Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'd Recommend to People who Haven't Read YA Contemporary

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where we discuss wonderful bookish topics.

This week's topic is a choose your own. So here's mine:

Books I'd Recommend to People who Haven't Read YA Contemporary 

I've noticed that a lot of people won't read contemporary books. They much prefer something supernatural or with some sort of twist in it to make it more interesting. But then again, everyone has read The Fault in Our Stars, so if you loved that one here are some of my other faves that deal with real life, teen issues:

1. Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schimdt: A great companion to TFIOS, Mia has cancer but she will not let it rule her life. A much happier ending than the latter.

2. Open Road Summer by Emery Lord: A great story about friendship and love and trying to find out who you are.

3. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour: A very likable character in a world I'd love to live in, this book shows that we can't always get what we want but things will work out anyway. 

4. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: A very cute romantic story that will have you hoping for a happy ending. 

5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: For anyone who loves France or is ready to fall in love with France, or really for anyone just looking to fall in love.

6. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: A very good story about love from the wrong side of the tracks and the difficulties that come with it.

8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: A great book for anyone who has ever been obsessed with something, especially good if you've read Harry Potter. Lots of fun with some real life drama.

7. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: A different take in grief, this book paints a way too realistic picture of life after death.

9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver: A book about redemption and trying to make things right even when there's no real way to fix it.

10. Looking for Alaska by John Green: Because if you liked TFIOS, you'll love all of his other books. This is his first and it's pretty amazing.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books you'd pair with required reading/should be required reading

Top Ten Tuesday is a fantastic meme hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is all about high school reading. I loved reading in high school, though some of the books they made us read weren't that great so I went and read my own instead. This week's list is broken into two categories (because it always seems easier to come up with 5 instead of 10!)

contemporary books paired with required reading

1984 by George Orwell/ The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Dystopian novels have changed a lot throughout the years and I think it would be fun to compare and contrast these two extreme novels.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee/ The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Taking the extremes from both books and comparing how rape is discussed differently. I like the idea of revamping an old tale and I loved both of these books.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien/ Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I read HP first, but once I read the LOTR trilogy, I noticed a lot of similarities, though HP was much easier to get through. I'd love to have a discussion about these two.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger/ The Spectacular Now by Tim Thrapp

These two characters reminded me of each other and their destructions would be fun to dissect side by side.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding/ Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Both are about kids/teens being stranded on a island without parental supervision. Boys in one, girls in the other. The differences and similarities will surprise you.

books that should be required readings

Looking for Alaska by John Green: I wish I had read this in high school, it was thought provoking and much better than most of the books I read!

Speak or Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: There are realistic issues in these books that need to be in the forefront of people's minds. What better way than to discuss them in class.

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous: A first hand experience about what drugs can do to a person. It's harsh, but what better time to teach people then when they are in the right age group to be tempted.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers: bully is an issue that teens need to stop from happening. By putting it all on the table, hopefully kids would come forward if it was happening to them.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver: The other side of bullying and popularity, this book goes through the steps of grief, forgiveness, and redemption. All important qualities for teenagers to know about.

I would have rather read books about hard issues and things I could relate to as opposed to some of the books we were made to read. Though I did love the Shakespeare and they should never stop teaching teens the glory that is plays!