December 18, 2020 | jonesw
Contemporary realistic fiction takes place in the present and covers topics that are likely to happen in real life. These novels explore many common issues for modern teenagers. Looking for a funny story? Jump down to the "Humor" section.
Sixteen-year-old Allie, aged seven when she knew her family was different and feared, struggles to claim her Muslim and Arabic heritage while finding her place as an American teenager.
Two sisters mourn their father's death after his plane crashes on a flight to the Dominican Republic.
When Rico sells a jackpot-winning lotto ticket, she thinks maybe her luck will finally change, but only if she and her popular and wildly rich classmate, Zan can find the ticket holder who hasn't claimed the prize.
When her grandfather dies and her grandmother is diagnosed with dementia, fifteen-year-old Lucky must navigate the foster-care system.
High school junior Del Rainey unwittingly joins a Purity Pledge class at church, hoping to get closer to his long-term crush, Kiera.
Seventeen-year-old Steven "Stiggy" Gabel tries to cope with his father's suicide, his mother's depression, and his girlfriend's departure by taking off down the Great River Road from Minnesota to Louisiana.
Steve Stevenson is a jerk. That might not be a cool thing to say about someone with cancer, but it's true. Yeah, he throws legendary parties and is the most popular guy in school, but he also loves humiliating pranks and Cardi B, and he doesn't recycle. Worst of all, he's dating Kaia - the girl of nice guy Cam's dreams. But when a desperate Kaia asks Cam to help her raise money to pay for Steve's experimental treatment, Cam offers to organize the biggest, most viral fundraising campaign. Maybe then Kaia will finally see Cam as the perfect, thoughtful, altruistic, good guy for her.
Lucy Katz, Maddie Li, and Delia Meyer team up to compete in ValleyStart, a prestigious high school tech incubator competition for a dream internship in the male-dominated world of tech.
Seventeen-year-old movie-lover Ethan, the defacto manager of Minneapolis's crumbling Green Street Cinema, teams with a motley crew to try to save the landmark from destruction.
Paul Walden realizes at the beginning of his freshman year that he will never be a leader, but he has made a new friend, he thinks a girl might be interested, and he is content with what he is, with the help of some casual drug use that has more effect than he knows.
Set over the course of one day, Aminah Mae Safi's This Is All Your Fault is a smart and voice-driven YA novel that follows three young women determined to save their indie bookstore. Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she's in love with him. Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it's her. Imogen Azar is just trying to make it.
When seventeen-year-old Zelda is chosen for an elite team at a prestigious improvisation camp, it is a big step toward achieving her dreams, but first she must survive her teammates' sexism and coach's cruelty.
Humor
From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to emall. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.
When ZombieCon comes to their small town, June and her best friends battle long lines for photo ops, meet their favorite actors, and save the world from actual zombies when things get real.
After producing three horror films that went mostly ignored on YouTube, fifteen-year-old Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it's time to make something epic.
When CeCe's born again boyfriend dumps her after they have sex, she follows him to Jesus camp in order to win him back. She brings her best friend Paul with because he knows more about Jesus. The plan to win back her ex, goes immediately awry.
When his older sister encourages him to ask someone to the prom, things do not go as planned and Nolan ends up fake dating a guy who used to bully him.
Working as a Wench--i.e., waitress--at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly wishes she could be a Knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can hold a spot at her dream college and help her mom pay the mortgage. Company policy allows only guys to be Knights. So when Kit takes her brother's place, clobbers the Green Knight, and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into Internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But this Girl Knight won't go down without a fight. As other Wenches and cast members join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they'll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval--if they don't get fired first.
When Millie Porter starts an advice vlog on how to handle reality, she finds herself navigating fame and a social media war with Instagram queen Erin Breeler.
When a number of Mara Carlyle's fellow high school students spontaneously combust, the FBI and a swarm of journalists descend upon her suburban New Jersey town in the search for answers.
Shelby Black tries to juggle school, love, and her training, under her uncle's tutelage, to be an exorcist.