Contemporary Realistic Fiction: A Bibliographic Look at the Genre

Contemporary realistic fiction is one of the most popular genres of children's books. The stories convey experiences that are both familiar and unfamiliar to the reader, allowing them to use their voyeuristic inclinations to get different perspectives on the events that shape the world around them. From stories of family and friends to school and work, the individual or society, contemporary realistic fiction has the power to unite everyone, no matter what their circumstances are.

At the forefront of utilizing real life issues into books for young people is Judy Blume. Her 1970 book, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, stirred controversy for the main character, Margaret Simon's, observations about menstruation, breasts, and puberty. For perhaps the first time, these things were discussed in fiction by teenage characters in a frank, casual manner, not just in passing, but as the basis for the story. As Margaret turns twelve, she questions the world around her, including, in frequent talks with God, religion and her confusion as to what religion she should be. Although she does finally get her period by the end of the story, many of her questions, particularly about religion remain unanswered. This is what undoubtedly has appealed to readers in the forty years since its publication -the notion that one does not always have to have all the answers and that it is perfectly acceptable to question things.

Blume's Deenie, published in 1973 is another treasure. Thirteen year old Deenie Fenner's mother has pigeonholed her as "the beauty" and her sister as "the brain". When Deenie discovers that she has scoliosis and that she will have to be required to wear a back brace for the next several years, her mother, who wanted her to have a modeling career, is openly devastated. As she begins to adjust to the idea herself, she is able to grow beyond her mother's limited categorization of her and learns that her opinion of herself is what matters. In turn, her fears that she will be ridiculed for wearing the brace as quelled, for although people are curious and question her about it, for the most part, they do not pay attention to it. Deenie is wonderful because it appeals to everyone who has been worried about their peers' reactions and to anyone who has ever felt like they are more than what others think of them.

During the 1980s, series for young people, especially girls, became extremely popular. Two such series, The Baby-sitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins, tended to shy away from controversial issues and focus instead on friendships. Although these series typically last for over a hundred books, there is very little character development. Unlike Deenie, every character is happily pigeonholed into a particular role. Kristy's Great Idea, the first book in The Baby-Sitters Club, details Kristy Thomas' initial idea of the club and its formation. When she sees the trouble her mother has to go to in order to find a baby-sitter for her younger brother, Kristy's mind swings into action. She and longtime friends Mary Anne Spier and Claudia Kishi and new girl in town Stacey McGill decide to form a club that will help all the parents in their small town find baby-sitters. Together, they face many unusual sitting jobs, learn about running a business, and become closer friends. They also quickly establish themselves as the boss, the artist, the shy one, and the sophisticate. Perhaps the most notable standout event from Kristy's Great Idea are her initial reservations about her divorced mother dating again. Once she baby-sits for her future stepfather's children, she grows to accept her mother's new relationship. Although the series deals with issues like divorce, this is typically the deepest that they delve into them.

Sweet Valley Twins is another long running series for teens. Best Friends, the first volume in the series, introduces the reader to Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, twins who are the teen introduction to the virgin/whore dichotomy. Where Elizabeth is quiet and studious, Jessica is loud and more concerned with being popular. As identical twins, they are different sides of the same coin, roles that they, like their Baby-Sitters Club contemporaries, embody throughout the series. Best Friends deals with the twins starting junior high and beginning to embrace their differences. Elizabeth joins the school paper and Jessica joins the Unicorns, a club for popular girls. As they begin to start dressing differently for the first time in their lives, they are initially worried that they might be growing apart, but instead, they learn that embracing their differences and showing their personalities as individuals actually brings them closer together.

Beverly Cleary's Ramona Forever, as a book for younger readers, also shies away from controversial issues. Instead, it details the latest events in the life of ten year old Ramona Quimby. Ramona, the protagonist of a number of Cleary's books, begins to doubt her place in the family after her mother reveals that she is expecting a baby. The arrival of a new baby sister, Roberta, and the wedding of her aunt to her best friend's uncle make this a memorable book. Ramona Forever is wonderful at presenting issues that many young children worry about, such as whether they will be able to tackle new things at school like cursive writing, and allaying those fears.

The 1990s began a new period in contemporary fiction for books that contain more controversial issues. The Face on the Milk Carton, written in 1990 by Caroline Cooney, is about high school student Janie Johnson's discovery that she was kidnapped. Janie is horrified when, at school one day, she sees a picture of herself as a toddler on a milk carton. When she confronts her parents with this knowledge, they reveal that they always thought they were her grandparents, the child of their daughter who had left them to join a cult. They are all horrified to discover that their daughter kidnapped Janie and lied to them about her parentage. When the story ends, Janie has just phoned her biological mother, leaving the story on a cliffhanger that is thankfully resolved in the sequel.

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, published at the end of the decade, in 1999, takes an incredibly taboo subject, rape, and uses it to add a new perspective to the school story, one of the many subsets of contemporary realistic fiction. When Melinda Sordino is raped at an end of summer party, she calls the police. When they break up the party, she is shunned by her classmates who know nothing of her attack. Because of her increasing isolation and depression, she stays virtually silent throughout the school year. Although she rarely verbally speaks, her inner voice says volumes about high school, friendship, family life, and teachers both inadequate and inspirational. At the end of the year, when she is finally able to confront her attacker and loudly scream "no", it is a moving moment, signifying her courage and willingness to no longer let what he has done control her.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, published in 2000, is decidedly less taboo. Instead, it centers on Mia Thermopolis, an awkward, gawky high school student whose father reveals that he is the prince of his home country, Genovia, and that she is his heir. What follows are Mia's attempts to juggle high school, a common subject in young adult books, with learning to be a princess, a topic that is certainly more uncommon. After her secret is revealed, she quickly learns who her true friends are and who is just using her for publicity. What is most memorable about The Princess Diaries is that, despite her royal lineage, Mia never has to undergo any sort of makeover or transformation. She remains an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances, the very definition of wish fulfillment, a subject that is quite common in contemporary realistic fiction.

With 2005's Looking for Alaska, John Green inserts a male protagonist into the typically female centered young adult book world. Like The Princess Diaries and Speak, it is predominantly a school story. Centered on Miles "Pudge" Halter, the story is about his move to an Alabama boarding school, friendship with his roommate Chip "The Colonel" Martin, and feelings for Alaska Young, an enigmatic, troubled girl. References to and the partaking of drugs, alcohol, and sex flow just as casually as the pranks the three play on different people at the school. However, the bulk of the content takes place after Alaska's death, the result of a drunken car accident. Although Pudge and The Colonel never find out if her death was accidental or incidental, they do learn more about Alaska dead than they ever did when she was alive.

Another school story, Jennifer Brown's Hate List, deals frankly with school shootings, a subject that has affected most high school students in some form. When Valerie Leftman's boyfriend opened fire at their high school, killing several people, she was wounded while trying to save the life of a fellow student, one of her least favorite people. However, because she had helped Nick to compile the hate list, a list of people and things they both disliked, she is questioned about her involvement with the shooting. Although she had no foreknowledge of Nick's actions, she is cleared, but is still shunned, more than she already was, by her fellow students and her already shaky home life is ripped apart. Hate List wonderfully utilizes flashbacks to explain how someone like Nick could do the unthinkable and why her fellow students were so certain that Valerie was complicit in his plans. Valerie's inner voice is both painful and honest as she deals with bullying both before and after the shooting, residual feelings of hatred for those whose bullying caused Nick to do what she did, and guilt for the love she still feels for Nick, despite his actions. Although the ending is somewhat ambiguous, the story itself is incredibly powerful.

In conclusion, contemporary realistic fiction covers many different issues, characters, and stories, often with great honesty and humor. These books celebrate both the universal events that most people share and the rare experiences we wish were our own. Contemporary fiction proves that books are valuable for their beloved characters and situations and not just fantastical gimmicks.