Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt was Top Ten Books I Read in 2021, but I have a way longer version of that post here, so instead I’m going to do my “Top Ten Contemporary YA Books I Read in 2021” (in no particular order).
The Box in the Woods, by Maureen Johnson
Not sure if a mystery technically counts as a contemporary, but I’m saying it does regardless. I just adore this series and I loved this book, so it’s making the cut regardless of semantics.
Lucy Clark Will Not Apologize, by Margo Rabb
This is another mystery book, though I’m a little more confident about it fitting into the “YA contemporary niche.” It follows a girl who is suspended from boarding school and sent to work for a quirky elderly lady in New York City, and the entire book is so fun.
An Emotion of Great Delight, by Tahereh Mafi
This book breaks you a bit and then puts you back together again; it’s nothing less than what you would expect from Tahereh Mafi. It’s lovely and deals with mourning and grief and it’s also just really beautiful writing.
A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, by Laura Taylor Namey
This book is so adorable, and deals with grief and loss and moving on while also having the cutest romance and it’s honestly just wonderful; it’s probably one of my favorite contemporary romances of all time.
You Have a Match, by Emma Lord
This book features a girl who finds out that she has an older sister, and the two go to summer camp to get to know each other (kind of a reverse-Parent-Trap-situation). I love all of the found-family-esque tropes, so I adored this narrative about the pair learning how to be sisters. The romance was really cute as well. Check out my review of it here.
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, by Adiba Jaigirdar
I don’t even usually love the fake-dating trope that much, but I really enjoyed this book (much more than I did The Henna Wars, the author’s debut book).
Tweet Cute, by Emma Lord
I love Emma Lord now; I didn’t love this one as much as You Have a Match, but it was still adorable.
10 Truths and a Dare, by Ashley Elston
I love Elston’s 10 Blind Dates, which this book is a companion to, so it came as absolutely no surprise to me that I loved this book. It has such a cute romance and a big, crazy family, and I just thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Summer of Broken Rules, by K.L. Walther
This is just a super fun summer-y contemporary book centered around a game of Assassin at a wedding. Check out my review of it here.
Perfect on Paper, by Sophie Gonzales
This book follows a girl who runs an anonymous dating advice business at her school; when a guy finds out her identity, he blackmails her to make her help him win back his ex. It’s really cute and I loved the bisexuality rep in it.
I’m always interested in a good YA. Thanks for the recommends!
My post: https://pagesandpaws.com/2021/12/28/ttt-top-20-heroes-heroines-from-2021/
I know; I love YA. Thanks so much for your comment!
I would read A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW for that title alone. It sounds like such a wonderful book. You read many great sounding books this year! And this is just part of them?! I can’t wait to see your longer list. I hope you have a great reading year in 2022!
I definitely recommend A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow; it’s wonderful. If you’re interested in my longer list, I’ll adding a link to it in this post on Saturday. Regardless, I hope you have a great reading year next year as well!!!
Hani and Ishu was one of my most anticipated releases, but I still haven’t gotten to it! Hopefully I will soon!
I definitely recommend getting to it soon; it was so cute!
What a fun list! I really liked Perfect on Paper, and I thought You Have a Match and the Cuban Girl’s… were both sweet too.
Thanks so much for your comment! I loved all three of those (if you couldn’t tell from their inclusion on this list).
I’ve really enjoyed Maureen John’s Truly Devious series, I hope there will be more.
I loved Truly Devious, I really mean to catch-up the series.
I definitely recommend it; the series as a whole is one of my favorites!