2017 Anticipated Titles: YA Contemporary

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Ben Wyatt is literally my patronus

Friends, readers, laymen…lend me your eyeballs. As we approach 2017 let’s look at some awesome cool books coming out shall we? From the gloriously expected from authors we know will please us to newcomers, 2017 has some whoopers of titles being released.

Leading up to 2017 there shall be 5 posts about books I’m looking forward to in:

  • SFF (Science Fiction & Fantasy) (link)
  • Romance (link)
  • Anthology (link)
  • Whatever I Want (link)
  • Young Adult Contemporary

Some books may cross over in terms of category, but I tried to list them on the list I consider them first to be.

Today’s edition is all about Young Adult Contemporary titles! A genre I don’t typically read, but which has some pretty fascinating titles releasing – including two racially diverse books, an Austen re-telling, a fangirl’s dream (or worst nightmare) and a book handling various disorders.

four weeks, five people.jpg
Goodreads Link // May 2017

They’re more than their problems

Obsessive-compulsive teen Clarissa wants to get better, if only so her mother will stop asking her if she’s okay.

Andrew wants to overcome his eating disorder so he can get back to his band and their dreams of becoming famous.

Film aficionado Ben would rather live in the movies than in reality.

Gorgeous and overly confident Mason thinks everyone is an idiot.

And Stella just doesn’t want to be back for her second summer of wilderness therapy.

As the five teens get to know one another and work to overcome the various disorders that have affected their lives, they find themselves forming bonds they never thought they would, discovering new truths about themselves and actually looking forward to the future.

Why? If there’s anything I can relate to its having obsessive-compulsive disorder in high school and wanting it to stop. I want to see how they help each other and themselves.

follow-me-backTold through a combination of police transcripts, Twitter DMs and a dual POV narrative, FOLLOW ME BACK is a romantic thriller for the online generation, where a simple tap of the “Follow” button has the power to lead to love, or to something far more sinister.

Agoraphobic fangirl Tessa Hart doesn’t dare tell a soul about the traumatic incident that caused her to drop out of prestigious summer program, the month after high school graduation. Instead she spends her days immersed in the online fandom of her pop star obsession, Eric Thorn. She knows it sounds crazy, but he’s the only one who seems to understand her, even love her…

That’s what he says over Twitter anyway: that he loves each and every fan. But the truth is he’s terrified of them. Ever since a super-fan murdered the lead singer of British boy band Fourth Dimension, he can’t shake the feeling he’s next. Murderous fangirls may be one in a million, but with 14 million Twitter followers, the odds aren’t in his favor.

When a plan to alienate his fans instead leads Eric to befriend @TessaHeartsEric via a fake Twitter account, the two form a bond that neither could have imagined. For Eric, Tessa is the one honest voice in a sea of fakery. For Tessa, her mysterious online friend might just give her the courage to let go of her traumatic past and untangle herself from the world of online fandom and celebrity obsession. But this is no fan-fiction fairytale come to life. Dark secrets from Tessa’s past surface, and the fanatics in Eric’s fandom get a little too close for comfort. When the two arrange to meet IRL, fake identities are revealed and what should have made for the world’s best episode of Catfish, turns deadly.

Why?  I love the Wattpad novel this is being revised from. Incidentally I’m not sure the above is the official cover or not, but I like it so its staying Updated with the official cover! This is only Part 1, Part 2 is being released in June 2018. Anyhow I related quite well to Tessa (maybe a little too well in regards to the traumatic incident) and I love this style of story-telling.

a believe in love.jpg
Goodreads Link // May 2017

Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She’s for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Rules for True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and fake car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.

Why? SHE WANTS TO REFORMAT HER LOVE LIFE BASED ON K-DRAMAS. Come on. This is just…this was made for me.

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Goodreads Link // May 2017

It’s bad enough when high-school senior Keeley grabs the wrong phone while leaving her small town’s end-of-summer fair. It’s even worse when she discovers that the phone she now has belongs to the obnoxious, self-centered Talon and that he’s just left for football camp … with her phone. Reluctantly, the two agree to forward messages for a week. And as Keeley gets to know Talon, she starts to like him. Keeley learns there’s more to Talon than the egocentric jock most people see. There’s more to Keeley, too. Texting Talon, she can step out of the shadow of her popular twin brother. Texting Talon, she can be the person she’s always wanted to be.

Sparks fly when the two finally meet to exchange their phones. But while Keeley has been playing a part online, Talon has been keeping a secret. He has a different connection to Keeley — one that has nothing to do with phones, and one that will make their new relationship all but impossible. Knowing what she now knows, can Keeley trust him? And can love in the present erase mistakes of the past?

Why? Another Wattpad originally book being revised for publication, I find the idea of swapping cell phones to be interesting and I want to know the secret. (I may break down and read the Wattpad version….)

No Cover and/or Specific Release Date:

MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE by Nisha Sharma (Goodreads Link)
Winnie Metha, Bollywood film groupie, has a dilemma: her boyfriend breaks up with her one week before senior year and instead of running the Princeton, NJ student film festival with him, she has to compete against him for the spot. What’s worse is he realized hooking up with Jenny Dickens was a mistake and he wants Winnie back.

Dev Khanna, indie film savant, could be her solution. He helps her focus on what’s important and makes her feel amazing in that terrifying, not-in-control way. At first, the plan to get her festival chair spot back and spend time with Dev seems to be working…until Winnie falls in love with the one guy who just may be the perfect hero she’s been waiting for.

In a story where high school has more drama than the Indian film industry, one Bolly-junkie finds herself in a classic love triangle gone wrong. With a little bit of help from fate, her drunk grandmother, and dream sequences featuring Shah Rukh Khan himself, Winnie learn that embracing Bollywood romance IRL may be the key to a happily ever after.

Why? A) NJ resident let’s represent (also Princeton!) B) when I was younger I was fascinated by Bollywood movies fascinated me. They still do to a degree and I want to see how this classic love triangle goes wrong (or right).

SEEKING MANSFIELD by Kate Watson (Goodreads Link)
Sixteen-year-old Finley Price has perfected two things: how to direct a world-class production, and how to fly way, way under the radar. The only person who ever seems to notice Finley is her best friend, the Bertram’s son Oliver. If she could just take Oliver’s constant encouragement to heart and step out of the shadows, she’d finally chase her dream of joining the prestigious Mansfield Theater.

When teen movie stars Emma and Harlan Crawford move next door to the Bertram’s, they immediately set their sights on Oliver and his cunning sister, Juliette, shaking up Finley and Oliver’s stable friendship. As Emma and Oliver grow closer, Harlan finds his attention shifting from Juliette to the quiet, enigmatic, and thoroughly unimpressed Finley. Out of boredom, Harlan decides to make her fall in love with him. Problem is, the harder he seeks to win her, the harder he falls for her.

But Finley doesn’t want to be won, and she doesn’t want to see Oliver with anyone else. To claim Oliver’s heart—and keep her own—she’ll have to find the courage to do what she fears most: step into the spotlight.

Why? Mansfield Park is one of my favorite Austen titles to see adapted because the characters are interpreted in so many different ways. So a YA inspired by Mansfield Park? Let’s go guys I’m there.

Any other titles I should be on the look out for? I know my tastes are a little eclectic, but I’m sure I’m missing out right?

lexie

Lexie Words

6 thoughts on “2017 Anticipated Titles: YA Contemporary

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