good young adult contemporary novels

this list does not include j*hn green or any of the usual bad books that are on “best of” lists for teenagers, these are actually good. i don’t remember trigger warnings so check those yourself

1. It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
romance, coming of age, anxiety rep, body image issues, there is basically no plot in a good way, the emotions and character interactions are so realistic

2. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Hass

did she kill her best friend. read it and find out.

3. If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
romance, coming of age, retelling of taming of the shrew, i don’t care about shakespeare and i avoid retellings but i still think this was fantastic, the main character doesn’t just go from mean -> nice, she has to go through soooo much development

4. Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon
romance, told in a 24 hour period, scavenger hunt around town, has good rep without feeling like characters are tokens

5. As If on Cue by Marisa Kanter
romance, coming of age, band kids and theater kids in one, i skimmed some of the band and theater descriptions, but the development is very good and there’s some cute sibling moments, there is an instance where the main character does something truly awful and i was rolling my eyes but it also felt very genuine, definitely some second hand embarrassment but i really enjoyed how passionate the characters are

6. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
romance, second hand embarrassment, very sweet overall

7. What’s Not to Love by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
the hating game but they’re teenagers, basically

8. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
trigger warnings for sa and r*pe, i don’t remember much but this like 200 page book made me cry

9. The Upside of Falling by Alex Light
so… this was originally on wattpad apparently…. but it’s cute i prommy, it’s fake dating, but it’s more about her helping him deal with his parents divorce, it’s short and sweet and the characters were very good, it’s a good palette cleanser and a good reminder that books can be… good

i don’t have a tenth book, sowwy <3