# List me some YA fic that's not fantasy related, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457 "2018-12-21T00:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/1 "2018-12-21T00:59:18Z")
My tweener niece is tired of fairy tales. She wants stuff that’s more about real people doing cool stuff. Non-fiction is fine. Anne Frank would be a little too harsh a buzz for Christmas, perhaps, but stuff more along those lines. Fiction is also fine, if there’s a particularly good updated mystery series. But she doesn’t want books about Olden Times. She wants Modern Times. Which is fine. I’m toying with giving her The Dubliners. But that would be Olden Times, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/2 "2018-12-21T01:26:58Z")
How Old is Olden Times? **Bud, Not Buddy** is set during the Great Depression and is an amazing book. **The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963** is set even later, but still not modern modern. I’ve heard good things about [The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian](https://www.amazon.com/Absolutely-True-Diary-Part-Time-Indian/dp/0316013692/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1545355669&sr=1-1&keywords=absolutely+true+diary+of+a+part-time+indian), and have enjoyed other Sherman Alexie stuff I’ve read, but haven’t read this one. Otherwise, I’m kind of reaching. Have you looked at [lists like this](https://www.epicreads.com/blog/cozy-mystery-books/)? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/3 "2018-12-21T01:56:42Z")
Gary Paulson’s _Hatchet_ (and all of the other books he’s re-written it as) seems popular among teenagers, the time setting isn’t particularly relevant, and nothing magical happens in it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/4 "2018-12-21T01:58:34Z")
Hmmm. There are some really excellent realistic fiction YA classics from the '60s and '70s, for instance: [_It’s like this, cat_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Like_This,_Cat) by E. C. Neville, 1964 E. L. Konigsburg’s books, beginning in that same era, are very good, and she kept writing for decades. _Silent to the Bone_ and _The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place_ were written in the 21st century. I’d start with those two. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/5 "2018-12-21T02:33:06Z")
Middle-school English teacher here: **Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief** - mystery book and an absolute hoot. There are 17 sequels. I _strongly_ recommend this series. \*\*Holes \*\*- A bit odd, but I stand firm that this is a really good book **Esperanza Rising** - realistic fiction. About a girl who is forced to move from Mexico to the US because of a death in the family. **Pinballs** - a great book about foster care kids(who feel like pinballs) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/6 "2018-12-21T03:44:49Z")
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Day. Recreation of true story of a native woman who was stranded at the age of 12 on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California in the 19th century. Lived there alone for 18 years. Very evocative. Famous. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/7 "2018-12-21T04:08:11Z")
The Fault in our Stars by John Green and The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers are ones that come to mind. ETA I guess the second isn’t YA but the protagonist is a 12 year old girl, and I read it as a young girl. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/8 "2018-12-21T04:31:45Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Day. Recreation of true story of a native woman who was stranded at the age of 12 on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California in the 19th century. Lived there alone for 18 years. Very evocative. Famous. This intrigues me, so I just got it from the library. I liked [this Life As We Knew It series](https://www.amazon.com/Life-As-We-Knew-Collection-ebook/dp/B015VN6C98/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1545366355&sr=1-4&keywords=pfeffer) about the moon getting hit by an asteroid and disrupting everything. Told from the perspective of a teenage girl. I also enjoyed the [Tillerman](https://www.amazon.com/Homecoming-Tillerman-Cycle-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0061OTPTG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1545366639&sr=1-1&keywords=homecoming+voigt) series by Cynthia Voigt. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/9 "2018-12-21T04:37:18Z")
I’ve only read one of her books, but Judy Blume is well-regarded, I gather. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/10 "2018-12-21T04:43:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Gary Paulson’s _Hatchet_ (and all of the other books he’s re-written it as) seems popular among teenagers, the time setting isn’t particularly relevant, and nothing magical happens in it. Yes yes yes. I was a young girl with no interest in fantasy and I devoured all his books. I also liked the Anastasia books by Lois Lowry. Not the Russian girl, Lowry’s own character. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/11 "2018-12-21T05:48:38Z")
I don’t think that a 12 year old should be limited to “children’s books”. Let her read above her level, anything within reason that doesn’t have graphic violence and explicit sex. Detective and mystery stories, thrillers, romance, biographies and other nonfiction - anything that takes her interest. Let her spend some time on her own looking around a library or a large book store and finding books she likes. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/12 "2018-12-21T05:52:55Z")
The 39 Clues series by Rick Riordan is a cool, action-packed mystery series: [https://the39clues.scholastic.com/info/about](https://the39clues.scholastic.com/info/about) “Read The 39 Clues books to follow Amy Cahill and her brother Dan as they travel the world to hunt for Clues. Each of the 11 books comes with 6 game cards that reveal important information about the Cahills and unlock a Clue!” She may have read it already, but Katherine Paterson’s _Bridge to Terabithia_ is an outstanding example of realistic fiction. _Al Capone Does My Shirts_ was a favorite of my kids when they were tweens. In the thread on the All-Time Best Newbery Medal Book, many posters loved Ellen Raskin’s _The Westing Game_, which is a mystery novel: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=818080](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=818080) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/13 "2018-12-21T10:54:01Z")
Has she read “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster yet? I guess that would be classified as a children’s book, but she’s old enough now to get most of the jokes that she may not have, if she’d read it even four years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![BlueInfinity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BlueInfinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueInfinity)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/14 "2018-12-21T11:21:05Z")
Try the works of Gordon Korman, particularly the MacDonald Hall series. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/15 "2018-12-21T12:43:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > \*\*Holes \*\*- A bit odd, but I stand firm that this is a really good book > > **Esperanza Rising** - realistic fiction. About a girl who is forced to move from Mexico to the US because of a death in the family. These are both incredible. Holes is modern. Esperanza Rising is set in the 1920s. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/16 "2018-12-21T22:42:47Z")
Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s _The Egypt Game_ is really good. It’s about a group of kids having a fantasy that they’re Egyptians in an abandoned storage yard, but the book itself isn’t fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/17 "2018-12-22T03:34:17Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Fiction is also fine, if there’s a particularly good updated mystery series. But she doesn’t want books about Olden Times. She wants Modern Times. Some clarification needed: what constitutes “olden times” to your niece? Also, what’s an “updated” mystery series? ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/18 "2018-12-22T05:07:40Z")
The [Dangerous Angels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangerous_Angels) series by Francesca LIa Block is kinda a hybrid of fantasy and real life. > [@](#): > > The books describe the lives of main character Weetzie Bat and her friends and family members in Los Angeles. The books include supernatural elements such as witches, genies, and ghosts and can be described as magical realism or mythpunk. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/19 "2018-12-24T02:34:43Z")
_Anne of Green Gables_ was a favorite. Andrew Clements’ books are very good, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/20 "2018-12-24T02:43:02Z")
My first recommendation was Sammy Keyes and I stand by it. It probably meets all your needs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457.md?page=2)