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Jen’s Pick List: Middle Grade Contemporary to Read

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While Kelly has been covering YA Contemporary Lit this week, I thought I’d chime in with a list of my favorite middle-grade contemporary reads. Much like with YA lit, contemporary reads, quiet reads, and real-life reads often get pushed to the wayside in middle-grade fiction, with readers and publishers concentrating on and flocking to fantasy books. Even when I was brainstorming this post, I had to eliminate some of my favorite MG reads because they were either magical (or, in the opposite direction, historical). In the end, this is my list, which concentrates mainly on books published recently.

1. The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner
Perhaps one of my favorites ever. Messner, herself a middle-school teacher, perfectly captures the worries, fears, school and family life of Gianna Z., a seventh-grader struggling to complete her mandatory leaf collecting/identification project while juggling cross-country and her ailing grandmother. Plain warm-hearted fun. Messner’s Sugar and Ice is also highly recommended.

2. A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
All Zoe wants to do is learn to master the piano so she can play at Carnegie Hall one day. But when her Dad buys her an organ instead, she doesn’t know how to deal. Add this to the fact that her Dad is afraid to leave the house, her Mom is always at work, and a really, really weird boy is desperate to be her friend, and Zoe doesn’t know what to do! Can Zoe learn what perfect actually is? Poignant, heartfelt, and moving.

3. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall.
Already considered a modern classic, this tale of the four Penderwick sisters and their widowed father reminds me of classics of my youth, such as Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden. When the Penderwick family decides to take a vacation, the four girls become friends with a local boy, whose incredibly strict mother balks at the girls’ rambunctious nature. Rosaline, 12, Skye, 11, Jane, 10, and Batty, 4, are all unique personalities with their own individual storylines, storylines that weave together seamlessly to create a charming whole. Birdsall has also come out with two sequels, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, and (recently published), The Penderwicks at Point Mouette.

4. The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
I recently reviewed the audio production of this book, where I went into much more detail. When Kat and Ted’s cousin Salim comes to visit them, they are shocked when he climbs into the London Eye to take a solo ride…and never exits! What follows is an investigation featuring Ted’s unique way of seeing the world. While he is on the autism spectrum, Ted’s specific diagnosis is never mentioned, and he simply sees himself as having a “disorder.” Yet it is these unique insights of Ted’s that lead to Kat and Ted eventually discovering the truth behind their cousin’s disappearance in a fascinating mystery/character study.

5. Penny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder
I named this one of my Favorite Reads of 2010, and this book still lingers in my memory, as it is so magical and enchanting. Snyder creates a character to fall in love with in Penny, the young girl who can not help but wish it was magic that caused her family to move from a large, lonely house in the city to an inherited property in Tennessee when her father abruptly quits his job. As the family interacts with a large, quirky cast of characters, the reader is witness to the true power of friendship, love, and determination.

6. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
The first in Balliett’s trilogy of books featuring amateur sleuths Petra and Calder, who live in Chicago and get caught up in a mystery when a priceless Vermeer painting, The Lady Waiting, is stolen as it is being transported to Chicago’s Art Institute. Filled with codes, clues, facts, both current and historical, and tons of puzzle pieces that are somehow reassembed at the novel’s conclusion, this book is just plain smart. Reluctant readers will appreciate the illustrations, while mystery lovers will love figuring out clues with the twosome. Balliet’s follow-ups, The Wright 3 and The Calder Game, are also highly recommended.

7. Rules by Cynthia Lord
Twelve-year old Catherine’s life is filled with rules. Not for herself, but for her younger brother David, who has autism. All Catherine wants is to be normal. But that’s hard when dictates like “no toys in the fish tank” and “chew with your mouth closed” are necessary all the time. But one day, when at David’s occupational therapy appointment, Catherine meets Jason, a patient with cerebral palsy, who becomes a true friend, little by little. As they learn to communicate through drawings and pictures, she struggles with some awful thoughts she herself is having and discovers the true meaning of friendship. Touching, honest, and straight-forward.

8. Smile by Raina Telegemeier
When sixth-grade Raina trips and falls, in the process injuring her two front teeth, she doesn’t know the dental saga she’s in for. Based on the author’s own childhood, this graphic novel is sure to resonanate with anyone who’s suffered braces, headgear, or retainers. Mixed up with the dental work, however, is still the reality of junior high: boys, family, friends, even a natural disaster. The bright, vivid illustrations are eye-catching, and the story is both compelling and relatable.

10. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
Oh, man, is this a tearjerker! But a good one! Audrey is only 11-years old, but a family tragedy has left her absolutely on her own. Her only option is to go live with her grandmother in Vermont, to try to understand what has happened to her, to heal, and to move on with her life. Along Audrey’s journey, as she makes a new friend and starts to become more comfortable with her grandmother, she absolutely endears herself to the reader, leaving the ending, and Audrey’s big decision, the exact definition of what a book’s climax should be. Aubrey absolutely works her way into your heart

11. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
Emma-Jean Lazarus, a seventh-grader at William Gladstone Middle School, is definitely smart. But she’s definitely odd, too. She doesn’t understand why the other middle-school girls behave the way they do, and they don’t understand why Emma-Jean can’t quite understand what the social scene is all about. But when she chooses to comfort Colleen Pomerantz, who is crying over a friend’s betrayal, Emma-Jean is suddenly thrust in the middle of things. Suddenly she has friends, and is no longer on the outskirts. But will her awkwardness ruin the first real friendship she’s ever had? This book perfectly captures the awkwardness of middle-school, the fear we have that our friends are deserting us, and with what it’s like to be different. I ached and rooted for Emma-Jean.

12. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Tommy and the other boys in school just think that Dwight is plain strange. But how to explain the origami finger puppet Dwight made, the one that looks just like Yoga and is strangely accurate at the predicting the truth about their classmates? Mixing text, notes, and hand drawings, in the style of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this book is hilarious and very accessible, especially for reluctant readers.

Do you have opinions on these books? I’d love to hear about them in the comments, along with any other suggestions for fantastic middle-grade contemporary reads.

Advocating for Contemporary YA Lit

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We’ve covered a ton of ground this week, from talking about favorite contemporary titles to offering up lists of resources for getting started and/or recommending titles for readers. In reading comments, it’s been exciting to see people say some of these titles are completely new to them. Moreover, it’s been exciting to be excited about contemporary ya. But we need to do more than get excited about it in the blogosphere; we need to act upon it.

As I talked about in my first post this week, contemporary ya lit doesn’t get the marketing or publicity bucks behind it that so many other genres do. Pay attention to the advertisements you see around for books — do many of them look familiar? Do they target the same few books over and over? What about the standing displays at book stores, the promotional events, and even the books that are reviewed multiple times throughout the blogosphere? So few, if any, are contemporary books — most of these titles end up as mid-listers, as the books that require the author and readers to do much of the leg work in promotion.

Just this week, Kirsten Hubbard shared an incredibly brave post about her publishing experience post-book deal. Tara Kelly posted something of a similar tone last year. For most readers, the book they read is the entire story. Rarely do they get this sort of insight into the process, though, and I think that through posts like this, more consumers can understand why book promotion is such an important thing.

These sorts of posts should be a wake up call for librarians, educators, and other gatekeepers to teens and teen readers. Knowing the books is important, but advocating for them is the second part of the story. As strange as it may sound, us adults have huge power in helping make these books get out there. As April Henry points out in her passionate post about her love for librarians, librarians have the power to publicize a book in ways that publishers don’t. They get the word out on the ground level, to their kids, and they can purchase the books for their collections. The same, of course, can be said for teachers (who, too, can nominate books for book awards) and they can get the word out about books to their kids, as well.

While you’re probably thinking that purchasing one copy for the library or one copy for a classroom collection is a drop in the bucket, it’s actually much more than that. You’re putting a name out there, a book out there, and you’re helping expose readers to new voices. Those readers — teens — are devoted and devour the things that matter to them. And often, they themselves will go buy the book and they’ll spread the word about those good books. The more books you know as a gatekeeper, the more you can talk about books, the more knowledge you can spread to your readers, and the more you’re supporting both those titles and those authors. You’re playing a part in the system on the ground level, and even if it feels like you’re doing little with your actual purchasing, you’re doing a lot in spreading the word to those who do play a part in the growth and development of those undermarketed midlist books (which, as we’ve established, tends to be where contemporary ya lit ends up). Of course, you can do your part by also purchasing books for your personal collection. Although I’m a huge library user and advocate, I still purchase my favorite books. And most of the books we give away here at STACKED are books I purchase to give away — I consider it my little way to give.

One of the things we do as bloggers and we would love to see more of in our own blog reading is seeing more contemporary ya spotlighted. We’d love to see more mid-list titles reviewed; it seems that there are weeks where every book reviewed in the blogosphere is the same title. Often, it’s the same title that’s already receiving large publicity pushes. The other thing that we’d like to see more of — and something that is okay despite what many people believe is not — is backlist reviews of worthy contemporary titles. There are so many books published each year that many are overlooked, but that’s the point of why we’re here talking about contemporary ya lit this week. We want to see more of these reviews of older titles. They’re often still relevant and important, and they’re just as worthy of attention as the books coming out down the road. In short, bloggers can play just as valuable a role in drawing attention for contemporary ya titles by reviewing them and by perhaps passing on reviewing the shiniest, newest, 6-figure marketing budget titles. Spotlighting the array of titles out there spreads the word and develops a richer, more valuable blog world.

Moreover, we can play a role in getting attention to these titles through reading and nominating worthy titles to the various award lists. Anyone can suggest titles for the Morris Award for debut authors, for the Best Fiction for Young Adults list, for the Quick Picks list, and other award consideration through the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association division. You can also nominate for smaller, more niche awards like the Stonewall Awards for LGBTQ titles, an award for which I’ve nominated a title already this year. When you read something that’s even half worth having a committee read and consider, then nominate it. It’s easy and it’s one simple way to advocate for the books that need that push.

Anyone can also nominate books for consideration for the yearly Cybils award. The nominations open October 1 and run through October 15. The books nominated can be an excellent resource — plenty of titles are nominated that don’t get a lot of attention, so it’s a nice exposure for readers. Not only that, but the short list titles (and winners) are getting attention that might have bypassed them through the year. And since these books are judged both on literary merit and kid appeal, your short list titles are must reads in staying ahead.

Perhaps one of the easiest things you can do is continue staying ahead of the game. Know what books are coming out, know what authors are out there writing about the contemporary issues you know matter to your readers, and read. Read both the books and browse some of the incredible blogs that are out there aimed to inform you as a gatekeeper and aimed to reach teen readers — you have the power to point these fantastic resources out to your readers. As much as everyone says it’s an issue of time, and perhaps it is, I reiterate something I’ve said over and over: you always have time for the things you’re passionate about. If you don’t make time for your passion, your priorities are out of line. As gatekeepers, our passion should be meeting the needs of our teens, and as much as it can be daunting, keeping tabs on, reading, and fiercely advocating for contemporary ya make you an authority and a partner in the growth and development of your teens.

To wrap up Contemporary YA week at STACKED, I’m offering up a few invaluable resources you should book mark, add to your blog reader, and become familiar with. Again, if you know of other resources, plug them in the comments. It’s my hope that these things become go-to sources for both new contemporary readers and for those who advocate for these books already.

Blogs and Websites to know

  • The Contemps: 21 authors who write contemporary ya came together to develop this incredible resource for contemporary ya lit. Their blog is one you want to book mark/subscribe to and read, as they talk about not only their own books, but books of fellow contemp authors. They feature posts on issues teens face and much more. This is the kind of resource to keep you ahead of the game on books, and it’s also one you’ll want your teens to know about.
  • Class 2k11 and The Elevensies: Both of these websites are devoted to getting the word out about debut ya authors in 2011. Although they aren’t focused exclusively on contemporary titles, they do feature contemp authors. But I link these two because they’re excellent resources for gatekeepers in staying on top of new releases. The bulk of these authors are not getting huge publicity campaigns, and for a debut author, their first book is pretty huge. Kirsten Hubbard’s earlier linked post can stand as reason alone that knowing and advocating for debut titles is important. And if you’re thinking farther ahead, you can also check out Class 2k12 and The Apocalypsies sites for 2012 debuts.
  • Reading in Color: This blog is so valuable in exposing readers to books featuring people of color. A lot of these titles don’t get the attention they deserve, either, and this blog does a great job exposing those books to a wider audience.
  • Publisher’s Catalogs: This website gives you links to all the major publisher’s catalogs. Why is this important, you ask? It helps you get ahead. If you peruse the catalogs, you can see everything and get an idea of where titles are positioned in any publisher’s list that season. Pay attention to this — look where your contemporary ya is. Read those books. Advocate for those books. Buy those books for your collection, even if you don’t see a million reviews for it or a million ads for it. Reviewing the catalogs for the upcoming season (meaning, you’re reviewing fall catalogs now) helps you get the knowledge early. Familiarity is the first step; once you have your hands on the books, you begin the real advocacy in purchasing, reading, recommending, and exercising your power in nominating worthy titles for award consideration.

Contemporary Pick List #3: Loss, Sports, and a Grab Bag of Tough Stuff

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Welcome to another pick list for Contemporary YA Week here at STACKED. Today, we’ll hit on loss, then we’ll play some sports (where in many of the cases, sports aren’t the focal point), and then we’ll toss up a grab bag of other titles that tackle challenging and extremely important issues. Again, feel free to steal and chime in with other titles that fit the theme.

Loss
Losing someone you love is difficult, and these books explore the issues surrounding death and grief. Perhaps the most important thing to take away from these books is that grief comes in a million different forms, and each is as valid as the next.

Hold Still by Nina LaCour: Ingrid didn’t leave a note. Three months after her best friend’s suicide, Caitlin finds what she left instead: a journal, hidden under Caitlin’s bed.

Life of Glass by Jillian Cantor: Throughout her freshman year of high school, fourteen-year-old Melissa struggles to hold onto memories of her deceased father, cope with her mother’s return to dating, get along with her sister, and sort out her feelings about her best friend, Ryan.

Love You, Hate You, Miss You by Elizabeth Scott: After coming out of alcohol rehabilitation, sixteen-year-old Amy sorts out conflicting emotions about her best friend Julia’s death in a car accident for which she feels responsible.

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers: As she searches for clues that would explain the suicide of her successful photographer father, Eddie Reeves meets the strangely compelling Culler Evans who seems to know a great deal about her father and could hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death.

Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft: As Seattle sixteen-year-old Jonathan helps a dying man come to terms with a tragic event he experienced during World War II, Jonathan begins facing his own demons, especially the death of his twin brother, helped by an assortment of friends, old and new.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: In the months after her sister dies, seventeen-year-old Lennie falls into a love triangle and discovers the strength to follow her dream of becoming a musician.

Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick: Six months after her mother’s death, seventeen-year-old Holly finds some happiness in a secret affair with Paul, a boy she barely knows, but after becoming friends with Paul’s girlfriend, Saskia, Holly worries that her best friend, Nils, or Saskia will learn the devastating truth.

Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala: Seventeen-year-old Rand’s unexpected pregnancy leads her on a path to unravel the mystery of her sister’s death and face her own more hopeful future.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson: After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student, and Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.

Sports
There are straight-up sports books and there are books that confront a wide array of other story elements with a backdrop of sports in it. These’ll do a little of both.

The Ring by Bobbie Pyron: Plagued by slipping grades and a budding criminal record, Mardie’s heading down a path of self-destruction she can’t seem to avoid. Unlike her perfect older brother Michael, who does everything right according to their father, Mardie can’t meet those high expectations. Then she discovers a girls’ boxing club at the gym, and learns to believe in herself.

Leverage by Joshua Cohen: High school sophomore Danny excels at gymnastics but is bullied, like the rest of the gymnasts, by members of the football team, until an emotionally and physically scarred new student joins the football team and forms an unlikely friendship with Danny.

Jump by Elisa Carbone: Two teenaged runaways meet at a climbing gym and together embark on a dangerous and revealing journey.

Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler: Chelsea Keyes, a high school basketball star whose promising career has been cut short by a terrible accident on the court, and Clint Morgan, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who gave up his sport following a game-related tragedy, meet at a Minnesota lake resort and find themselves drawn together by the losses they have suffered.

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach: Just before his sixteenth birthday, Felton Reinstein has a sudden growth spurt that turns him from a small, jumpy, picked-on boy with the nickname of “Squirrel Nut” to a powerful athlete, leading to new friends, his first love, and the courage to confront his family’s past and current problems.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen: When a school bus accident leaves sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again.

Leap by Jodi Lundgren: Having just turned 15 and gone through her parents’ divorce, Natalie and her best friend Sasha are going to be practicing with their dance team all summer, but her friendship with Sasha goes on the rock, and her relationship with her boyfriend Kevin who is Sasha’s brother goes too far. Will she be taking on all these changes with confidence?

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker: Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life.

Pinned by Alfred Martino: Dealing with family problems, girls, and their own competitive natures, high school seniors Ivan Korske and Bobby Zane face each other in the final match of the New Jersey State Wrestling Championship.

Life’s Other Challenges
There are probably countless categories into which contemporary ya can be placed, since so many important topics are covered. These titles span the range of pregnancy to intimidation, abuse to internet predators. I could make this list eighteen times the length it is, easily.

Break by Hannah Moskowitz: To relieve the pressures of caring for a brother with life-threatening food allergies, another who is a fussy baby, and parents who are at odds with one other, seventeen-year-old Jonah sets out to break every bone in his body in hopes of becoming stronger.

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles: Tells, from four points of view, the ramifications of a pregnancy resulting from a “one-time thing” between Ellie, who feels loved when boys touch her, and Josh, an eager virgin with a troubled home life.

Recovery Road by Blake Nelson: While she is in a rehabilitation facility for drug and alcohol abuse, seventeen-year-old Maddie meets Stewart, who is also in treatment, and they begin a relationship, which they try to maintain after they both get out.

Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman (July 2011): Insecure about the changes high school brings, Abby ignores advice from her parents and her only friend to “make an effort” and, instead, withdraws from everyone but with Luke, who she met online.

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams: Living with their mother who earns money as a prostitute, two sisters take care of each other and when the older one attempts suicide, the younger one tries to uncover the reason.

Crash Into Me by Albert Borris: Four suicidal teenagers go on a “celebrity suicide road trip,” visiting the graves of famous people who have killed themselves, with the intention of ending their lives in Death Valley, California.

Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas: The youngest of three siblings, fourteen-year-old Anke feels both relieved and neglected that her father abuses her brother and sister but ignores her, but when she catches him with one of her friends, she finally becomes angry enough to take action.

Willow by Julia Hoban: Sixteen-year-old Willow, who was driving the car that killed both of her parents, copes with the pain and guilt by cutting herself, until she meets a smart and sensitive boy who is determined to help her stop.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney: When Alex, a junior at an elite preparatory school, realizes that she may have been the victim of date rape, she confides in her roommates and sister who convince her to seek help from a secret society, the Mockingbirds.

Guest Post: Patricia McCormick on being 15

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We’re extremely lucky to be part of the blog tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of Patricia McCormick’s CUT. We gave you a description of the book yesterday, but for more information, check out the This is Teen Facebook page and Patricia’s own website.

As I mentioned yesterday, this is one of the foundational contemporary ya titles, so we’re thrilled to have Patricia stop by and talk a bit about herself . . . at age 15. What she hits upon here really nails why contemporary ya matters and why kids want to and need to read these books. Without further ado:

Thinking of myself at fifteen makes me cringe.

I was on the debate team. I plastered my hair with Dippity-Do, then rolled it in empty juice cartons. I made my own clothes—including a pair of yellow culottes that I wore with yellow sneakers and a homemade perfume of lemon juice and baby oil.

I also wrote stories, truly awful stories, featuring a crime-fighting girl with a horse named Ginger. And I carried these stories in a huge leather briefcase my father had thrown away.

I was a walking, talking lemon. With helmet hair. And a briefcase. Not exactly prom queen material.

But I did have something of a taste for adventure. Many nights I would climb out my bedroom window onto the garage roof and smoke cigars—cherry-flavored Swisher Sweets. I would lean back on the slanted roof for hours, listening to the neighborhood garage band practice the few songs they knew and yelling out requests from my hidden perch. It was pure magic to me when the opening chords of “Secret Agent Man” came floating up to me after I’d made my request; it didn’t matter that song died abruptly after the first chorus since that’s all they knew.

Other times, I would sneak out of the house after my family was asleep and wander several blocks away to the country club. Our family didn’t belong to the club, so it was thrilling to tiptoe across the damp, finely trimmed grass and sneak across the fairway to the privet hedge that guarded the club house. I lay on my stomach, peeking out from the bushes at elegantly dressed couples dancing around the pool, which glowed like a UFO. I’d heard of untold riches there, of kids who could order hot dogs or ice cream sandwiches for free!

And once I walked down to our small-town 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts in the middle of the night. I had to walk along the highway to get there—and was nearly blown off my feet when the first trucker blew his horn at me—but the mile-or-so walk past familiar stores and churches took on otherworldly quality in the dead of night. Even the traffic light was different at night, blinking yellow instead of progressing from red to green, suggesting that midnight travelers were a breed apart from car-pooling moms and commuting dads; these were adventurers who could glide right through the intersection under cloak of night. Even the water tower at the Purina Chow plant at the far end of town was transformed into a citadel on stilts, its blinking lights a beacon to all wayfarers, an Emerald City at the end of the highway.

So what do these random—mortifying—anecdotes say about me at fifteen? That I was a dork, obviously.

But on reflection, I think they also suggest that I was on some kind of quest. That in my own blind and awkward way I was trying to connect with the world beyond our bland suburban development. And that I tried to transcend it by dressing it up in the gloss of my imagination.

I also think that precisely because I wasn’t prom queen material I was in the position of observer. Which is the perfect vantage spot for the aspiring writer.

To this day, I don’t know who the boys were in that fledgling rock band. They were probably just as shy and awkward as I was. But under cover of darkness we were signaling to each other, tapping out a kind of rock ’n’ roll Morse code—intoxicated with music that hinted at exciting lives beyond those of our accountant fathers and school-teacher mothers. Even if it was just the first verse of “Secret Agent Man.”

It was a magical time, when all things seemed possible. It was also an excruciating time, when nothing about me seemed right. It’s a time of life that stokes and feeds my fiction. As soon as I conjure up that time—I blush at the image of me smoking a cherry-flavored cheroot in my hip huggers thinking I was the height of cool—I also dive into all the torment, all the possibility of being fifteen.

Contemporary Pick List #2: Religion, Sexuality, and Life After High School

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Ready for a radical mix of contemporary topics? I’m giving you books about religion and spirituality beside books about sexuality and identity, next to books about what happens when teens decide that college isn’t necessarily the path they want to take post-high school. Again, dive in with additional titles, since we’re limited in our list numbers. All descriptions come from World Cat.

Religion and Spirituality
One of scary issues to tackle in real life is one that seems to be handled in a ton of unique ways in ya lit. This is one diverse list in terms of beliefs and non-beliefs.

Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma: Much admired, beautiful, driven high school senior Ellie thinks she has her life all mapped out, but when tragedy suddenly strikes shortly after her hated grandfather’s funeral, she is left to wonder what it all means.

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr: As the tragedy of a missing girl unfolds in her small town, fifteen-year-old Samara, who feels emotionally abandoned by her parents, begins to question her faith.

Hush by Eishes Chayil: After remembering the cause of her best friend Devory’s suicide at age nine, Gittel is determined to raise awareness of sexual abuse in her Borough Park, New York, community, despite the rules of Chassidim that require her to be silent.

Virgin Territory by James Lecesne: When an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appears on a tree at the Jupiter, Florida, golf course where fifteen-year-old Dylan Flack is caddying for the summer, he encounters a group of “pilgrims” who dare him to take a risk and find out what he really wants out of life.

Donut Days by Lara Zielin: During a camp-out promoting the opening of a donut shop in a small Minnesota town, sixteen-year-old Emma, an aspiring journalist, begins to connect an ongoing pollution investigation with the turmoil in the evangelical Christian church where her parents are pastors.

Queen of Secrets by Jenny Meyerhoff: Fifteen-year-old Essie Green, an orphan who has been raised by her secular Jewish grandparents in Michigan, experiences conflicting loyalties and confusing emotions when her aunt, uncle, and cousin move back from New York, and her very religious cousin tries to fit in with the other football players at Essie’s high school, one of whom is Essie’s popular new boyfriend.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams: In a polygamous cult in the desert, Kyra, not yet fourteen, sees being chosen to be the seventh wife of her uncle as just punishment for having read books and kissed a boy, in violation of Prophet Childs’ teachings, and is torn between facing her fate and running away from all that she knows and loves.

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Frietas: Seventeen-year-old Olivia Peters, who dreams of becoming a writer, is thrilled to be selected to take a college fiction seminar taught by her idol, Father Mark, but when the priest’s enthusiasm for her writing develops into something more, Olivia shifts from wonder to confusion to despair.

Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (July 2011): High school junior Lacey finds herself questioning the evangelical Christian values she has been raised with when a new boy arrives in her small town.

OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy: Fourteen-year-old Ellie will do almost anything to win a scholarship to the best speech school in the country, but must decide if she is willing to hide her Jewish heritage while at a Phoenix, Arizona, summer camp that could help her reach her goal.

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden: Brie tries to cope with her grief over her older sister Faith’s sudden death by trying to learn more about the religious “home group” Faith secretly joined and never talked about with Brie or her parents.

Sexuality
Or more specifically, coming to terms with the fact you might like someone of the same sex. Or you might identify with the opposite gender more than your own. Or that there are other people like there with these same identity questions as you.

My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman: During rehearsals for Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” sixteen-year-old Roz, jealous of her cheerleader sister’s acting skills and heartthrob boyfriend, invents a new identity, with unexpected results.

Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd: The summer after graduating from an Iowa high school, eighteen-year-old Dade Hamilton watches his parents’ marriage disintegrate, ends his long-term, secret relationship, comes out of the closet, and savors first love.

Love Drugged by James Klise: Fifteen-year-old Jamie is dismayed by his attraction to boys, and when a beautiful girl shows an interest in him, he is all the more intrigued by her father’s work developing a drug called Rehomoline.

Shine by Lauren Myracle: When her best friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover the culprits in her small North Carolina town.

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner: As she tries to sort out her feelings of love, seventeen-year-old Cass, a spunky math genius with an introverted streak, finds a way to memorialize her dead best friend.

Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff (August 2011): Sixteen-year-old Kid, who lives on the streets of Brooklyn, loves Felix, a guitarist and junkie who disappears, leaving Kid the prime suspect in an arson investigation, but a year later Scout arrives, giving Kid a second chance to be in a band and find true love. *I’ve included this one since gender is a huge plot point, despite not being expounded upon in the description.

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde: Sixteen-year-old Elle falls in love with Frank, the neighbor who helps her adjust to being on her own in a big city, but learning that he is transgendered turns her world upside-down.

David Inside Out by Lee F Bantle: At a Minneapolis high school, a cross-country runner tries to deny his sexual feelings for a male teammate.

Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee: After the death of her estranged mother, who left Ohio years ago to live with her lesbian partner in New York City, seventeen-year-old Shawna Gallagher’s life is transformed by revelations about her family, her best friend, and herself.

Life After High School
Not everyone decides they need to go to college. Heck, some decide high school isn’t their thing, either. These are stories about teens who take slightly different paths, as well as stories about what that first college year is like. This is a category I’m particularly interested in expanding, especially if they feature diverse characters, teens who don’t finish high school, or those who pursue jobs/careers without college, so please share titles you know, too.

The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt: Although they have never gotten along well, seventeen-year-old Levi follows his older brother Boaz, an ex-Marine, on a walking trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. in hopes of learning why Boaz is completely withdrawn.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan: Eighteen-year-old Bronwen has long felt that she was switched with another child at birth, and so although she loves Jared, she must decide if she is ready to be married or should, instead, live on her own first.

Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick: While recuperating in a Baghdad hospital from a traumatic brain injury sustained during the Iraq War, eighteen-year-old soldier Matt Duffy struggles to recall what happened to him and how it relates to his ten-year-old friend, Ali.

The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter: Having lost her stepfather, grandmother, and mother in the span of a year, seventeen-year-old Lainey unexpectedly reconnects with long-lost relatives, copes with her five-year-old brother’s behavioral problems, and endangers her long-term romance when drawn to a young man with an unexpected connection to her mother.

Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson: College freshman and psychology major, Leigh Nolan, finds her problem-solving skills woefully inadequate when it comes to her increasingly tangled and complicated romantic relationships.

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze: When Callie arrives for her freshman year at Harvard, she encounters her three vastly different roommates, new friendships, steamy romance, and scandalous secrets.

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han: The summer after her first year of college, Isobel “Belly” Conklin is faced with a choice between Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher, brothers she has always loved, when Jeremiah proposes marriage and Conrad confesses that he still loves her.

An Off Year by Claire Zulkey: Upon arriving at her dorm room, eighteen-year-old Cecily decides to postpone her freshman year of college and return to her Chicago home, where she spends a year pondering what went wrong while forging new relationships with family and friends.