What is Contemporary Fiction?
Mysteries and Thrillers
This subgenre includes the detective story and novels of crime, suspense, and espionage. It includes the thriller and the Gothic novel, with its connections to the ghost stoy and horror.
Animal
Stories
Animal stories are literary works in which animals and their relationships to humans are important and realistic.
Realism
A realistic story is based on the possible, though not necessarily possible; can be contemporary or historical fiction.
Activities For Teachers:
Have students complete a RAFT activity. See here for details...
Title:
Looking for Alaska
Author:
John Green
Sub-Genre:
Mystery/ Realism
A little bit about the book:
Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review- The Alaska of the title is a maddening, fascinating, vivid girl seen through the eyes of Pudge (Miles only to his parents), who meets Alaska at boarding school in Alabama. Pudge is a skinny ("irony" says his roommate, the Colonel, of the nickname) thoughtful kid who collects and memorizes famous people's last words. The Colonel, Takumi, Alaska and a Romanian girl named Lara are an utterly real gaggle of young persons, full of false starts, school pranks, moments of genuine exhilaration in learning and rather too many cigarettes and cheap bottles of wine. Their engine and center is Alaska, given to moodiness and crying jags but also full of spirit and energy, owner of a roomful of books she says she's going to spend her life reading. Her center is a woeful family tragedy, and when Alaska herself is lost, her friends find their own ways out of the labyrinth, in part by pulling a last, hilarious school prank in her name. What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green's mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge's voice. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in Alaska's vanilla-and-cigarettes scent. (March 1, 2005)
Looking for Alaska Book Trailer
Title:
Paper Towns
Author:
John Green
Sub-Genre:
Mystery/ Realism
A little bit about the book:
Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review- Printz Medal Winner and Honoree Green knows what he does best and delivers once again with this satisfying, crowd-pleasing look at a complex, smart boy and the way he loves. Quentin (Q) has loved Margo Roth Spiegelman since they were kids riding their bikes, but after they discovered the body of a local suicide they never really spoke again. Now it's senior year; Margo is a legend and Q isn't even a band geek (although quirky best friends Ben and Radar are). Then Margo takes Q on a midnight adventure and disappears, leaving convoluted clues for Q. The clues lead to Margo's physical location but also allow Q to see her as a person and not an ideal. Genuine and genuinely funny dialogue, a satisfyingly tangled but not unbelievable mystery and delightful secondary characters (Radar's parents collect black Santas) we've trod this territory before, but who cares when it's this enjoyable? Lighter than Looking for Alaska (2005), deeper than An Abundance of Katherines (2006) and reminiscent of Gregory Galloway's As Simple as Snow (2005) a winning combination. (September 1, 2008)
Activities For Teachers:
Have students research the concept of paper towns. See if they can locate one (or more) in the area where they live. Have them find out its real story and then write a fictionalized version involving members of your school or town. See here for more activities...
Paper Towns Book and Movie Trailer
Title:
Because of Winn Dixie
Author:
Kate DiCamillo
Sub-Genre:
Animal Stories/ Realism
A little bit about the book:
The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review- A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too. A real gem. (May 20, 2010)
Activities For Teachers:
Gathering Information: Animal Facts- Ask students to choose a specific animal they would like to have as a pet. Encourage students to be specific in their choice. Instead of choosing “birds,” they should choose a parrot or gold finch; instead of “dogs,” a dachshund or beagle. Encourage students to use the library and the Internet to find out ten things about their animal, then present their findings to the class. Read more...
Because of Winn-Dixie Book and Movie Trailer
Activities For Teachers:
Vivid Imagination- The author uses vivid imagery and descriptions in giving life to Terabithia. Supply your class with art materials and spread them around the room so they cannot see anyone else’s work. Read a passage out loud to the class. As you read have students paint/draw the images that are brought to mind. After reading is done, have the class compare what they have created? How do words bring unique images to the student’s imagination? See more...
Title:
Bridge to Terabitha
Author:
Katherine Paterson
Sub-Genre:
Realism
A little bit about the book:
Jess Aarons is an eleven-year-old boy living in a rural area of the South who loves to run. He dreams of being the fastest boy in the fifth grade when school starts up in the fall, feeling that this will for once give him a chance to stand in the spotlight among his five sisters, and might win him the attention of his preoccupied father. Jess is quite insecure in his identity. He loves to paint and draw, but he knows very well that this labels him a "sissy" in the eyes of most of the world, particularly his father. In addition, his family is stretched so tight by poverty that he has little chance to really explore his own identity during this crucial period of adolescence. He has therefore built up the importance of winning in his mind, feeling that here, at least, is something that he is good at which won't win him an undesired label of "sissy" or "girl" in the eyes of his father or schoolmates, and which will allow him to shine in his own right. Read more...
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly- Paterson's Newbery-winning novel becomes an entertaining and dramatic audiobook via Leonard's accomplished reading. Jess Aarons is eager to start fifth grade. He's been practicing his sprints all summer, determined to become the fastest runner at school. All seems to be on track, until the new girl in class (who also happens to be Jess's new next-door neighbor), Leslie Burke, leaves all the boys in the dust, including Jess. After this rather frustrating introduction, Jess and Leslie soon become inseparable. Together, they create an imaginary, secret kingdom in the woods called Terabithia that can be reached only by swinging across a creek bed on a rope. But one morning a tragic accident befalls Leslie as she ventures alone to Terabithia, and Jess's life is changed forever. Leonard deftly interprets the strands of humor, realism and heart-wrenching emotion woven into Paterson's fine tale. His careful and authentic handling of Jess's anger and grief in the aftermath of the accident is sure to touch listeners. Contemporary instrumental interludes featuring guitar, piano and drums signal the beginning and end of each tape side. (Jan.)
Bridge to Terabithia Book and Movie Trailer
Activities For Teachers:
Celebrations- Hazel’s mother finds creative ways to celebrate minor holidays. As a class, brainstorm “minor” holidays and create a chart of ways to celebrate. Use pictures and text to explain how you would celebrate. Incorporate at least three celebrations into your classroom community. See more...
Title:
The Fault in Our Stars
Author:
John Green
Sub-Genre:
Realism
A little bit about the book:
Seventeen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster reluctantly attends a cancer patients' support group at her mother’s behest. Because of her cancer, she uses a portable oxygen tank to breathe properly. In one of the meetings she catches the eye of a teenage boy, and through the course of the meeting she learns the boy’s name is Augustus Waters. He's there to support their mutual friend, Isaac. Isaac had a tumor in one eye that he had removed, and now he has to have his other eye taken out as well. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review- He’s in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She’s fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited. Sparks fly when Hazel Grace Lancaster spies Augustus “Gus” Waters checking her out across the room in a group-therapy session for teens living with cancer. He’s a gorgeous, confident, intelligent amputee who always loses video games because he tries to save everyone. She’s smart, snarky and 16; she goes to community college and jokingly calls Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, her only friend besides her parents. He asks her over, and they swap novels. He agrees to read the Van Houten and she agrees to read his—based on his favorite bloodbath-filled video game. The two become connected at the hip, and what follows is a smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance. From their trip to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive Van Houten to their hilariously flirty repartee, readers will swoon on nearly every page. Green’s signature style shines: His carefully structured dialogue and razor-sharp characters brim with genuine intellect, humor and desire. He takes on Big Questions that might feel heavy-handed in the words of any other author: What do oblivion and living mean? Then he deftly parries them with humor: “My nostalgia is so extreme that I am capable of missing a swing my butt never actually touched.” Dog-earing of pages will no doubt ensue. Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey. (Jan. 10, 2012)
The Fault in Our Stars Book and Movie Trailer
Activities For Teachers:
Cliques- Have students describe different stereotypical cliques. Have them find ways that for the cliques to fit everyone in so that no one feels left out or less important.
Title:
The D.U.F.F. (The Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
Author:
Kody Keplinger
Sub-Genre:
Realism
A little bit about the book:
Bianca Piper is a smart girl with personality, cynical and funny, seeing herself presumably the way others view her: as the odd one out, less beautiful than her friends. She hangs out with her best friends, often at a trendy dance club where she talks with the bartender, watching the clock and drinking Cokes while her friends dance. It's rarely a problem for her to find herself the center of attention for anyone looking for a date, and she's usually in a hurry to get Jessica and Casey to leave. But once in a blue moon, some unlucky fellow will saunter over and discover, unhappily, that Bianca is anything but truly available. Then one night, that guy turns out to be Wesley Rush, a gorgeous young man from school, and Bianca finds out she's "the DUFF": the Designated Ugly Fat Friend --- because Wesley tells her so. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review- Downing Cherry Cokes and watching her two best friends hoof it out on the dance floor of the local teen club doesn’t make 17-year-old Bianca Piper feel good about herself. Especially when high-school man-slut Wesley Rush tells her she's the Duff, her friends’ "designated ugly fat friend," and tries to cozy up to her in order to get into her friends’ pants. Later on, somehow, someway, Bianca finds herself drawn to Wesley, and before she knows it, they’ve created a complex, enemies-with-benefits relationship that the YA market has never seen before. Their encounters are heatedly frank and full of humor, anger and rage, and soon the two learn they have more in common than they could ever have expected. Keplinger scores a first for a genre in which vampires and dystopian futures rule. Her snarky teen speak, true-to-life characterizations and rollicking sense of humor never cease in her debut. Teen readers will see both themselves and their friends in Bianca’s layered, hostile world. (Aug. 17, 2010)
The DUFF Movie Trailer and Book Review
Title:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Author:
John Green
Sub-Genre:
Realism
A little bit about the book:
Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Read more...
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly- A trite coming-of-age novel that could easily appeal to a YA readership, filmmaker Chbosky's debut broadcasts its intentions with the publisher's announcement that ads will run on MTV. Charlie, the wallflower of the title, goes through a veritable bath of bathos in his 10th grade year, 1991. The novel is formatted as a series of letters to an unnamed ""friend,"" the first of which reveals the suicide of Charlie's pal Michael. Charlie's response--valid enough--is to cry. The crying soon gets out of hand, though--in subsequent letters, his father, his aunt, his sister and his sister's boyfriend all become lachrymose. Charlie has the usual dire adolescent problems--sex, drugs, the thuggish football team--and they perplex him in the usual teen TV ways. He hangs out with a group of seniors, among whom are Patrick and Samantha. Patrick is gay, and Charlie learns about gay. Sam is pretty, and Charlie learns about heartbreak. Sam is, alas, going out with Craig. Charlie goes out with the uppity Mary Elizabeth. Patrick goes with Brad but breaks up with him when Brad's father discovers their relationship. Into these standard teenage issues Chbosky infuses a droning insistence on Charlie's supersensitive disposition. Charlie's English teacher and others have a disconcerting tendency to rhapsodize over Charlie's giftedness, which seems to consist of Charlie's unquestioning assimilation of the teacher's taste in books. In the end we learn the root of Charlie's psychological problems, and we confront, with him, the coming rigors of 11th grade, ever hopeful that he'll find a suitable girlfriend and increase his vocabulary. (Feb.)
Activities For Teachers:
Scene Rewrite- The book is presented from the view point of Charlie, although many other characters surround him. Have students choose a pivotal scene that stands out to them, and rewrite it from the perspective of another character present. Although the actions should remain the same, they may bring up new details and descriptions that Charlie may have excluded. These additions can include the character's opinion of Charlie and how he or she reacts in social situations. See more about the activity here... (page 18)
Perks of Being a Wallflower Book and Movie Trailer
Scorpions Book Trailer
Activities For Teachers:
A Diary- At home, Jamal and Sassy often fight—who does which chores, who is going to tell Mama something, who is the smartest, etc. In each of these scenes, you read about these arguments from Jamal’s point of view, identifying his feelings of frustration with his annoying little sister. One way that people express their feelings is to write in a journal or diary. Assume the role of Sassy in one of these scenes, and write a diary entry about her discussions with her big brother, Jamal.. See here for more activities...
Title:
Scorpions
Author:
Walter Dean Myers
Sub-Genre:
Realistic
A little bit about the book:
The Scorpions are a gun-toting Harlem gang, and Jamal Hicks is about to become tragically involved with them in this authentic tale of the sacrifice of innocence in the inner city. Pushed by the bully, Dwayne, to fight, and nagged by the principal, Mr. Davidson, Jamal is having a difficult time staying in school. His home life is not much better, with his mother working her fingers to the bone to try to earn the money for an appeal for Jamal's older brother, Randy, who is in jail. The leader of the Scorpions, Randy wants Jamal to take his place until he is free, but the other gang members, especially Angel and Indian, don't like the idea. Only Mack thinks Jamal should be the leader, and it is Mack who gets Jamal a gun. Read more...
Reviews:
A Kirkus Review- Teen-age readers will be familiar with harsh events like these from headlines and TV reports; Myers brings a comples understanding to dealing with them. Jamal Hicks, 12, lives with his mother and younger sister in Harlem. His older brother Randy is in prison for holding up a deli; though his guilt seems certain, his family is obsessed with finding money for his appeal. Approached to take Randy's place as head of his gang, the Scorpions, Jamal resists--he knows the danger. But his deteriorating school career, his need for the appeal money, and his fascination with the gun that Randy's friend Mack gives him work together to change his mind. When his bid for power puts him in conflict with tougher gang members, the result is a confrontation that involves his gentle friend Tito in a murder. Myers uses street rhythms and language to tell his story in a tough, honest fashion, making clear that such tragic events have many causes, in both society and individuals. A painful story with a conclusion that offers escape as an answer--but not as a solution. (May 15th, 1988)
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-dean-myers/scorpions-2/
