anna and the french kiss | The Loony Teen Writer

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

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My expertise in YA fiction is definitely contemporary – ever since John Green I’ve been hooked. For the sake of other authors, I’m only going to include one book from John Green, and all my other favourite contemporary authors. Here we go!

1) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I don’t know why. I can’t tell you reasons this book affected me this much, but it did.

2) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This book is so cute and fluffy and funny and I just LOVE Stephanie Perkins. Also, RELEASE DATE FOR ISLA RELEASE DATE FOR ISLA I’M SO EXCITED.

3) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

All sorts of awesome reside in this book. It’s unique, it has diverse characters, it makes hand-holding the most romantic thing in the universe.

4) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Amazing book, amazing movie adaptation. This book makes me cry. And that poem is…wow. Read it if you haven’t.

5) It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

I was so devastated to hear of Ned Vizzini’s passing away. This book is so honest and real, and its cover is one of the best I’ve ever seen.

6) This Song Will Save Your Life

I read this only recently. It was a heartbreaking and then heart-gluing-back-together story.

7) The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Again, this was a recent read. It’s such a great book! The main character Caymen is one of my favourites ever.

8) Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Aside from the fact that Maureen Johnson is amazing, this is my favourite of her books.

9) The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

This whole series is amazing, and I loved it even BEFORE I met John Green’s books, so it’s pretty special to me.

10) The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer

Aussie author love! This is a recent release about a magazine internship: funny, hilarious and funny. It’s a great debut and I can’t wait to read more from Gabrielle Tozer!

So those are my top ten all time favourite contemporary YA books. There are many, many more that I love, and many I’ve probably forgotten. What are your favourite contemp books – any I REALLY REALLY REALLY should read but haven’t listed here?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. It’s awesome fun and I’d love to see your lists as well! Link to them in the comments if you’ve posted one 🙂

This year, I’ve read 104 books. Lots of them were good. Lots of them were awful. Lots were okay. Very few were A MAZE MAZE MAZING. Here are those books:

10) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This one had a really unique premise and was just really……….unique. I loved it. I read it very early this year but I can remember it very clearly.

9) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

This wasn’t so much about the “dying girl” as about “Me and Earl.” Lots of swearing, lots of hilarity, lots of laughs.

8) Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

Cute, nerdy and quirky, Life in Outer Space is an awesome example of Aussie YA, and you should read it (if you haven’t already).

7) Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Definitely different to what I expected – I don’t really like the title or the cover too much, but I really enjoyed the story. It was tense, fast-paced – a nice addition to the plethora of modern Sherlock fiction, and Aussie as well!

6) Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

I finished this book yesterday, actually. It’s an “issue book,” but Ellen Hopkins deals with it really well. I’m using “really” a lot in these miniature reviews, wow.

5) The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Also different to what I expected. I got this one for Christmas 2012, and didn’t pick it up until the beginning of the year. But JACK THE RIPPER? ENGLISH BOARDING SCHOOL? Yes please!

4) The Princess Bride by William Goldman

I love this movie, so it makes sense that I’d eventually read the book. And though Buttercup was a completely USELESS character, I enjoyed the humour and the unique approach to telling the story.

3) Wonder by R J Palacio

Wonder made me cry. It’s MG, which is not my usual thing, but that cover is amazing! And the book is amazing. Beautiful and touching, and there’s a lesson in it for everyone.

2) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

I read this at the beginning of the year. It’s just…ahhhhh. Wow. It’s awesome. Cute and real and it has awesome quotes.

1) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

TA DA, my favourite book of this year. In fact I just ordered it and Lola and the Boy Next Door so I can read this one again. Kissing! France! Funny! I didn’t think I was a romance kind of gal until I read this, but there you go.

So what books are on your list? Most of my ones seem to be YA contemporary, which says a lot about me, I guess. I look forward to more reading experiences next year. Until then, enjoy your New Year’s Eve 🙂

My next post will be about my reading and writing stats for this year, as well as my goals/resolutions for next year.

Oh, and! Disclaimer: if I counted the books that I’ve reread this year, The Fault in Our Stars would still be top of the list. Even though I’ve read it four times now. So these are books that I’ve only read once (so far).