreads pages for each, so you can read the descriptions and add them to your to-read if you want to. I have included publication months.
Feel free to leave comments if you know of other traditionally published 2014 contemporary titles, as I’d love to have a huge resource list here for myself, as well as other avid contemporary fans. It not only helps in planning my reading, but it helps in planning what I’d like to think about in terms of content, themes, and who to talk to for future posts and features. It’s fascinating to see themes emerge that were never on your mind before, even if it’s sheerly through book descriptions. And there some neat cover and title trends to pick up on, too. Without doubt, romance is something we’ll be seeing a lot of in the new year.
If you’re ready, I’m ready. Like I said, this is long — contemporary realistic fiction is far from dead.
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, May.
Pointe by Brandy Colbert, April.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, April
What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick, April
Goldfish by Kody Keplinger
Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt, February
Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy, March
#Scandal by Sarah Ockler, June
The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes, May
On the Fence by Kasie West, July
No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale, January
Open Road Summer by Emery Lord, April
Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler, June
The Break-up Artist by Philip Siegel, April
The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe, February
Before My Eyes by Caroline Bock, February
Far From You by Tess Sharpe, April
The Chance You Won’t Return by Annie Cardi, April
Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan, September
Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, May
Solving for Ex by LeighAnn Kopans, February
The Last Forever by Deb Caletti, April
Rumble by Ellen Hopkins
Fan Art by Sarah Tregay, June
More Than Good Enough by Crissa-Jean Chappell, January
Inland by Kat Rosenfield
Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan, May
Torn Away by Jennifer Brown, May
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Nantucket Red by Leila Howland, sequel to Nantucket Blue, May
Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook, February
Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith, April
My Best Friend, Maybe by Caela Carter, June
Summer of Yesterday by Gaby Triana, July
Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell, April
Now & Forever by Susane Colasanti, May
The Other Way Around by Sashi Kaufman, March
17 First Kisses by Rachael Allen, June
And We Stay by Jennifer Hubbard, January
In Deep by Terra Elan McVoy, July
Lives My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters, June
We Are The Goldens by Dana Reinhardt, May
What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn, April
Lover Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, April
Something Beginning With You by Sarah Wylie
High & Dry by Sarah Skilton, April
The Art of Secrets by James Klise, April
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, May
Bleed Like Me by C. Desir, October
Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff, May
Tease by Amanda Maciel, April
Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler, January
Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern, June
The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Conner, June
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, January
See Jane Run by Hannah Jayne, January
Boys Like You by Juliana Stone, May
Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor, July
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles, May
Life By Committee by Corey Ann Haydu, May
There Will Come a Time by Carrie Arcos, May
Royally Lost by Angie Stanton, May
The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt, May
Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott, January
Twas the Night Before College by Sonya Sones
The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner, March
When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds, January
The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos, January
Meet Me Here by Bryan Bliss
Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn, June
Road Rash by Mark Parsons, February
Wildflower by Alecia Whitaker, July
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour, May
Blind Spot for Boys by Justina Chen, August
Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs, April
The Prince of Venice Beach by Blake Nelson, June
Don’t Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Healey, April
Just Call My Name by Holly Goldberg Sloan, August
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine, January
How to Meet Boys by Catherine Clark, May
The Last Best Kiss by Clarie LaZebnik, April
The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu, June
The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher, January
Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf, January
Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan
Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson, April
Little Blue Lies by Chris Lynch, January
Surrounded by Sharks by Michael Northrop, May
The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder, July
Infinite Sky by CJ Flood, May
No Place by Todd Strasser, January
The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle, March
Girl Defective by Simmone Howell, September
Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor, February
The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder, April
The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer, April
The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi, April
Just Like The Movies by Kelly Fiore, June
God, I don't think I've ever drooled so hard over a blog post before. Thanks so much for putting this all together!
Here are a few more:
DAMSEL DISTRESSED by Kelsey Macke, October (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17788889-damsel-distressed?ac=1)
THE HIT LIST by Nikki Urang, November (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18035342-the-hit-list?ac=1)
CAMP PAYBACK by J.K. Rock, April (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16692604-camp-payback?ac=1)
ASK AGAIN LATER by Francesca Zappia (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17661416-ask-again-later?from_search=true)
NO PLACE TO FALL by Jaye Robin Brown (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16144570-no-place-to-fall?ac=1)
Thanks Dahlia! Yes, mine is a contemporary! And coming out in the Fall.
This is an amazing list! Definitely add DAMSEL DISTRESSED by Kelsey Macke, October
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17788889-damsel-distressed?ac=1)
and
BETWEEN by Megan Whitmer, July
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17251354-between?from_search=true)
BETWEEN is paranormal, but definitely DAMSEL DISTRESSED!
I know. I know. I tried to delete and redo but uuuughhhh I'll just sit here and look like a dummy. Really I'm fine with that.
Many squees! I see more I didn't know about! I think YA contemp is solidly my favorite YA subgenre. I wish I could read all of these.
One more! OF SCARS AND STARDUST by Andrea Hannah (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18584569-of-scars-and-stardust?ac=1)
I should not, I REPEAT, should not have read this post. BOOK LUST–big time. Now who's going to loan me their time stopper, eh?
Wow- what a list! Thanks so much for compiling this. I added tons of these to GR. Lots of Contemporary YA goodness to look forward to in 2014.
Y'know, I don't think of myself as a big contemp reader, but I am looking forward to so many of these.
Amazing list! Thanks!
Thrilled to see Side Effects May Vary on the list! I loved this book so hard!
I love this! Huge contemporary fan so this was right up my alley. Thanks for introducing me to some new books!
THIS IS AWESOME.
I so cannot wait to read Afterparty, Tease, Side Effects May Vary, All the Boys I've Loved Before, Goldfish and a TON of others.
Thank you for thisss.
Amazingly helpful post! Thanks so much, I just added a ton of books to my library carts and also to my TBR list!
This is awesome! Thanks so much for compiling this. I'd like to add my contemporary YA that's coming out from Macmillan/Henry Holt on Feb. 4, 2014: SOMETHING REAL by Heather Demetrios (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15789443-something-real). Yay for contemporary YA!
My Contemporary YA is releasing on Flux on May 8, 2014! What a great list this is!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18187029-these-gentle-wounds
Wow! Thank you for this long list! Finally, new books to add to my to-read liist!
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