Books That Tell it Like it Is

Try these books if you're looking for:

• contemporary fiction
• authentic books
• honest books - tell the story like it is, without shying away from anything
• focus on characters and relationships

The Road 
By Cormac McCarthy
F MCCARTHY
A man and his son walk alone towards the coast, and this is the moving story of their journey. The Road is an unflinching exploration of human behavior-from ultimate destructiveness to extreme tenderness. The dialog is terse and terribly authentic. Although this novel is set in a post-apocalyptic America; the nature of the story, the relationship between father and son, and the powerful dialog all lead me to recommend this as “realistic fiction.”

Going Bovine 
By Libba Bray
YA F BRAY
Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen year-old who, after being diagnosed with Creutzfeld Jakob's (aka mad cow) disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.

Say What You Will 
By Cammie McGovern
YA F MCGOVERN
A girl confined to a wheelchair by cerebral palsy and a boy stymied by an obsessive-compulsive disorder are assigned to spend time together in what becomes a blossoming friendship that neither expected.