Top Ten: YA Contemporary Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  

This week our list (brought to you by Randi!) is on the top ten Young Adult Contemporary authors. This is a genre I'm pretty new to, so I've read at least one book from each of these authors (and some of them only have one so far), but these are my fave authors of YA contemporary, so check 'em out. :) I'll post pics of one of their books with a little info about each author underneath. Lots of linkage to Goodreads (click on individual titles for that book's Goodreads page) as well as previous reviews on the blog, so feel free to get click-happy. 

Randi's Top Ten YA Contemporary Authors:
(in no particular order)

Han Nolan I read Pregnant Pause this summer and really liked it. A book about a pregnant teen that manages to be heartfelt and not didactic. I'm looking forward to reading some of her other books, especially Crazy and Born Blue, also YA contemps.

Lucy Christopher I absolutely loved Stolen: A Letter to My Captor, which Becky actually recommended I read! Thanks, Becky! ;) You know you've found a talented writer when her words make you empathize with both the narrator (victim) and her abductor. And the way she describes the Australian Outback really brings it to life almost as though the setting were another character. She's written another YA contemp called Flyaway, which I haven't read yet.

Jessica Park Loveloveloved Flat-Out Love, which was one of the first contemps I read. To be more precise, this is actually a New Adult book (not YA), but I'm gonna cheat and add it to the list anyway. ;) I have not read any of her other works.

Daisy Whitney I was surprised by the awesomeness of The Mockingbirds! (Aaand, you can read my review here.) I didn't think it would be nearly as meaningful as it turned out to be, and you can read my review here. I need to get to the sequel, The Rivals, ASAP! I'm happy to note that it looks like Ms. Whitney has two more books (unrelated to the Mockingbirds series) with expected publications in 2013! When You Were Here and Starry Nights, both YA contemps! STOKED!

Trish Doller I will read anything this woman writes. I was completely blown away by Something Like Normal. It was refreshing to read a contemp. from a male point of view and, my husband being a Marine, I was super excited to read about a young Marine. Lucky for all of us, Ms. Doller has another YA contemp. coming out in 2013! Bad news is, All That Was Lost doesn't come out until October 2013. lesigh. 

Trent Reedy Words in the Dust is such a powerful book! (See my review here.) Trent Reedy is also from my state (Iowa, represent!) and even emailed me back when I gushed about how much I loved his book! So much respect for this man who has served our country, is clearly a brilliant writer, fellow Iowan (though he's since relocated), and former English teacher. His second book was published the first of this month! So check out Stealing Air as well. Woot for books set in Iowa!
Huntley Fitzpatrick This woman. THIS WOMAN. Brilliant. My Life Next Door is one of my favorite books (you can read my review here). Ms. Fitzpatrick clearly knows how to write some awesome characters, both ones that you love and ones that you wanna shake. Her second book and another YA contemp., What I Thought Was True, is expecting a 2013 publication date!! Woooooot! Can't wait! 
John Green Okay, so on a list of best YA contemp. authors, this was kind of a no-brainer. However, I can't have this list without expressing my love for The Fault in Our Stars, another one of the books that made me fall hard-core for this genre and an all-time favorite book. (You can read my review from my recent reread here.) I really liked Looking for Alaska and didn't care for Will Grayson, Will Grayson, but still need to get to An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns, though Becky's reviews on those two are here and here. And here is our joint review of LfA, and Becky's review of TFioS (can you tell we love John Green around here?!) I also plan to get to Let it Snow, a collection including a story each (I believe) from Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle over my Christmas break, so there will be a review for that here in a few months. :)
Cath Crowley Graffiti Moon rocked my socks! (You may read my review here!) Crowley has a wonderful way with words; not only does she know how to write believable and likable teenage characters, but she is gifted with description. I look forward to reading more of her work, like her Gravie Faltrain series, which starts with The Life and Times of Gracie Faltrain, and A Little Wanting Song, both contemps. She also has a book called The Howling Boy slated for publication fall 2013, but I'm assuming that's Australian publication which means.... I have no idea when it would come to the States. :( Darn Australia, hoarding all those awesome authors! ;)
Morgan Matson Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is another favorite of mine! I still need to read Second Chance Summer, which is a real shame since it's been on my shelf for over two months. I'm terrible! Anyway, A&RED really shocked me by dealing with difficult issues without overwhelming the reader; some terrible things have happened to the characters, but the story gives you so much more than that. And, it's a road trip book which always means fun ahead! (A&RED review, my first ever on the blog! is here.)
So what genre did you choose for YOUR list? And who's on it? Link us up, we wanna know!