Realistic Fiction

The titles on this list have appeared on one or more of YALSA's booklists.  For a complete list of all of YALSA's booklists, visit www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists .

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak . A trauma has silenced Melinda and caused her to be rejected by students in her high school. Melinda's surprisingly funny observations take you from her state of isolation to the moment she finds the power to speak.

Brooks, Bruce. All that Remains . Three novellas highlighting teens whose lives are affected in various ways by a death in the family.

Brooks, Kevin. Lucas. Caitlin becomes isolated as the other young adults of Hale Island develop and immediate and intense hatred for the attractive and mysterious newcomer she befriends.

Danticat, Edwidge. Behind the Mountains. Celiane’s teacher gives her a notebook, which Celiane uses to record her thoughts in as her family moves from Haiti to Brooklyn.

Deem, James. 3 NB’s of Julian Drew . A troubled 15-year-old boy keeps a secret, cryptic diary about his life with his father and abusive stepmother.

Flinn, Alex. Breathing Underwater . Nick is ordered to attend counseling and keep a journal after hitting his girlfriend.

Franco, Betsy (editor). Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls. A follow-up to You Hear Me, this collection of stories and poems by teen girls reveals the truth about boyfriends, body image and being female.

Franco, Betsy (editor). You Hear Me?: Poems and Writings by Teenage Boys . Teenage guys tell it like it is in their collection of recent poetry and writings.

Green, John. Looking For Alaska . Miles "Pudge" Halter is abandoning his safe-okay, boring life. Pudge becomes encircled by friends whose lives are everything but safe and boring. When tragedy strikes the close-knit group, it is only in coming face-to-face with death that Pudge discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.

Haddix, Margaret. Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey . In her English journal, Tish writes what life is like at home after her father returns.

Halliday, John. Shooting Monarchs . A serial killer, an outcast and an unexpected ending.

Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean . On summer vacation at grandmother’s cottage at the ocean, Martha comes to grips with the death of a classmate and her odd request, her ailing grandmother, her first serious crush and betrayal and her desire to become a writer.

Jimenez, Francisco. Breaking Through . The fictionalized telling of Francisco’s transition from deported illegal alien to high school student body president while, unbeknownst to his classmates, he worked several jobs, lived in a labor camp and bathed in a galvanized tub.

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last . Sixteen-year-old Bobby accepts responsibility for raising his infant daughter, despite protests from his family and the challenges of staying in school and maintaining friends.

Klass, David. You Don't Know Me . John, a 14-year-old boy from a small town defends himself against an abusive home life, an outcast school life, and being a social misfit by living outside of himself.

Luna, Louisa. Brave New Girl . Doreen feels like an outcast at school and in her family. Luckily, her best friend Ted is able to be there for her.

Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things . Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves learns how to manage her weight, the wandering hands of Froggy Welsh the Fourth, and an accusation of date rape against her perfect older brother when her best friend Shannon moves to Washington and she is forced to deal with her problems on her own for the first time in her life.

McCormick, Patricia. Cut . Callie, 13 and confined to a treatment facility for self-mutilation, gradually begins to take him to understand some of the reasons behind her problems.

McWilliams, Kelly. Doormat . Fourteen-year-old Jaime is used to her best friend, Melissa, being the center of attention. There’s just one small problem—Melissa thinks she’s pregnant, and she wants Jaime’s help. But there’s not much Jaime can do and she’s sick of being stepped on!

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster . 16 year-old Steve finds himself on trial for murder. Reality blurs as he views his own trial as if he were the filmmaker he dreams of becoming, transcribing it scene by scene into a script.

Nelson, Blake. Rock Star Superstar . Sixteen year old bass players Peter learns bittersweet lessons of life, love and rock and roll during his sophomore and junior years of high school, playing with the underground band, The Tiny Masters of Today.

Park, Linda Sue. When My Name Was Keoko: A Novel of Korea in World War II . In 1940, when the Japanese rulers of Korea decreed that all Koreans must take Japanese names, Kim Sun-hee's official name changed, but she did not lose her Korean identity or her patriotism which grew as the war came far too close to home, food and clothing became difficult to get, her uncle who had been working for the underground fled, and her brother joined the Japanese army to become a kamikaze pilot.

Powell, Randy. Three Clams and an Oyster . Three members of a flag football team search for a fourth teammate over a weekend in which they confront their attitudes about friendship, girls, and their shared past.

Rivers, Karen. The Healing Time of Hickeys . The diary of 16-year old Haley, who is coping with a bunch of trouble in her last year of high school.

Rosoff, Meg. how i live now . Set during a shocking occupation by terrorist forces, Rosoff’s novel is narrated by15-year-old Daisy, a wry and alienated young woman who finds true love, mystical connections, and a sense of home with her cousins in England.

Sones, Sonya. One of those Hideous Books where the Mother Dies . After her mother dies of cancer, Ruby is forced to move to "Cali-phony-a" to live with her father, the famous movie star, Whip Logan.

Stratton, Allan. Leslie’s Journal . Using her English journal, Leslie records what happens as her life spins out of control.

Stratton, Allan. Chanda's Secrets . Sixteen-year-old Chanda loves school and dreams of a scholarship and a life beyond her family's poverty. But her Mama is tired all the time after her little sister's death and Chanda must fight to keep her dreams alive and conquer her fears in the face of the brutal reality of Africa's AIDS epidemic.

Truman, Terry. Inside Out . When two teenage brothers attempt to hold up a Spokane coffee shop where Zach, 16, is waiting for his mother to bring his antipsychotic meds, he is among those held hostage. A phone call from the police to the robbers’ results in freedom for the others, but Zach, now overdue for his medicine, agrees to remain hostage.

White, Ellen Emerson. The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty, United States Marine Corps . An eighteen-year old Marine keeps a journal while fighting in Vietnam.