8 YA Contemporary Recommendations! // Mini Reviews & All the Heart Eyes

Hi, I’m Olivia, and I love contemporaries way too much.

Okay, maybe not way too much, because there’s no such thing as loving contemporaries too much. They deserve all the love and hugs and heart eyes in the world, am I right?! The answer is yes.

Today’s post is my long-awaited at least by me mini reviews of the books I got in my last library haul, as well as reviews of a couple other books that I read but that didn’t come from the library. All of these are YA contemporaries that I would recommend to all of y’all, and I hope this post helps your TBR turn into even more of a monster. 😉

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Girl Out of Water, by Laura Silverman

 

Page Count: 350

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

This book was unexpectedly amazing.

I expected to like it, and I expected to think it was a cute, summery read, but did I expect to absolutely love it?! No. And did I? YES. From the friendships in this story (the BEST group of best friends ever) to the slightly-insta-love-but-still-adorable romance, to the family dynamics (basically the best father-daughter relationship ever), I loved every second of it.

Honestly, it one of my favorite reads of the summer. That’s saying a lot!

A Thousand Perfect Notes, by C.G. Drews

 

Page Count: 282

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

I have been waiting for this book for so long, and it was definitely worth the wait.

I fell in love with all the characters (my pRECIOUS Beck! and August is the loveliest ever! and can we just adore Joey?!) and loathed the Maestro, and loved all the mentions of cake. Since this book isn’t available in the US, I ordered it from Amazon, and I’m so happy I did because now I have it on my bookshelf to reread over and over again.

The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls, by Jessica Spotswood

 

Page Count: 320

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Never underestimate the power of a book built on sister relationships. The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls exceeded all my expectations, and then some.

I was in love with the sister bonds (all the Penderwicks vibes), the diversity, the romances, the feminism, the pop culture references and did I mention the sister relationships?! AND THE DIVERSITY. I still can’t get over how much I loved this book.

If you’re looking for a summery and fun contemporary, this is for you! And even if you’re not…still read it. 😉

Not the Girls You’re Looking For, by Aminah Mae Safi

 

Page Count: 336

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

I thought this was going to be a light read? I’ve never been more wrong.

Even though this wasn’t what I expected, I still loved it! It did take me a little bit to get into this book, but once I got into it, I literally couldn’t put it down. This was a read-while-I-was-brushing-my-teeth kind of book.

You’ll fall in love with the crazy Lulu, her amazing group of friends (y’all! the friendship dynamics in this book!!), and I’m still over here crying my eyes out about how much I love the ship between Lulu and someone who you’ll find out about when you read this amazing book!

Wanderlost, by Jen Malone

 

Page Count: 321

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

This is the perfect contemporary to read when you need a whole lot of fluff and a whole lot of happiness in your life.

It definitely did give me wanderlust, and I loved reading about the adventures Aubree took through all these beautiful European countries, and I loved the ship (but kind of hated how insta-lovey it was). My favorite part of this book was watching Aubree’s character development (she started off SO whiny, but got a lot better). My least favorite part was probably this random plot twist near the end that really made no sense at all. *sigh*

Oh, and the cover?! All the heart eyes here.

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road, by Sheba Karim

 

Page Count: 320

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

It’s a known fact that road trip books are amazing.

I liked this book, but not really because it was about a road trip. I went into this book expecting to read about the adventures of three best friends, but it was so much more than that. It tackled the serious topics of religion, family relationships, racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. These are all very important topics that I thought were discussed really well in this book!

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone, by Rachel Lynn Solomon

 

Page Count: 384

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

I wish I could say I loved this book, but all I can say is that I thought it was good. Not amazing, just good.

I thought the premise (twins Adina and Tovah get tested for Huntington’s Disease, one has it and one doesn’t) was great, the plot moved along fairly well, and it was well-written, but my one problem was: I didn’t love the two main characters. They both made decisions I wasn’t the biggest fan of, and I just never grew to love them.

But, I still enjoyed reading this book and I think this was just a personal taste issue, so I’d encourage you to still read it if you’re wanting to.

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli

 

Page Count: 303

{goodreads}

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Everyone has probably read a million positive, glowing reviews about this book by now. And the truth is, I have no insightful thoughts to add to any of those reviews, so I’ll just reiterate how amazing this book is.

IT IS AMAZING. Simon’s friends are my favorite (especially Abby), I hate Martin with a passion, Simon and Blue are the most adorable ship I’ve ever read in my entire life, and it lived up to all my expectations. And more.

If y’all haven’t read this, you need to. It’s the best ever.

Wow, that was a lot of reviewing! XD I would love to do full on reviews for all these books, but due to me only posting once a week, I feel like my blog would get overwhelmed with reviews if I did that. Still, even though these reviews were the miniature variety, I really hope you all got some great recommendations from this post! 🙂

Also, I do have a giveaway (!!) for a $20 visa gift card going on right now! If you haven’t already entered, definitely go check out this post and do so right away!

Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts on them? Which ones you do you want to read? I’d love to chat with you in the comments.

Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash >> Credits for the photo used in my featured image, many thanks to the photographer!