Today’s post is another top 5 Wednesday. I have just started a bullet journal and I am so excited to fill it!
Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly challenge, find the Goodreads group here. This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is hidden gems in YA contemporary!
1. Things I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik
“Things Chloe knew: Her sister, Ivy, was lonely. Ethan was a perfect match. Ethan’s brother, David, was an arrogant jerk.
Things Chloe should have known: Setups are complicated. Ivy can make her own decisions. David may be the only person who really gets Chloe.
Meet Chloe Mitchell, a popular Los Angeles girl who’s decided that her older sister, Ivy, who’s on the autism spectrum, could use a boyfriend. Chloe already has someone in mind: Ethan Fields, a sweet, movie-obsessed boy from Ivy’s special needs class.”
This book didn’t get any of the recognition I think that it deserved. This book was amazing, it opened my eyes to so many things and was so heart-warming. I haven’t even seen this book in a store yet. I feel like this book needs to be read by more people because it isn’t a book that will let you down.
2. Countless by Karen Gregory
“When Hedda discovers she is pregnant, she doesn’t believe she could ever look after a baby. The numbers just don’t add up. She is young, and still in the grip of an eating disorder that controls every aspect of how she goes about her daily life. She’s even given her eating disorder a name – Nia. But as the days tick by, Hedda comes to a decision: she and Nia will call a truce, just until the baby is born. 17 weeks, 119 days, 357 meals. She can do it, if she takes it one day at a time … “
This is another book I have hardly ever seen in stores. I am still to buy my own physical copy because I just cannot find it in a bookstore. This is such an uplifting and wrenching story about Hedda and her journey through pregnancy. I really want to reread this book soon.
3. A Seven- Letter Word by Kim Slater
“Finlay’s mother vanished two years ago. And ever since then his stutter has become almost unbearable. Bullied at school and ignored by his father, the only way to get out the words which are bouncing around in his head is by writing long letters to his ma which he knows she will never read, and by playing Scrabble online. But when Finlay is befriended by an online Scrabble player called Alex, everything changes. Could it be his mother secretly trying to contact him? Or is there something more sinister going on?”
This book is wonderful. I cried a lot, laughed a lot and smiled a lot whilst reading this book. I had never read a book where the main character has a stutter before so that felt very unique to me. Not many people I know have read this book but I highly recommend it!
4. Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
“When Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital.
The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together. Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face. Where her nose, cheeks, and chin used to be, now there is…nothing.”
If you have been following my blog for a long time you will know that I talk about this book a lot. I picked this book up without reading anything about it other than the title. That was enough to make me want to read the book. I then listened to the audiobook and have reread this book many times. It is so amazing and inspirational I cannot recommend it enough.
5. Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
“When he’s sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens, Lane thinks his life may as well be over.
But when he meets Sadie and her friends – a group of eccentric troublemakers – he realises that maybe getting sick is just the beginning. That illness doesn’t have to define you, and that falling in love is its own cure.”
I saw this book in my room just the other day and it made me think about how much I loved this book. It was the first book I read in 2016 and I still remember it very vividly. I feel like this book really didn’t get any of the hype it should have done. I loved how much I learnt whilst reading this book as well.
There you have it, this weeks Top 5 Wednesday, hidden gems in YA contemporary. What hidden gems are there in your favourite genre? Don’t forget to comment below your T5W links so I can give them a read!
Check out my GIVEAWAY on Twitter for ONE of these 8 amazing new YA Releases!
Be sure to check out Book Depository using my link here: Loisreadsbooks
Find us on Twitter @loisreadsbooks,on Goodreads here on Bloglovin’ here and don’t forget to follow us!
Until next time,
Loisreadsbooks 