Honestly, I wasn’t too sure about doing this T5W because I’m a complete YA fantasy nerd and YA sci-fi geek. I usually don’t read much outside of those genres, because books outside of those genres don’t exactly attract me. Occasionally, I’ll read a contemporary, but that’s only when there’s a lot of good hype around it, on the contrary of when I go out searching for every fantasy YA there is.
If I’m not reading a YA fantasy or a sci-fi, then I’ll probably be reading a contemporary, but since I’ve only read a couple handfuls of contemporary, I consider that to be unusual too. It’s just that fantasy & sci-fi, being more packed with action, thrill, and mystery call to me more than any kind of romance or semi-realistic story. It’s always nice to read a light, binge read, but I still seem to prefer things where people die more.
I will be linking up to Top Five Wednesday for this post, because it’s Wednesday, and this is a top five post. Top Five Wednesday is an original meme that has been created by Lainey over from Gingerreadslainey and is now hosted by by Sam at Thoughts on Tomes which is actually a pretty cool booktube name. THE TOME. THE TOME GNOME GNOME.
You just have to write a post that follows the prompt and you list five answers of your choice. Five or six or eight or four. Something close to five. Presumably five. Then you make sure that you put the link for Sam and Lainey in your post and then explore/comment feverishly on ever other Top Five Wednesday you can find.
1. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
A Game of Thrones is Adult Epic Fantasy
I guess this would have always been first on the list. GoT was an all-around amazing book, excepting for the fact that it was huge and very daunting. I don’t usually ever read adult fantasy, but the whole storyline following the claims for the throne and the new government that had overthrown the Targaryens was very captivating and entertaining. It was enough to make me overlook all of the explicit romance and expletives.
2. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is YA Contemp./LGBT
I’m going to consider this a LGBT book because I already have another contemporary book on the list and I’m trying not to reuse genres (insert upside down smiley face emoji). Honestly, though, I was shocked by how good this book was just for a debut! It was hilarious and light and normal, and it was definitely a very cute story (mind you, I don’t identify many things/people as ‘cute’ at all).
3. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Duology by Jenny Han
The To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Duology is YA Contemp./romance


I consider these books to be more of a romance than a contemporary, but nevertheless I loved it. I did read Twilight a good while book, and while the first book was enjoyable, the following three were perhaps the worst books I’ve ever read. Ever. So it was kind of hard to go back and read another book that was so clearly about romance based on the title and the cover and the overview. However, these two books blew my expectations and had me rushing through all sorts of emotions. They were brilliant. My admirations to Jenny Han.
4. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Westing Game is YA mystery
Oh, wow. I read the Westing Game a couple years ago at the same time my sister (haha not really) Neha did. I think this is the one thing we both agree on: The Westing Game was super thrilling. There was so many twists, and there were so many layers to the plot that the book got me really thinking about everything. In the end, it completely surprised me with very unique logic and clever conclusion. I definitely consider it to be one of the greatest books I’ve ever read.
5. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Made You Up is YA contemp./mental illness
I don’t read many books about mental illness because I find them generally hard to relate to and understand. When there are elements in a book that I can relate to, it makes the book more understandable and enjoyable. So I was surprised when I ended up liking Made You Up. Honestly, the only reason I read it was because Cait loved it, and since she is the ultimate book devourer, I trust her opinion. I went into Made You Up with a lot of doubts, but I read through it so fast that I had to admit I enjoyed it. It was light, and fresh, and filled with very secondary romance, and real thrill.
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