Recommendation Post | Cry-Worthy & Heart-Touching Young Adult Contemporary Books – Part #1 💧

 💧 Hi, friends! How are you? I hope you’re doing great and having a day full of good reading & precious moments. ❤️ Today I’ve decided to do again a kind of mini-series here on the blog, after a while of doing one, where we’ll focus on those Contemporary YA books that have touched my heart, have made me reflect, have provoked me to think, have taken me through paths of many feelings and above all, are those stories that move something inside of you which makes them almost unforgettable. 🥺🌟 
Honestly, I was going to bring you a top 5, but in the end, I would have to leave many excellent books out of the list, so that’s why I decided to make it a 3 part series, which I’ll spread over three months from now, this way we’ll have one of these posts every month from April to June. 🙌🏻 

Many of these books have, of course, already been mentioned in other of my posts over the years 😊, and I even think most of them are on my massive list of 5-star Worthy Contemporaries (I’ll leave that post HERE in case you want to check it out!) and, in other posts related to books that touch on serious and sensitive topics, but I still wanted to come back after a long time with this kind of appreciation posts where I highlight these AMAZING, HEART-TOUCHING works, as I think they’re all really worth it. 🥰 Plus, obviously, it’s an updated list with new books I’ve read recently and I think they also deserve their place on this kind of list. 🔥 
The books will not be placed in any particular order, guys, they’re randomly placed, they’re all really amazing and are more than recommended by me. As you will notice in the title, I’ve decided to go for the word “Cry-Worthy” 😭 as they’re mostly books that have moved me on a deeper level, and as I’m very sensitive they have honestly made me cry, which isn’t to say that they’re particularly super sad or anything like that, but they’ll undoubtedly touch a part of you due to their sensitive themes of all kinds, from family issues, personal growth, strength, loss, faith, love, and much more. So basically if you want to feel touched by a book this is the right place for you! 😍 

I’ve decided to do this mini-series focusing on contemporary stories, and even if some of them have some magical aspect, they’re all stories focused on the contemporary subject as such. I’ve decided to talk about contemporaries now, as I plan to maybe do another post where we can talk a bit more about those books that are deeply significant for me within the fantasy genre, as well. 👍🏻 Obviously, I hope this is something you enjoy a lot, and you can hopefully find many books to add to your TBR.⚡️ You know I love to know what you think so feel free to leave me your comments 💞 & now yes, without further ado LET’S GET STARTED! 💧 

“Because there was nothing in a girl’s history that might negate her right to choose what happens to her body.”

Practical Magic meets Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls and Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap in this lush, atmospheric new novel by acclaimed author Katrina Leno.

A magic passed down through generations. An island where strange things happen. A summer that will become legend.

Georgina Fernweh waits impatiently for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has touched every woman in her family. But with her eighteenth birthday looming, Georgina fears her gift will never come.

Over the course of her last summer on the island—a summer of storms, falling in love, and the mystery behind one rare three-hundred-year-old bird—Georgina will learn the truth about magic, in all its many forms.

In Summer of Salt, Katrina Leno weaves another gorgeously original novel of magical realism and coming-of-age. Fans of April Genevieve Tucholke and Anna-Marie McLemore will be swept away. 

| Goodreads | Book Review |

 💧 Short Excerpt from my Review

This book is so beautiful, I feel so emotional about it now that I’ve finished it. Although it’s an unquestionably magical book, it is not the magic what has captivated me, but the relationship between these two sisters and the poetic form in which the story is told. First time trying with the author but not the last one, I’m sure.

“I wonder- if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?”

You probably think that Aled Last and I are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and I am a girl.

I just wanted to say—we don’t.

Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. When she’s not studying, she’s up in her room making fan art for her favorite podcast, Universe City.

Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. But no one knows he’s the creator of Universe City, who goes by the name Radio Silence.

When Frances gets a message from Radio Silence asking if she’ll collaborate with him, everything changes. Frances and Aled spend an entire summer working together and becoming best friends. They get each other when no one else does.

But when Aled’s identity as Radio Silence is revealed, Frances fears that the future of Universe City—and their friendship—is at risk. Aled helped her find her voice. Without him, will she have the courage to show the world who she really is? Or will she be met with radio silence? 

| Goodreads | Book Review |

 💧 Short Excerpt from my Review

OMG OMG OMG, I’m so HAPPY that this book has crossed my path, is absolutely beautiful in so many ways, I don’t want to seems dramatic (although I am lol) but I’m in fact crying right now of how much I love this book. You can get the idea now of how incredible it was for me. I don’t usually add books easily to my favorites list, but I’m very pleased to say that this one has made its way to my list, and it’s well deserved

“This is how we reveal ourselves: these tiny flashes of discomfort, the reactions we can’t hide.”

Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah.

But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity.

It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him. 

| Goodreads | Book Review |

 💧 Short Excerpt from my Review

This is such a sweet and meaningful book, I really adored it and I’m very happy to have read it. This story shows real issues and touches on things such as sexuality within religion and we can explore how this affects the characters. Seeing the characters learn and grow has been a pleasure to me, is a journey of self-discoveries, love, and friendship that you can’t miss.

“I don’t actually think it always has to be your sole responsibility to make sure everything goes perfectly all the time”

Meg has her entire life set up perfectly: her boyfriend Mason is sweet and supportive, she and her best friend Emily plan to head to Cornell together in the fall, and she even finds time to clock shifts phonebanking at a voter registration call center in her Philadelphia suburb. But everything changes when one of those calls connects her to a stranger from small-town Ohio, who gets under her skin from the moment he picks up the phone.

Colby is stuck in a rut, reeling from a family tragedy and working a dead-end job—unsure what his future holds, or if he even cares. The last thing he has time for is some privileged rich girl preaching the sanctity of the political process. So he says the worst thing he can think of and hangs up.

But things don’t end there.…

That night on the phone winds up being the first in a series of candid, sometimes heated, always surprising conversations that lead to a long-distance friendship and then—slowly—to something more. Across state lines and phone lines, Meg and Colby form a once-in-a-lifetime connection. But in the end, are they just too different to make it work?

You Say It First is a propulsive, layered novel about how sometimes the person who has the least in common with us can be the one who changes us most. 

| Goodreads | Book Review |

 💧 Short Excerpt from my Review

OMG, this book is the sweetest thing, I loved it so much, definitely one of those cases when the story far exceeds my expectations. I feel that this plot touched my heart in many ways, the characters seemed very realistic and the topics it covers are very shocking, but they’re well discussed and very well executed in my point of view. Politics isn’t usually my jam, but I was still able to enjoy this contemporary romance very much, and that makes me very happy.

“I begin to wonder if white is the color of things to be worshipped in this world. If it’s the only color to be worshipped in this world.”

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor. Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism—all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age.

A powerful memoir for fans of Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson and American Street by Ibi Zoboi. 

| Goodreads | Book Review |

 💧 Short Excerpt from my Review

WOW, I didn’t expect to end up so moved by this book, but it managed to get to my heart and not only that, I think it’s that type of book that everyone should read because although it’s not an easy read at all, it confronts you with reality in a very crude way, of what black community must face and go through in an ignorant and racist society. In addition to this, we follow a heartbreaking story, but in the same way, inspiring. It’s perfectly combined with touches of magical realism and will leave you thinking, as will also leave you great teaching. I loved it, obviously, and I won’t stop recommending it to everyone from now on.

 📖 I’ve been recently included in the most recent article Twinkl’s top picks for book bloggers by the international educational publisher, Twinkl!

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Thank you SO much for being there & stopping by for this new mini-series, quite emotional, but with recommendations that are really worth it! ❤️

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 💧 Let’s chat! What do you think of the Books in this First Part? Have you read them or Do you want to? & What are your Recommendations for me in terms of Meaningful books for you? I want to know everything, so feel free to let me know what you think in the comments, I love chatting with you! 💧

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