Young Adult Contemporary Romance: Why So Irresistible?

Book Country defined young adult contemporary fiction as teen category set in a contemporary, realistic settings. That is after World War II. In this post, I’ll focus on YA contemporary romance instead of realistic fictions. You know… the kind of books written by Stephanie Perkins, Kasie West, and Huntley Fitzpatrick? I’m not sure how it’s called so can we please make sure first that we’re on the same page?

Good ♥

Contemporary romance has the most cliche and predictable plot ever. It basically follows this order : Girl meets boy, girl likes boy, problems arise (typically a family issue, annoying school friends, nagging ex girlfriend, etc), problem solved, girl and boy gets together and be happy. Yadda yadda. Sooo cliche, not to mention super cheesy. BUT I’m a total sucker for this kind of crap!

I love contemporary so much. WHY is that??

Let’s start with the most obvious one.

BRIGHT, COLORFUL, AND UNDENIABLY GORGEOUS COVERS.

I mean… look at those covers above! Color me blind if you’re not even a little bit intrigued by the covers. They’re just so catchy and I’m always drawn to them, at least drawn enough to wanna know what the books are about. First the cover, and then the story itself. They also make the shelves look pretty, don’t they? 😉

IT’S BOUND TO BE CHEESY AND CLICHE.

You know how I complained about some overused book tropes like love triangle, insta love, and true love at 16 kind of thing? Well… that seems to only happen with fantasy books. I hate when romance takes away our focus from the main issues. With contemporary romance, I know what I’m getting into. I know there’s gonna be a whole lot of cheesy romance and I know the main character most likely will be pining over the guy the whole book. And that’s okay, because it’s what this is about.

Sure I’m still totally against insta love and too much cheesiness is nauseating, but still.

HIGHLY RELATABLE MAIN CHARACTERS.

No, I’m not talking about getting your happily ever after in high school. That doesn’t happen often. I’m talking about the school activities, the friendship, the feels of being in love, and the struggle to simply be a teenager. I always find a little bit of myself in most characters. I relate so much to Isla’s insecurities, Lily’s passion and confidence crisis with songwriting (mine is just writing but same difference), Taylor’s ambition to be on top of her class, to name a few. I mean, isn’t it nice to find a little bit of yourself on characters you root for? 😀

ADORABLE ROMANCES.

Let’s just agree on this one. I KNOW they’re cheesy but also adorable, am I right!!? I almost always blush and giggle on my own every time I read an adorable romantic scene. How can I not? I know I’m not going to stroll around Paris at night like Anna and Etienne, or swapping notes on chemistry class like Lily and Cade, or even go around figuring out what to do after high school in a cute way Xander and Caymen did, but a girl can always dream her happily ever after (sigh deeply. and hopefully.)

SWOON-WORTHY GUYS.

Okay, I have to admit that this is one of the main reasons I read contemporary AT ALL, so I can go around and fan girl over a FICTIONAL character. Despite all their flaws, authors almost always manage to make the main guy seems ridiculously perfect! I mean… Joshua Wasserstein? Jase Garret? Etienne St. Clair???

I know they’re not real because most of my friends back in high school are either jerks, nerd, or silly. BUT STILL.

JUICY, JUICY DRAMA.

Contemporary is always so full of drama! Generally, there are school dramas, where there are mean girls and jerks giving our hero/heroines a hard time, family drama (which is kind of my favorite), and naturally, lovers’ quarrel. I hate drama queen, but hey, I love drama when it’s unrelated to me 😛

A FEW HOURS OF LAUGHING AND GOOD TIME.

Contemporary is always so page turning and quick. I mostly finish them in one sitting and it’s almost always fun! I think, all in all, the sole reason why I’m reading contemporary YA is to have a good time. To laugh, to smile, to giggle and blush on my own. I didn’t start reading a contemporary expecting some plot twist or anything. And it’s generally satisfying.

Also, they’re short so it’s nothing to lose even if you don’t like it. Except it’s not, because you’ve paid for the book… but still 😉

I actually have mentioned their names on the first paragraph, but this time I’ll explain. Hehe.

You probably already know by now that my favorite, auto buy author is Kasie West ♥ I just adore her writing SO MUCH and her ability to spin a cliche and ordinary story into an adorable one. She also writes some wonderful side issues and characters and I love her for that. My current favorite is definitely P.S. I Like You.

Stephanie Perkins is also pretty high on my list of favorite author. I’m completely in love with her Anna and the French Kiss trilogy, especially Isla and I can’t wait to read more of her writings!

I alsooo really like Huntley Fitzpatrick‘s writing because she writes some amazing combination of love and family drama! I still have The Boy Most Likely To on my TBR and I’m hoping to get around it soon ♥

Alrightttt so those are the reasons why I love YA contemporary romance SO MUCH! I’m definitely addicted and I’m okay with that. What about you? Do you love this genre as much as I do? If yes, YAY, and if no, WHY? Either way, drop some comments and share your thoughts with me. Also, I always NEED more book recommendations so if you happen to know some that you think are GOOD, tell me tell me ♥♥♥

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