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Contemporary:

​Books in the contemporary fiction genre are made up of stories that could happen to real people in real settings.

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Hot British Boyfriend
by Kristy Boyce

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Summary:

After a horrifying public rejection by her crush, Ellie Nichols does what any girl would do: she flees the country. To be more precise, she joins her high school’s study abroad trip to England. While most of her classmates are there to take honors courses and pad their college applications, Ellie is on a quest to rebuild her reputation and self-confidence. And nothing is more of a confidence booster than getting a hot British boyfriend.
When Ellie meets Will, a gorgeous and charming Brit, she vows to avoid making the same mistakes as she did with the last guy she liked. Which is why she strikes up a bargain with Dev, an overachieving classmate who she’s never clicked with, but who does seem to know a lot about the things Will is interested in—if he helps her win over her crush, then she’ll help him win over his.
But even as Ellie embarks on a whirlwind romance, one that takes her on adventures to some of England’s most beautiful places, she still needs to figure out if this is actually the answer to all her problems…and whether the perfect boyfriend is actually the perfect boy for her.

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Review: What a fun read! Ellie is such a relatable character struggling to find her place in a new town and school. Finding a crush and a friend is more than she could have hoped for, so when she loses both in the same night it's a relatable heartbreak for readers. Her adventures in the UK are fun and interesting, and the setting is well described by Boyce, who goes into great detail about life in the UK. The cast of characters includes several types of people, despite most of them being written off as brainiacs. Ellie's experiences in the UK will keep readers entertained and amused as they follow her through the trials of teen life, abroad.


Key Elements: Great Britain, Relationships, Friendships, Single Parents, Mother/Daughter Dynamics, Romance, Study Abroad, Unique Hobbies, Geeks and Nerds
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

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Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
by Becky Albertalli

Summary: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

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Review: If readers don't fall in love with Simon, they'll fall in love with Blue! The plot feels very lighthearted but addresses some major issues teens face every day. Simon has the support and love of his friends and family, but not every LGBT character does, something he has to come to terms with on his own. He also finds out more about himself along the way, even realizing that at times he's an absent friend and family member, distracted by his own love life and blind to the woes of those around him. Filled with love, humor, friendship, and a tiny bit of mystery, this novel will keep teens entertained, and in love.

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Key Elements: Friendship, Tumblr, Online Dating, Internet Dating, Friendship Dynamics, LGBT, Family Dynaims, Thespian Life, Young Love

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Romance, Coming of Age

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Instant Karma
by Marissa Meyer

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Summary:

Chronic overachiever Prudence Barnett is always quick to cast judgment on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her.
Pru giddily makes use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to mean gossips, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner. Quint is annoyingly cute and impressively noble, especially when it comes to his work with the rescue center for local sea animals.
When Pru resigns herself to working at the rescue center for extra credit, she begins to uncover truths about baby otters, environmental upheaval, and romantic crossed signals—not necessarily in that order. Her newfound karmic insights reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed, love and hate . . . and fate.

Review:

An overachiever with a big family and a tube of red lipstick, Prudence Barnett can’t believe she got stuck with Quint Erickson as her lab partner. Quint is a notorious goofball who never seems to get to class on time or complete his homework.  Prudence won’t let him ruin her class project and decides to spend her summer volunteering at a local sea animal rescue center to improve her grade.  But when Quint unexpectedly shows up at the center, Prudence realizes there is more to him than the goofball persona she knows.

After a fun night of karaoke at her favorite local restaurant, a small head injury grants Prudence the ability to exact instant karma! With the point of her finger, she can now dole out punishments to those she deems in need of behavior change.  But, will the power of cosmic justice go to her head, or will Prudence hone her skills and make the world a better place?

Readers will fall in love with Prudence, who is perhaps the most unlikeable and yet relatable character in Marissa’s repertoire.  As more of her personality comes to the surface, we see the injustices of the world through Prudence’s eyes.  The character of Quint surprises everyone with his true personality, and we can’t help but find him endearing and attractive.  Instant Karma will leave everyone full of joy and hope, and wondering, what would you do if you could exact Instant Karma on the world?

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Key Elements: Karma, Teens, Young Love, Friendship, Family Dynamics, Ocean Animals

Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Magical Realism

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