Spell the Month in Books: January 2021

Hi! I saw Spell the Month in Books on Julie @ One Book More‘s blog and I thought I’d join as it looks quite fun! This was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks!

I’m going to do this month’s Spell the Month as Young Adult Contemporary books I think!

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J – Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

I haven’t read this book for years, but I remember loving it when I did and apparently I gave it 5 stars!

Synopsis:

I’m Annabel. I’m the girl who has it all. Model looks, confidence. A great social life. I’m one of the lucky ones. Aren’t I?

My ‘best friend’ is spreading rumours about me. My family is slowly falling apart. It’s turning into a long, lonely summer, full of secrets and silence.

But I’ve met this guy who won’t let me hide away. He’s one of those intense types, obsessed with music. He’s determined to make me listen. And he’s determined to make me smile. But can he help me forget what happened the night everything changed?

A – Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennet

Honestly, one of my favourite YA Contemporary books. This is definitely one of my comfort reads!

Synopsis:

Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever-it-is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

N – Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

I know this is technically cheating but I really struggled with finding a YA Contemporary book beginning with N! I grew up reading Nancy Drew books and they are so good.

U – Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt

This book is perfect for fangirls! I loved it so much! And now want to read it again ahaha

Synopsis:

Lexi Angelo has grown up helping her dad with his events business. She likes to stay behind the scenes, planning and organizing…until author Aidan Green – messy haired and annoyingly arrogant – arrives unannounced at the first event of the year. Then Lexi’s life is thrown into disarray.

In a flurry of late-night conversations, mixed messages and butterflies, Lexi discovers that some things can’t be planned. Things like falling in love…

A – Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Such a good book, if you haven’t read this I truly recommend it. Another favourite contemporary book of mine that I could read all day, every day!

Synopsis:

Anna has everything figured out – she was about to start senior year with her best friend, she had a great weekend job, and her huge work crush looked as if it might finally be going somewhere… Until her dad decides to send her 4383 miles away to Paris. On her own.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna finds herself making new friends, including Etienne, the smart, beautiful boy from the floor above. But he’s taken – and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near-missed end with the French kiss she’s been waiting for?

R – Revived by Cat Patrick

I’m not quite sure if this counts as YA contemporary but it sounds very intriguing. Unfortunately, I haven’t read this one!

Synopsis:

It started with a bus crash.

Daisy Appleby was a little girl when it happened, and she barely remembers the accident or being brought back to life. At that moment, though, she became one of the first subjects in a covert government program that tests a drug called Revive.

Now fifteen, Daisy has died and been Revived five times. Each death means a new name, a new city, a new identity. The only constant in Daisy’s life is constant change.

Then Daisy meets Matt and Audrey McKean, charismatic siblings who quickly become her first real friends. But if she’s ever to have a normal life, Daisy must escape from an experiment that’s much larger–and more sinister–than she ever imagined.

Y – Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertelli

This has been on my TBR for a while but I don’t know when I’ll ever get to it!

Synopsis:

YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybeit’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

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I hope you enjoyed today’s post! I’m planning on making this into a monthly thing and hopefully do little themes each month! Have you read any of these books? Let me know if you can think of any for these letters too, especially for N!

Keep reading,

Georgia x