# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/21 "2018-12-24T02:46:50Z")
I’m not sure when a kid is ready for [Thirteen Reasons](http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/thirteenreasonswhy.html) by Jay Asher. But you can’t get more “real” than a girl leaving a recording, detailing what her friends could’ve done that might have kept her from committing suicide. And it’s very cleverly presented (the girl leaves a Walkman with cassette tapes and a map). The message is a strong “Care for everyone, not just your own clique”. A powerful message that tweens need. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/22 "2018-12-24T02:56:19Z")
If she’s into science fiction rather than fantasy, you could try [Orbital Resonance by John Barnes.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Resonance_(novel)) > [@](#): > > Teenager Melpomene Murray’s life aboard “The Flying Dutchman,” an asteroid colony, consists primarily of school, friends, parental difficulties, and dreaded lessons on the condition of Earth–a troubled planet with which she feels little connection. When an Earthborn student joins her class, Melpomene begins to question her own upbringing and realizes that all is not as it seems. Barnes’s latest novel succeeds in visualizing the reality of life in space. His choice of narrator lends a welcome freshness to this standard sf theme. A good selection for most sf and YA collections. This also leads into a lot of Barnes’ more adult works, so she has something to build towards. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/23 "2018-12-24T03:20:41Z")
I’d recommend S.E. Hinton: _The Outsiders, That was Then, This is Now_, and _Tex_. If she likes science fiction, I would suggest reading Andre Norton and Heinlein’s juveniles. I know you said she doesn’t like fantasy, but I would say she might like Kenneth Grahame’s _The Wind in the Willows_ or Peter S. Beagle’s _The Last Unicorn_. If you’re thinking of giving _The Dubliners_, I would recommend these works by Steinbeck: _Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat_, and _Cannery Row_. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett\_s\_Bazongas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@Scarlett\_s\_Bazongas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett_s_Bazongas)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/24 "2018-12-24T04:36:50Z")
_Sighs_ For some reason I can’t multi-quote. Judy Blume has been mentioned as being ‘well regarded.’ If by ‘well regarded’ you mean one of the most challenged and banned authors in the United States, then sure she’s well regarded. Especially in this age of whiny crybaby PC crowd finding something to get OUTRAGED about in EVERY GODDAMN THING. I mean, **Then Again, Maybe I Won’t** has the main character becoming a peeping tom with zero negative repercussions. **Blubber** has FAT SHAMING RIGHT IN THE TITLE!!! for god’s sake, not to mention the teasing/picking on and bullying of said fattie as the main plotline of the book. **Deenie** has explicit scenes of the main character abusing their body in the most vile way. But hey, who gives a fuck about my views, right? I would recommend Matt Christopher’s “Tripod Trilogy,” **The White Mountains, The City of Gold And Lead, The Pool of Fire** but since the only female character has zero personality and does nothing heroic, todays PC crowd loathes it. But your mileage may be much different!!!🙂 Someone else mentioned Ellen Raskin’s **The Westing Game** , which is…actually a goo…oh wait it has that stereotypical asian character. Oh well, maybe you can cut those parts out of the book. Raskin has another good book **The Tattooed Potato And Other Clues** about an eccentric painter who moonlights, sort of, as the World’s Greatest Detective. Let’s see…oh yeah, E. L. Konigsburg’s **From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler** is fabulo…oh wait the main plot point is kids running away from home and WE CAN’T HAVE THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE, CAN WE!!! And the idea of the kids hiding out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art without getting caught is ludicrous, even back then. Wait, I’ve got it. George Seldon’s **The Cricket in Times Square**. It has a rat and a kitteh and duh, a cricket. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/25 "2018-12-24T04:51:22Z")
The [Henry Reed books](https://www.amazon.com/Henry-Reed-Inc-Puffin-books/dp/0140341447) are from the 60’s but not terribly dated. They have some funny moments and have a boy and girl as the two major characters. Henry Reed Inc., Babysitting Service and Journey are the best ones. More recent would be the YA fiction from Carl Hiaasen. [Hoot](https://www.amazon.com/Hoot-Carl-Hiaasen/dp/0440419395/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1545626601&sr=1-11&keywords=carl+hiaasen+books) is the only one I’ve read but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There are several others such as Squirm, Flush, Scat and Chomp that are probably be worth checking out. (I would give you a word of warning - if you aren’t aware, Hiaasen’s other novels are private eye/thriller novels that are definitely not for kids.) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/26 "2018-12-24T05:22:19Z")
Books my 15 y.o. daughter and I both read and enjoyed this year- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Serious subject matter, very compelling. Recently released as movie. Scythe and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. 3rd book of trilogy due out next year. She’s also very much into John Green’s books and loved the graphic novel Persepolis which was a school assignment. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/27 "2018-12-24T05:23:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Middle-school English teacher here: > … > > \*\*Holes \*\*- A bit odd, but I stand firm that this is a really good book > … Yes, Holes. My Side of the Mountain. The John Bellairs books are kinda fantasy, and a little horror. But realistic too. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/28 "2018-12-24T20:35:12Z")
Has she read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli? Belly Up is good, but I can’t recall the author. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/29 "2018-12-24T20:48:57Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > Belly Up is good, but I can’t recall the author. Stuart Gibbs? ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/30 "2018-12-24T20:54:19Z")
Jacob Have I Loved Where The Lilies Bloom Homecoming and the rest of the series Out of the Dust - dust bowl era the Dear America / My America books - some are historical, some are more modern I cut my teeth on classic historical fiction, but I still loved the Sweet Valley High series at that age, too. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/31 "2018-12-25T05:12:43Z")
Some non-fantasy books I enjoyed at that age - The Jungle Books by Kipling, Microbe Hunters, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries, Little Women (and the sequels Little Men and Jo’s Boys), A Child’s History of the World, A Child’s Geography of the World, Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. I enjoyed a lot of “children’s” classics like Heidi, The Secret Garden, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, Treasure Island, Swiss Family Robinson, Tales of Robin Hood, various versions of the King Arthur legends, etc. Edited to add: White Fang and Call of the Wild, as well as Black Beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/32 "2018-12-26T00:20:18Z")
The Prince and The Art Of War ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/33 "2018-12-26T00:22:46Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 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. The View from Saturday, also by Konigsburg, is good, too. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/34 "2018-12-26T00:23:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Stuart Gibbs? Yes, thanks, and he has some others, too. ---
**Author:** ![uncle\_squeegee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b5e925/32.png) [@uncle\_squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncle_squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/35 "2018-12-26T16:58:39Z")
[Six Feet Over It](https://www.amazon.com/Six-Feet-Over-Jennifer-Longo/dp/0449818748) by Jennifer Longo [I Wanna be Your Joey Ramone](https://www.amazon.com/Wanna-Be-Your-Joey-Ramone/dp/1416562699/) and [Ballads of Suburbia](https://www.amazon.com/Ballads-Suburbia-Stephanie-Kuehnert/dp/1439102821/) by Stephanie Keuhnert I’ve read the first (it’s quite good) but not the last two; that author is an acquaintance and I’ve talked to her about the books, and I plan to read them. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/36 "2018-12-26T17:01:39Z")
I really liked the **Spellman Files** series by Lisa Lutz. The protagonist is Izzy Spellman, the oldest daughter in a family (father, mother, one son, two daughters) of private detectives. They’re pretty dysfunctional in that they don’t know how to talk directly to one another about their problems; they investigate each other. There are mysteries, car chases, break-ins, arrests, all sorts of fun. There are some depictions of drugs and sex (nothing graphic, more like “waking up after a one-night-stand” scenes), but nothing in the fantasy realm. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/37 "2018-12-27T07:08:19Z")
Merneith: By Olden Times does she mean Medieval or just anytime before the 21st and the late 20th Centuries? If she’s open to 19th Century literature, then I recommend Louisa May Alcott’s _Little Women_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/38 "2018-12-27T10:01:47Z")
A book I really enjoyed at that age was **Addie Pray** by Joe David Brown. The movie **Paper Moo** n was based on it (and the book is likely called that now instead of by its original title). It’s about a con man in the Depression-era south, and his daughter, who narrates. It’s different from the similarly-themed **Flim Flam Man** in that the victims don’t seem to deserve getting fleeced, but this is the family young Addie has. Two more about growing up in unconventional families: **Five Finger Discount** By Helene Stapinski (Girl grows up in Jersey City, where Manhattan is both in plain view and unattainable, and everything she eats, wears, or sits or sleeps on apparently “fell off a truck”) and **A Radical Line** by Thai Jones (100 years in the life of a family of war resisters, Communists, and Weathermen; the author’s earliest memory is of the FBI breaking down the apartment door and arresting his parents). Both of these are nonfiction. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/39 "2018-12-28T15:34:16Z")
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/40 "2018-12-28T18:24:16Z")
Author [Laura Nowlin](https://www.amazon.com/Laura-Nowlin/e/B00B29Q3TA%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share) has written two books so far: **If He Had Been With Me** and **This Song Is (Not) For You**. I’ve read the first one and enjoyed it (it’s recommended for grades 9 - 12). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457.md?page=3)