Realistic Fiction YA

Updated November 23, 2024
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Meet me in the fourth dimension
Feinstein, Rita
Paper Book
NASA has assured everyone the passage of rogue planet Malachite will be safe, but Crosby's been getting other messages--from a fortune teller and Malachite truther message boards. And now she believes that Malachite will kill everyone who doesn't ascend to the fourth dimension--a higher plane that...
Dispatches from parts unknown
Bliss, Bryan
Paper Book
"The feel-good novel of the year." --ALA Booklist (starred review) Julie knows it's unusual that a professional wrestler runs a constant commentary on her life that only she can hear. But grief can be awfully funny sometimes. National Book Award nominee Bryan Bliss delivers a thought...
Another first chance
Couch, Robbie
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets You've Reached Sam, in this "superb...thought-provoking" (Booklist, starred review) speculative young adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couch that explores all the different ways love can live on after...
The notes
Con Morse, Catherine
Paper Book
A reserved Chinese American teen at a Southern performing arts boarding school comes into her own under the tutelage of a glamorous new piano teacher. A moving coming-of-age-novel from a debut novelist aboutfirst love, adolescent angst, and academic pressures. "Compellingly readable....
The ping-pong queen of Chinatown
Yang, Andrew (Young adult novelist)
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Ben Philippe and Mary H. K. Choi, this charming, insightful YA novel follows two high school students who form a complicated, ground-shifting bond while filming a movie. High school junior Felix Ma wants to prove to his parents that he's not a quitter. After crashing...
With love, Miss Americanah
Igharo, Jane
Paper Book
With Love, Miss Americanah--the Young Adult contemporary romance debut from Jane Igharo--sees a teenager move from Nigeria to America and navigate her senior year with the help of classic teen movies and a new crush, all while working through grief and the rigid expectations of her...
If you can't take the heat
Ruhlman, Michael
Paper Book
From James Beard Award-winning author Michael Ruhlman, a coming-of-age story about finding a new life and love in the kitchen...and trying not to get burned along the way. When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he's...
Stepping off
Sonnenblick, Jordan
Paper Book
Jesse Dienstag's favorite sweatshirt says, "The real world isn't real." That's the slogan of the vacation-home community in Pennsylvania where his family has always spent every vacation and weekend for as long as he can remember. In the summer of 2019, as Jesse is about to enter his junior year...
Ultraviolet
Salazar, Aida
Paper Book
Sometimes life explodes in technicolor. In the spirit of Judy Blume, award-winning author Aida Salazar tells it like it is about puberty, hormones, and first love in this hilarious, heartwarming, and highly relatable coming-of-age story. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Kwame...
This is me trying
Marie, Racquel
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, This is Me Trying is a profound and tender YA contemporary novel exploring grief, love, and guilt from author Racquel Marie. Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school,...
Ariel crashes a train
Cole, Olivia A.
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Exploring the harsh reality of OCD and violent intrusive thoughts in stunning, lyrical writing, this novel-in-verse conjures a haunting yet hopeful portrait of a girl on the edge. ...
No going back
Flores-Scott, Patrick
Paper Book
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection "Powerful.... The excellent pacing and heart-wrenching exploration of redemption will sweep readers up." --Kirkus Reviews "A page-turning, highly readable story." --...
Mid-Air
Williams, Alicia
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award A tender-souled boy reeling from the death of his best friend struggles to fit into a world that wants him to grow up tough and unfeeling in this stunning illustrated middle grade novel in verse "full of vulnerability and hope" (...
Stay with my heart
Bhuiyan, Tashie
Paper Book
From the author of Counting Down with You and A Show for Two comes a new YA contemporary about a girl who accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band and falls for the guitarist while secretly trying to make up for her mistake. Liana Sarkar lives...
The misdirection of fault lines
Gracia, Anna
Paper Book
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants goes to the French Open in an emotionally honest and openhearted novel for fans of Yamile Saied Mendez and Mary HK Choi. Three teen girls compete at an elite tennis tournament for a shot at their dreams-if only they knew what their dreams were...
Kyra, just for today
Zarr, Sara
Paper Book
From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together. Krya has always felt like she's a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she's okay with that, because...
Shut up, this is serious
Ixta, Carolina
Paper Book
An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with messy complexities, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Erika L. Sánchez. Belén Dolores Itzel del Toro wants the normal stuff: to experience love or maybe have...
Ellie Haycock is totally normal
Schreiber, Gretchen
Paper Book
The Breakfast Club meets Five Feet Apart in this big-hearted novel from debut author Gretchen Schreiber. Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a proud member of her high school's...
The someday daughter
O'Clover, Ellen
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon, Mary H. K. Choi, and Alex Light! From the critically acclaimed author of Seven Percent of Ro Devereux comes another heartrending and nuanced novel about family, love, and the cost of ambition. "A compelling, beautifully drawn exploration into...
Dead girls don't say sorry
Ritany, Alex
Paper Book
What does it mean when your best friend is dead and your instinct is relief? A stunningly immersive debut about toxic friendships, grief, romance, and new beginnings. Friendship, at least for me, has never been anything but complicated. Before- One year...

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