5 Contemporaries That Deserve ALL Of The Love | Top Ten Tuesday

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

So, we all know of some big names in the contemporary sphere and year after year there's tons of buzz surrounding certain books. Which is well and everything, but now I want to talk about those books that don't get as much buzz and are universally less loved. I THINK ALL BOOKS DESERVE LOVE* AND TODAY WE'RE GIVING THESE BOOKS SOME LOVE.

*except maybe bad ones, and even then that might be someone's favorite book so...


1. North of Beautiful


If I don't scream at someone about the beauty of this book at least once a month I feel like I haven't done my job as its #1 fan right. This book came out a while ago* but it's such a good one. It's heartfelt and has original characters and great dialogue and features a Chinese American boy that's adopted and can't speak Chinese but whose very white Mom can and don't even get me started on Terra Cooper and Mrs. Cooper and how brave and beautiful they are. BECAUSE I LITERALLY WON'T SHUT UP!



*I'm not going to say how long ago because a lady has the right to her privacy

2. We All Looked Up 


Listen up, this book has one of the most original premises ever. An asteroid clashing into earth and a bunch of high schoolers are the main characters and I love them all very dearly. Their struggles and their experience while coming to terms WITH THE END OF THE FREAKING WORLD! This book is super honest and raw, but it's not cutesy. So, if you prefer your contemporary cutesy, this is not the book for you. Or it might be, who knows?

3. You Bring the Distant Near


I just wrote a review on this book in which I rave and rave and call it beautiful and complex and such an honest take on the immigrant experience and it is all that. Which is to say, this book is very good. Yet, I don't think this book has gotten the love it deserves* and it deserves ALL the love, for the reasons mentioned above. I could really go on and tell you all the reasons why it's so great, but why don't you go and find out for yourself?



*it has gotten it from me, but some people out there still have to love and appreciate it and I've barely seen any hype surrounding it

4. Wanderlost


This book is cutesy. It also features tons of traveling across Europe and cute phone conversations, all of which are, in my book, great things for a contemporary to have. If I were to compare the feel of this book to a movie I would compare it to Letters to Juliet. If that isn't enough to sell you, there's an adorable group of elderly citizens rooting for our main couple and there's tons of finding self and going out of your comfort zone shenanigans going on. 

5. Song of Summer

This is the only book I've read* that features a deaf main character. I KNOW! Not only that but it's also a cute read and it talks a bit about deaf culture and music. Not only that, but my linguist heart leaped for joy when the author made it a point to note that ASL is a diverse language and that it does change from place to place within the United States. THANK YOU FOR CORRECT LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION. But like I said, it's very cute and it's told in dual perspective, which means you get to see the world through Carter's eyes and that was very interesting. The cuteness also abounds.



*I'm not saying there isn't more out there, but I don't know of them


What are some books you think deserve all the love? Also, do you like your contemporaries cute or more end of the world as we know it like?

No comments:

Post a Comment