I was trying to figure out what sort of post I wanted to write, and at first I was like, hmmm, what if I did an ‘auto-buy’ or ‘auto-read’ list, but then realised that that would be the exact same thing as just talking about some of my top-of-the-top favourite contemporary authors. So, here we are.
These authors aren’t in any particular order, so don’t read into anything 😉

Kasie West
Kasie West is an absolute legend. She churns out books faster than just about any other YA author, and every one is like the soothing smell of something familiar, like picking up a piece of clothing that belongs to someone you know and love.
Her contemporaries are simple and cute! They’re tropey but tropey in the best ways. My favourite book of hers is ‘The Fill-In Boyfriend’, and while I have read ALL of her contemporary novels, this one tops my list because I absolutely love the trope of the ‘love-interest’ being a fake boyfriend. It warms my cold, cold heart! :’)

Sarah Dessen
I (sadly) haven’t read all of Sarah Dessen’s novels…yet, however every single one I have read, I cherish with all of my heart. She writes in the most atmospheric way, and although most people talk about world-building only in reference to fantasy or science-fiction, Sarah Dessen’s contemporaries will change the stubbornest of minds. Her writing washes over you like the calm of the ocean (what even are these analogies?) and just puts me in the happiest of mindsets even when I’m in the biggest and worst moods.

Laurie Boyle Crompton
Another author who I have actually read all of their works! She is a goddess, and her writing is so different. It’s so raw and honest, and all of her characters are struggling in one way or another. They bring your emotions to the edge and make you want to both cry your heart out and blush out of pure happiness.

Holly Smale
The Geek Girl series has a special little place in my heart. I don’t care how sad a book sets itself out to be, nothing trumps how sad I get when I know Harriet is sad in Geek Girl. I’ve sobbed more in this series than any other, but also laughed more. If you think this series is too juvenile for you, then think again. Or don’t, and I can keep Harriet all to myself.

Holly Bourne
I mentioned Holly Bourne in one of my first posts here on my blog! Holly Bourne’s writing is the kind of writing we need today. It helps young minds to feel empowered, to help give them a voice. Her writing and her characters remind me over and over again how important it is to fight for what is right, and how to be the best person I can be.

Riley Redgate
Riley Redgate is the absolute bomb. Not only is her writing and her books some of the best works of fiction on this planet (okay maybe this is just my opinion, but you try it and then tell me I’m wrong), but even seeing all of the books she is reading and loving on Goodreads inspires me as a reader and a person. She teaches me so many good lessons about how to be a good person, and how to view things from other people’s perspectives. When I read her books, I don’t check the page numbers to see how far in I am – I completely forget. Her plot-lines are completely original and I always find myself wanting to re-read her books over and over again.

Jenny McLachlan
I only ever rarely see Jenny McLachlan talked about, and that makes me so incredibly sad. I think a lot of her books tend to get viewed as being middle-grade, but they’re actually YA. All of her stories are cute, and there is literally nothing about them that should make you hesitate to pick them up. You get what I mean. Like when you want to start a book late at night, but even all the contemporaries you have with you are centrered round death and all you want is something light and fluffy. This is your author. Read her Ladybird series and it’ll put a spring in your step!

Miranda Kenneally
YES. Just YES. If I’m talking about inspiration I have to talk about ‘Breathe, Annie, Breathe’. It’s one of the later books in Kenneally’s Hundred Oaks Companion series (so you can read them in any order you’d like), and it will definitely inspire you to pursue what you’re passionate in, and those are the sorts of books I can get behind. Of course the rest of the Hundred Oaks Companion series is absolutely amazing too, and each follow the most cute and adorkable relationships!

Danielle Younge-Ullman
WHY HAS NO ONE READ ANYTHING BY YOUNGE-ULLMAN. I cannot recommend ‘Lola Carlyle’s 12-Step Romance’ and ‘Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined’ highly enough. Some of my favourite books fo ALL TIME. They will change your entire perspective of YA contemporaries, so please please please read them!

These are just my top-of-the-top fav contemporary authors. I didn’t include any that I have only read one novel of – these authors are consistently writing absolutely beautiful novels, and I felt like I needed to share them with you. Really I just wanted to shout their names from a rooftop in the city but figured that might cause a few issues! :////
Who are your top fav contemporary authors?