Today’s
blog post is going to be a discussion. The topic is thanks to the #BroodyBFF's
Challenge #6- Let's Talk Contemporary!
Honestly
I don’t read a lot of contemporary. One look at my review page and you can
probably tell that the majority of the novels I read are Sci-fi/Fantasy. Why is
it that I avoid the genre so much? I don’t think Contemporary YA really
captures anything I have experienced in high school. If I’m going to have to
stretch my imagination for the plot, I’d rather it just be in a fake/fantasy
setting than in a ‘real’ setting. Contemporary is kind of disorienting in a
sense.
I have
never felt the urge to randomly interact with a strange guy on the side walk,
or at the coffee shop I frequent. I don’t believe in office romances, or
falling for your lab partner in chemistry class. Heck we didn’t even have take
home group projects in science in high school! (English and History, sure, but
not science and teachers always let us pick our own partners. AKA you would
never be partnered with Broody.)
High
school for me was hanging out with friends, stressing out about assignments and
fitting in my violin practice, lessons, and rehearsals into my schedule on top
of school clubs. I had a great group of friends, we played instruments, watched
movies and anime, and hiked together. Not a lot of drama, which I guess means
not much to write a book around unless the climax was the craziness experienced
before opening day of a musical.
So yeah,
I guess I would just like to see more every day, relatable things in
Contemporary books. And not unbelievable, far-flung, romances in a modern
setting.
What Contemporary Books could convert me to the genre?
You can check out my fellow #BroodyBFF responses on Twitter!
Brooding YA Hero: Becoming a Main Character (Almost) as Awesome as Me
The BroodyBFF's street team will run from May to November, so check back here at Love at First Write regularly for new challenges and updates, and follow me and @broodingyahero on Twitter to see the hashtags, visual challenges, and #BroodyChats!
