# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**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 29, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/41 "2018-12-29T01:14:57Z")
I don’t know if _Wonder_ by R. J. Palacio or _Out of My Mind_ by Sharon Draper were mentioned. Two terrific books in which the main character has special needs. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/42 "2018-12-29T01:46:17Z")
Absolutely loved “Code Name: Verity” – a trifle intense, but an interesting view of WWII from a teenaged girl. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/43 "2018-12-29T02:09:32Z")
[An Absolutely Remarkable Thing](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24233708-an-absolutely-remarkable-thing) is sort of sci fi-ish but the setting is contemporary. There is no space travel. It is really a commentary on social media. Written by the brother of the writer of a book already recommended, The Fault in our Stars. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/44 "2018-12-30T13:17:10Z")
If 1980 isn’t too old-school, and a boy protagonist is okay, check out Kevin Major’s books “Far From Shore” and “Hold Fast”. Typical teen themes, frankly told, in a location that might be just exotic enough (Newfoundland, Canada) but not too exotic. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/45 "2018-12-30T22:21:49Z")
I should have mentioned a few more books I have read recently and enjoyed (which my children read in middle school and then passed on to me): The Breadwinner Series - compelling story, very timely and relevant - [Amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Breadwinner-Trilogy-Deborah-Ellis/dp/0888999593) The Testing (dystopian future, if that is not too close to fantasy. If she likes this genre, I recommend the Hunger Games and The Giver.) Braced ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/46 "2019-01-02T23:50:13Z")
There’s a series whose first book is “Tomorrow, when the war began”. The premise is that a group of teenagers in a smallish town in Australia go camping, and on their return home they find that the town is being invaded by a military force. Not aliens, nothing truly science-fictiony, beyond the fact that it hasn’t actually happened. They manage to help delay / impede the invasion. I haven’t read the books but the first one was made into a movie, which I watched. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/47 "2019-01-03T17:52:54Z")
My tween daughter (who reads… a LOT) recommends the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter. It’s a long series, and they’re still releasing new ones. If your tween desires something a bit more adult (high school setting) maybe check out Colleen Hoover’s books. A lot of the books I loved as a tween have not gone over well with my daughter. She pretty much only likes things that have been published in her lifetime. The kids in a story had better know how to text. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/48 "2019-01-03T17:54:23Z")
_Ender’s Game_ ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/49 "2019-01-03T20:05:46Z")
I would recommend the [Alice McKinley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. My niece started it in her teens and continued with it well into adulthoold. It starts with the title character starting sixth grade in a new town, her mother having passed away when she was five, living with her father and older brother, looking for a female role model. The series continues on through middle and high school with the usual trials and tribs; the last books goes on through college and beyond. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457/50 "2019-01-03T20:15:34Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > I don’t know if _Wonder_ by R. J. Palacio or _Out of My Mind_ by Sharon Draper were mentioned. > Two terrific books in which the main character has special needs. I gave \*\*Wonder \*\*to my 10 year old nephew for Christmas. I haven’t heard a report back. There’s **Love, Simon** about a teenaged boy who is outed as gay while in high school and his having to deal with it. There’s also **Before I Fall** , about a teenaged girl who dies but has to keep reliving the last day of her life until she get her life right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-me-some-ya-fic-thats-not-fantasy-related-please/826457.md?page=2)