Top Ten Underrated Contemporary Books

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga - Hands down one of the best books I've ever read, but no one ever seems to

have heard of it. I've seen few other books that handle sexual abuse this well; the psychological aspects of this book are amazing. If you've read it, please feel free to cry with me about it any time.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks - Again, one of my favorite books that deals with a serious topic so well. The story is told by an imaginary friend and it's both hilarious and heart breaking. I've made all my friends read this one and not one of them didn't love it.

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend and Shut Out by Kody Keplinger - I think all of Kody's books deal with the innerworkings of high school really well, whether it be body image, friendships, or sex and I'm surprised more people haven't read them.

Being Sloan Jacobs by Lauren Morrill - You know how all those light, fluffy summer chicklits slip to the bottom of your TBR once you start smelling pumpkin spice? This book is one for the winter. Just as fun and light-hearted, but it takes place in winter (and has hockey and ice skating).

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma - I love the way Nova Ren Suma writes about mental illnesses, especially from the first person perspective of this book. 

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour - Everybody loves a good road trip book, and this is definitely one of the best ones I've read.

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Schiedt - The narrative and story of this book is raw and heart breaking and I've never met a single person who has read it, but I promise you it's worth it.

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill - This book deals with some really touchy subjects, but it's so well done that it deserves so much more recognition than it's gotten.

The Boleyn Trilogy by Laura Andersen - Okay, I'm sorry, but I have to cheat for this one. This is technically historical fiction, but it's an amazing book series that was totally worth staying up until three in the morning only to cry at the ending. The story is about what might have happened if Anne Boleyn had a son and I need everyone to read it because it's amazing (in case I didn't already say that).

Have you read any of these? And don't forget to leave a link to your post down below so I can see if I've read any of your underrated picks!

Maybe Someday

Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
Pages: 367
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: gift from a friend

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance—and the enchanting music that inspires one young woman to put her life back together.

I'd heard such good things about this and when my friend gave me a copy I tore through it in less than a day. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

There is No Light in Darkness

Claire Contreras 

Publisher: Createspace
Publication Date: January 18, 2013
Pages: 256
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased from ebay

A past hidden in darkness. Her present cloaked in secrets. The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped.

After the mysterious and violent death of her parents, Blake Brennan finds comfort with an unconventional family. As the dramatic loss of her parents continues to haunt her—and hinders her from reciprocating love that others give freely—Blake embarks on a harrowing journey in search for the truth.

Living in a constant state of fear and need for control, vivid nightmares reveal details that lead to perilous situations. The past begins to collide with the present, and Blake must decide if the truth is worth losing the ones she loves.

Can love conquer all as her past comes to light? Or will Blake realize that there is no light in darkness?

Book contains: Explicit language & sexual content.

The premise of this book is strong and exciting and I really wanted to like it, but something about it just fell flat.

Unbreak My Heart

Melissa Walker

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children
Publication Date: May 22, 2012
Pages: 232
Genre: Contemporary Chicklit
Source: Purchased from J&R Outlet

Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life.

Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now.

Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart? 

Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

This book sounded really good, but it just fell a little flat. It was a nice, quick read, but it was also really average.

Being Friends With Boys

Terra Elan McVoy

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Pages: 368
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult/Chicklit
Source: Purchased from Barnes and Noble

Charlotte and Oliver have been friends forever. She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more. 

When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

The blurb is so completely off from what this book is about its actually kind of funny. It's what the first third of the book is about. Then there's more to it. I liked all of the stuff not mentioned though. It was a light and fluffy book with funny scenes, but there was still enough seriousness for it to be a good book. Good books always have a perfect balance of humor and sincerity and this book has it.

The Sea of Tranquility

Katja Millay

Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: November 13, 2012
Pages: 434
Genre: Contemporary New Adult
Source: Borrowed from the Library

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

As my favorite book and the namesake of this blog, it only makes sense that The Sea of Tranquility is the first book I review.