Good morning, good afternoon, good evening friends! How are you today? I hope you had a good week, and a wonderful Sunday. Today’s post is going to be kind of different, and I surely hope you will enjoy it…to see whether or not I can continue with it.
As you all know by now – and if you don’t, well…now you’ll know, I am a huge contemporary reader. It used to be, by far, my favorite genre, though fantasy is coming to a close second with magical realism since I started blogging and discovered wonderful books. But hey, I’m disgressing a bit here. In my first post of the year, I mentioned that I wanted to get more into talking about my favorite genre, and here is born my newest feature…
The YA contemporary corner is a little feature here to recommend you all the contemporary books you NEED to read. Well, if you want to, obviously. I have no idea whether it’ll take place a lot of the time or not, for now, this is a first try, so I’m looking forward to your thoughts on it!
Today’s theme is Best Siblings! Obviously this is a theme I hold close to my heart because my sister is by far the best person in the whole universe. Click on the book covers to be redirected to Goodreads.
Three books with great siblings
To All The Boys I Loved Before, because besides being a cute and sweet contemporary you can devour in an afternoon if you’re into this kind of story, is has some of the greatest sisterhood dynamics. Kitty’s adorable and I just love how she felt part of the story all along, despite the book not being about her story.
A List of Cages, because it’s a recent release and even if they’re not really linked by blood, this bond between these two boys got me wanting to hug them badly, really badly. Trigger warning for this series though, so beware.
? Read my full review
I’ll Give You The Sun, because let’s be honest, I could not NOT mention this book. There are all the complexities of a siblings’ relationship in this, how they grow apart and stronger and back together, and it’s told with brilliance and easily is one of the greatest books out there.
? Read my full review
Strong bonds here, but…beware of the tears
I couldn’t NOT do this little category to mention two books I hold close to my heart. They are about siblings relationships and how strong and important they can be in someone’s life. Beautiful stories here you should read but with a box of tissues by your side. NOT advised in public, like I did.
? Read my full review for Vanishing Girls
? Read my full review for The Sky is Everywhere
BONUS: the non-contemporary siblings worth mentioning
Because I fell in love with this series last year and Kell and Rhy’s eternal banter is FABULOUS.
? Read my full review for A Darker Shade of Magic
Because it’s one of my favorite series of all times, and Mara and Daniel’s relationship is great.
Aw, I love Kell and Rhy in ADSOM! I still need to read I’ll Give You the Sun and Vanishing Girls. Really need to beat the backlist. ?
They are SO great together, right? 🙂 Oh I hope you’ll read both of these books, they are incredible, I’ll Give You The Sun especially, I can’t stop raving about that one haha 🙂 Thank you so much mikaela! 🙂
Great feature!
Oh thank you, happy you like it 🙂
Love this new feature, I get so many recommendations! To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is amazing <3
Oh thank you so, so much, so glad dyou like it! I agree, I loved that book so much, it was such a cute read 🙂
I loved I’ll Give You the Sun! I listened to the audio book on a road trip once and I loved how there were two different narrators. It really made the story come to life! <3
Ohh, well you definitely made me interested in listening to the audiobook. I’m not used to doing that, but I should try for some of my favorites I guess? 😀 Thank you so much Holly!
I loved The Sky is Everywhere!
Great post! This is my favorite genre as well. I hope you continue to do this !!
Oh thank you so, so much, I’m glad to hear you liked it! And The Sky is Everywhere is such a good book! Did you read I’ll Give You The Sun as well? 🙂
Not yet and that makes me sad……..
Ohh don’t be! I’m sure you’ll be able to read it soon, we all need to tackle our big, big TBRs haha 🙂
I loved the sibling dynamic in The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (which can be categorized as contemporary). I don’t know if you’ve read it or not but there’s a scene where the main character and his sister take their younger sister (I think she’s around 9?) to a concert to see her favorite boyband even though they both hate it. It’s so sweet, I loved that scene so much. It’s also so on point when it comes to teeny concerts. All that screaming and crying! LOL.
Ohhhh yes I have read it and now I recall that scene, it was SO GREAT, I loved it too. Hahaha oh yes, it perfectly showed the craziness of these kind of concerts as well :p Thank you!! <3
I want to read some contemporary. Any suggestions? Nothing big on romance though. I heard Aristotle and Dante is good as well as Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. Any others?
Oh well both of these books are great reads 🙂 You can check out the books I just mentioned in that post, they aren’t focused on romance (except for the first one) 🙂
The List of Cages will be the next book I pick up! I’m so excited for it ? The only book I’ve read from your list is I’ll Give You the Sun and it was absolutely beautiful and I adored the siblings in it!
Ohhhh really, I am SO eager to hear your thoughts about this one, I hope you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did. Also, brace yourself because it’s not an easy read haha. But it was so good 🙂 I hope you’ll want to check out some of these books I mentioned, especially The Sky is Everywhere, since it’s from Jandy Nelson as well 😀 Thank you so much!
Yes The Sky is Everywhere is definitely on my TBR list!
I hope you’ll love it 😀
I just bought my first V.E. Schwab, I have only been hearing great things. I haven’t had a chance to pick it up yet, but I am really excited for it.
Ohh that’s great, which one are you going to read? 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy it!
I got Vicious, it’s the first one I heard of and it sounded pretty good.
Ohh I heard great things about that one, though I haven’t read it yet. I hope you’ll love it 🙂
Me too I’m worried my hype may be a little to high, but oh well
Oh well you never know, you might be surprised (in a good way, I hope 🙂
Looove this new feature and the recs!
Oh thank you Poulami, I’m so happy you enjoy it 🙂
I’ve heard about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but I haven’t read it. It’s $8.99, so I’m waiting for the price to go down. I love books that have great family relationships. How good is the book altogether?
Oh I understand, I hope there’ll be a sale or something soon! I found the book really good, the main character has a real authentic teenage voice with its overthinking and overall way of thinking and processing, which was refreshing and felt real – same thing goes for the relationships. The family in this is also adorable and diverse, the dad is so cute and the sisterhood is also great, loved their dynamics 🙂 If you enjoy cute contemporary stories I think you’ll love this one 🙂
Sounds good!! I’ll check it out! Thanks!
You’re welcome, I hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
This is a great feature, Marie!!! You know that I’ve read the Shades of Magic series, but I haven’t read anything else I think. A couple of them were on my TBR though … my dreaded, ever-growing TBR …
Hahaha, our TBRs are WAY too big…it gets harder and harder to choose which books to read first!
It is difficult! And lately I’ve found myself discarding “older” books in favour of new releases A LOT.
Oh yes, I tend to do that too so, so much, especially since last year. I think the blogging frenzy and seeing all of the hype around some titles makes me want to read these new books right away.. not sure it’s always a good thing…
Yeah, sometimes the hype is really counterproductive. But I try to go into these hyped books knowing as little as possible about them, sometimes that helps.
You’re right, I should do that too 🙂
This is such a great new feature for your blog Marie, I loved this week’s post and I can wait to see what next week’s is as well.
Sibling relationships in YA books are always amazing in my opinion, and some of the ones you’ve featured in your post this week are favourites of mine as well. Jandy Nelson is an amazing author and oh Jude and Noah were such amazing characters, same with Lennie and her sister despite the circumstances of their story.
Also yes to Rhy and Kell from ADSOM, god I loved the two of them so much, especially in the second book because there was so much more of the two of them together! 😀
Oh thank you so, so much Beth, so happy you’re enjoying it! I don’t know if I’ll keep it by theme, or change things up a bit, I’ll have to see 🙂
Oh I agree, I had to do a little out-of-contemporary bonus for them, I was thrilled that their relationship developed more in AGOS, I love them together 😀
That’s all right, and I think whatever you choose it will be interesting to see where you go with this theme! 🙂
Well yeah there are some amazing family relationships in other genres as well, maybe not so much as YA contemporary books but there are some! 😀
I agree, and I definitely want to explore that as well. I think it’s always a great addition to a fantasy or sci-fi story for instance, when there are such tight and great relationships as developed as in contemporaries, even if the main focus isn’t on this in these kind of stories! 🙂
Exactly, and even though there are plenty of books where family and siblings are MIA in fantasy and sci-fi books I much prefer the ones where there are some great relationships developing alongside the story. I know there are quite a few out there! 😀
I agree, and that’s what makes me fall in love wth some fantasy stories, how they manage to give a great place to some relatonships <3
I love this new feature already!! I’ve read 3-4 of these books already 🙂 I need to pick up The List of Cages asap! It’s been floating around everywhere! I can’t wait for more of this feature 😀
Oh thank you!! I’m happy you enjoy it, and yes you should read A List of Cages, it’s such a good book 😀
You’re welcome! I am too! I definitely will have to look for it next time I get books 🙂
Hehehe…we’ll make a fantasy fanatic of you yet. Because, as everyone knows, it is the One Genre to Rule Them All. 😛 But really, I’ve been interested by a few contemporary books lately. To All the Boys I’ve Loved before has been floating around for some time and I think my library has it. Hmm…
Hahaha, well I tend to love fantasy more and more, even if my love for contemporary will always be strong :p Ohh well you should try and read it, it’s such a cute and great book 😀
Ouuuh, this is a great feature! So many contemporary novels out there. It sometimes feels impossible to tell which ones are meant for the reader and which ones can be overlooked. I also did not expect A Darker Shade of Magic to be part of this list. That was a nice little surprise hahahah. Looking forward to diving into that book this year. The hype is real. 😀
– Lashaan
Ohh thank you, so happy you like this! Haha, I couldn’t resist, blogging brought me so much in terms of reading and expanding my horizons, I couldn’t not mention this as a bonus 😀
I love this feature, Marie♥! Great sibling relationships are one of my favorite things to find in YA contemporary. Although my little sisters and I clash a lot (four girls in one house is hectic) I don’t know what I would do without them. Which is why I love seeing that bond in books so much. I’ve only read I’ll Give You The Sun, The Sky is Everywhere, and Mara Dyer on your list but completely agree with you on them. Mara and Daniel’s sibling relationship is one of my all time favorites and my favorite part of that trilogy. And you actually just reminded me to add To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before to my TBR for this year. I’ve been meaning to get to that one for a while and I love that it has a great sibling relationship in it. ?
Oh thank you Melissa! I’m glad you like reading about these bonds as well, they are the best, and I’m always looking for more books like that 🙂
I can’t wait for you to finally read To All The Boys, it’s such a cute story, I think you’d really enjoy it! 🙂
You’re welcome, Marie!! ?
Same here, I’m always looking for more books like that as well. I’m excited to read it! I’m trying to wait for the last book just so I can binge them. ?
Haha oh I get it, it’s always so hard to read a book knowing you’ll have to wait before you can get the next one…. but it’s also hard to WAIT before reading something you really want to read haha. Lots of bookworm struggles hahaha.
I know right? I have several series that are ending this year that I’ve wanted to read so bad but have been forcing myself to wait for the last book. Ah yes, us bookworms and our struggles. ??
Our struggles are endless ??
Yep ?
Fantastic feature! I don’t read a lot of YA contemporary books but it’s nice to know what to pick and why in case I feel like it 🙂 I love siblings relationships in books. I’m an only child so it allows me to understand that bond better.
Oh thank you my sweechie!! <3 I hope I'll make you want to add some books to your TBR then 😀
OOOH MARIE, what a delightful feature! This is amazing. ❤ I can’t wait to see more of the books that you recommend!
Such good choices though – I loved loved loved the Lara Jean books (I can’t wait for the third!!), and I’m really looking forward to reading A List of Cages! ?
Ohh thank you so, so much, I am so happy you like it! 🙂 Also, I hope you’ll enjoy A List of Cages when you get to it, I feel like you could love it 🙂
I’m so happy with this corner! Contemporary is one of my favorite genres and I’m always seeking out for new recommendations. I still have a lot on my TBR already, but I’m okay about adding more and more titles, hahah.
I also really, really love stories with great family dynamics. If I had to add another one, I’d say Matthew and Ronan from The Raven Cycle! I know it is not a contemporary, but I love their relationship so much!
Great post, Marie. Can’t wait for the next ones! 🙂
Oh thank you, I’m so happy you like this, Lais <3 And YES, thank you for this, I didn't think about them when I wrote this but you are right, these two are so, so great together, I love their relationshiip <3
Yay, this is going to be a fantastic feature. I just know it. ? And oh my goodness, thanks for reminding me of A List of Cages! That ones seems to be making its rounds across the blogosphere; I’ve only heard good things so far. ⭐️
Oh thank you, Summer! <3 I really hope you'll enjoy A List of Cages when you get to it, it's such a good book 🙂
I really love this feature Marie!! 😀 I love contemporary AND sibling relationship as well. I agree that TATBILB has one of the MOST amazing portrayal of sisterhood. I love Lara Jean’s relationship with Margo and Kitty so much <3 I also love Noah and Jude's relationship, it's complicated and shows us that sibling rivalry could be REALLY scary ?? ahaha I can't wait to read A List of Cages!! Also yes to Kell & Rhy and TSIE. Other than these, I love Simon's relationship with his sisters in Simon VS and Alec, Izzy, and Jace in The Mortal Instruments <3 also I didn't know you read Mara Dyer!! It's hard to find people who read that series AND love it too hahaha ?
Oh thank you so, SO much Puput <3 I am so eager for you to read A List of Cages, it's such an incredible book. And oh yes, Simon's relationship with his sisters is ADORABLE, I love it so much haha.
OHh did you read the whole series as well? I'm so happy! I agree, it's so hard to find people actually loving it, I think a lot were disappointed by the ending? :/ I really loved these books, I can't wait for the Noah books! 🙂
Me too!! I think I’m gonna wait until the paperback is released though, I currently can’t afford the hardback because there’s so many books I want to buy this month ?? OHH I forgot to mention this yesterday by PS I Like You by Kasie West also has an amazing sibling AND family relationship 😀 I didn’t hahaha I haven’t finished the last book yet ? I started but I forgot what happened in the last book so I put it down and haven’t picked it up again since ?? but I plan to read it before Noah’s trilogy comes out! <3
Haha oh I get it, the endless struggle of wanting ALL THE BOOKS ??
Ohh, I only read one Kasie West book before but I enjoyed it, I need to add that one to my TBR then, thank you for the recommendation!
Also, READ MARA DYER NOW ? I want to fangirl with you <3
Kasie West is MY FAVORITE all her books are super adorable hahaha! I WILL hahaha and I’ll talk to you when I do 😛
Oh, this is a great feature! I read mostly fantasy, but lately I’ve been getting a lot more into contemporary. And I love sibling relationships in books! I completely agree with To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – I love the bond between the sisters. And I just read I’ll Give You The Sun and OMG, I’m still not over how good it is. The relationship between Noah and Jude was so flawed and real, but oh so beautiful. And of course, Kell and Rhy are indeed kings of the banter 😉
Oh thank you so, so much! RIGHT? I am SO happy you loved I’ll Give You The Sun, that book was so perfect <3 Did you read The Sky is Everywhere? 🙂
I haven’t read The Sky Is Everywhere yet, but after reading I’ll Give You The Sun it has bumped right up to the top of my TBR! Definitely want to read more by Jandy Nelson 🙂
Ohh well I’m glad to hear it.. Prepare the tissues haha. I hope you’ll love it 🙂
Great new idea. I have I’ll give you the SUn on my TBR. Everyone seems to love it. And yes to Schwab! Glad you included it in your list
Thank you so much, I hope you’ll love I’ll Give You The Sun when you get to it 🙂
Aw, I love this idea!! I’m not the biggest fan of contemporary, but I’m excited to potentially discover some new ones that interest me 😀
I loove Kell & Rhy in the Shades of Magic series SOOOO much. I really need to read I’ll Give You the Sun (I’ve been saying this for so long I really have to make it happen, haha).
Ohh thank you so, so much Lauren, I hope you’ll find books you want to read 🙂 And YES you need to read ‘ll Give You the Sun right now, it’s such a PERFECT story, and I really feel like you could love it.
“I’ll Give You The Sun” sounds like such a great read. I just love your enthusiasm for it! I really want to read it – it sounds like it portrays very realistic and heartfelt relationships.
It is an AWESOME book, it’s one of my favorites. If you love contemporaries, and heartfelt relationships then yes, it’s a book I’d recommend! 😀
Ooh I love your recs! While I’ll Give You the Sun doesn’t have the best siblings ever, they do potray the complexities of sibling relationships! And I agree with Rhy and Kell banter, they are amazing! <3
Thank you so much, so happy you like these! <3
Already so in love with this feature! ITs so awesome and for someone who loves contemporaries, it is A GIFT to my heart! And also the topic that you decided to do it on too! Its like your listening in to all my private thoughts and granting me all my wishes AHAHA! I’ve only read the Jandy Nelson of this list but that’s how I KNOW this list is perfect! (and I’m making my way through ADSOM and loving it!) I can’t wait to check out/read all the rest of them! <3
Thank you so, SO much my forever crazy!! I’m so glad to hear you liked this, and I hope you’ll read these books and love them. Also, I want to hear all your thoughts about ADSOM haha :p
I love the sisterhood dynamic in To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I love how it is a romance story between Lara Jean and Peter, but it also focuses on all the sisters defining their identities within each other and creating new relationships with each other. I feel like each sister played an important part in the plot. Also, my favorite sisterhood scene in this series (I can’t remember if it’s in the first or second book) is when Margot, Lara Jean, and Kitty are all giving Lara Jean advice. They all had different perspectives, and all supported each other.
Oh yes, yes, 100% yes! I really loved the sisters’ relationship in that book just as well. It definitely felt part of the story and it was what made me love it so much. Sisters relationships are sooooooooooo great in books. Oh yes, this is such a great scene, I LOVED IT! <3 Also, I'm impatient to read the next book 🙂
Me too I already preordered it so I can read it right away! I didn’t even think there needed to be another book after the second one but I’m still so excited.
I didn’t think there needed to be another book either, but I’m curious about it now 🙂
I love when people talk about the books that I love! I love I’ll Give You the Sun, and I am so checking your reviews!
Ahhh this makes me SO happy! I love I’ll Give You The Sun SO MUCH. <3
Did you like the ending? I think that Noah’s conclusion even though was super lovely I think it was too short for the whole drama to finish that fast :/
I read it a while ago, to be honest, so I don’t remember the details, but I feel like Noah’s part was a bit rushed, yes. I still loved it though 😀
Oh no of course! I love the book with every fiber of my body ! But yes, I got the beginning and the closing of the relationship… What about the in between? The meetings? The clash of bodies that yern each other for so long?? :/
Yeah that was a bit frustrating… I’d love a novella on them hahahaha 🙂
I will be happy with a novella!! Awww that will be so sweet!!!