Reel Reading: Realistic Fiction

Do you enjoy a good binge-fest over books, tv series, or films? Join us to talk about all things binge-worthy in our new Reel Reading club for Teens. Come join us on Zoom on September 27 at 7 p.m. for a discussion on realistic fiction.

Reel Reading is a teen-specific book, film and TV club meeting virtually on the fourth Monday each month at 7 p.m. via Zoom. This club is for ages 13-18 and each month will have a genre or theme to explore. Register for our next session here.

Teen Street Team member Kaaviya is our guest blogger for this month and talks about realistic fiction books.

I’ve always loved being transported to new worlds every time I read a book, but I often find the real magic in life lies in the small things we can experience. Realistic fiction takes the beauty of life and puts it into words that we can still delve into for hours, and being able to understand the context behind characters’ actions makes the experience so much more real. Realistic fiction explores the possibilities and nuances in a life we already live, making books of this genre the most interesting yet relatable ones to read.

A classic read for realistic fiction is The Fault in Our Stars. Widely popular to the point of being adapted into a movie, this book explores the complicated feelings behind young love and reckoning with the concept of death. The book focuses on two teens with cancer who meet each other and go on adventures, even heading across the world, but soon find themselves in an unexpected, devastating situation. While I don’t want to spoil the story and the emotions it brings with it, I highly encourage you to read it as a starter into realistic fiction. 

A unique aspect of realistic fiction is that you can often find yourself represented in any way, whether it be your personality or ethnic background. As a young Asian-American girl in the USA, there aren’t a lot of books that specifically represent me, but I find pieces of myself scattered throughout realistic fiction. This genre allows everyone the possibility of seeing themselves in a world they can imagine, and is often the part that makes these books so relatable and “realistic.” 

Our meeting will cover more about realistic fiction, and discussions on books like The Fault in Our Stars. Join us to learn more and find the new book you may love!

Explore realistic fiction in our collection

• If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout – Print, eBook
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Print, eBook, Audiobook, Playaway
• Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram – Print, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz – Print, eBook, eAudiobook, Audiobook, Playaway
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas – Print, Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook, Playaway
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner – eBook, eAudiobook