I remember when I read Something Real by Heather Demetrios, and I didn't really expect anything from it at all. The cover didn't speak to me, I thought it wouldn't be very deep, and yet it captivated me from the start,  and it catapulted its way to being one of my all-time favourite contemporary stories in the YA genre. So, I'm on the lookout for stories like that these days, and where better to look than at a new title from Ms. Demetrios herself?

Title: I'll Meet You There
Author: Heather Demetrios (Twitter)
Publisher: Henry Holt BYR
Publish Date: February 3, 2015
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 400

If seventeen-year-old Skyler Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage-months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings them together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

I'm all about gritty novels that capture reality - and hey, if they pepper in a little romance, that can't hurt either, right? The beauty of Ms. Demetrios's writing is that she can make the most mundane of circumstances come to life, and she makes her characters just sing with reality, heart and honesty. That's why I'm completely and utterly sold on I'll Meet You There. Is the cover necessarily something to write home about? No, but I have a feeling that it suits the novel, and that the book will definitely be something to keep on my favourite shelf. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature from Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Summertime is here, my friends, and am I right in saying there's absolutely nothing better in the whole world?! Some of my earliest memories are of days at the beach, book in hand, just soaking up the rays. And, whether I wanted to believe it or not, there is such a thing as the perfect beach read! When I'm there relaxing and enjoying a beautiful sunshiney day, I want something sweet, fun, romantic and soul-fulfilling. These are, without a doubt, the perfect summertime reads in my book (pun intended)!

On the Fence by Kasie West

We'll Always Have Summer (The Summer Series) by Jenny Han

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Something Real by Heather Demetrios

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. All you have to do is post according to the weekly topic, link up your blog, and add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists!

From the very start of my blog, I professed that contemporary fiction would never work for me. Like, ever. But I was wrong, and through the course of four years of blogging, I've realized that I've actually come to love the genre. There are a lot of books within that genre that still irk me, but that's because I've finally seen the potential that this genre has, which makes the entire contemporary realm worthwhile now. This isn't actually a topic that's been used before, but it's one that's important to me...so, here goes.

Raw Blue epitomizes issue-based books. Powerful, gritty and real, its emotion and heart spills over onto the pages. Twenty Boy Summer might imply something sweet and frivolous, but dealing with loss, pain and grief, it teaches you about growing up and moving on. The Raft seems like a simple survival story, but is actually so much more - tackling inner demons, finding your strength and empowerment. 

Something Real has no hype, and it has a cover that doesn't do it any favours. This book, however, is a powerhouse of emotion, and I found it one of the most poignant reads in over a year. Leaving Paradise captures grief and anger in a nutshell, offering us the ability to heal through our characters. This Song Will Save Your Life gives us hope, shows us that it's okay to be different and transcends social norms.

Dark Song is dark, gritty and incredibly real, offering us a powerhouse novel about abusive relationships, growing into your own person and learning to overcome adversity. Catching Jordan represents the contemporary fiction I thought I'd hate - but done well. Giving us sweet romance, as well as well-defined characters that breathe and feel, this made me smile. Wintergirls is a hard-hitting take on life with eating disorders. Written halting and sparse, it transcends those stereotypes we all think. Some Girls Are is the first book I read on bullying, giving us characters that we don't really like, but we've all met at some time or another - teaching us to grow and move on.

Title: Something Real
Author: Heather Demetrios (Twitter)
Publisher: Henry Holt BYR
Publish Date: February 4, 2014
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 416
Source: Publisher

There’s nothing real about reality TV. Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight.

But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

Every once in a while, a book comes along that is just so incredibly raw and real that it leaves you very nearly speechless. Something Real is that book. Raw, angry and beautiful, this novel is a powerhouse of emotion. Heather Demetrios catapults herself onto the contemporary scene with a novel that takes a deeper look at the reality of "reality television," as well as what its impact might very well be on its stars. Giving a host of oppressed child stars a voice that is otherwise altered and manipulated to become what the viewing populace wants, this novel breathes new life into contemporary fiction and makes it powerful and relevant again.

Something Real is, first and foremost, a character-driven novel. Bonnie™ Baker was born on national television - literally - and she, as well as her twelve other siblings, have lived out much of their lives onscreen ever since. But the show was off the air, and four the past four years, Bonnie™ has been able to live a real life outside of the prying eye of the paparazzi and the media which ravaged her family, and her own psyche, up until a dramatic incident forced them off the air. Living as Chloe for the past four years has been liberating, but being thrust back on the air is the last thing she can deal with or wants. Plus, she and her siblings are now subject to the manipulative plans of nearly every adult around them, forcing them to be their own advocates.

Bonnie™, Benton™ and Lexie™ are the Baker siblings we follow most, and it's interesting to see how being forced to live their lives on national television has shaped them all. Bonnie™ fought to remove herself from it all, and she's become withdrawn, hurt, angry and closed off. Benton™ has had to hide a piece of himself from the world for fear of outing those he loves most and Lexie™ has become exactly what MetaReel typecast her to be. The characters within Something Real were very much alive throughout the novel. Each perfectly illustrated the natural angst of teenage life, but it was brilliantly amplified by the fact that they had to live their "normal" lives on the air. Bonnie™'s relationship with her parents, both her mother, birth father and her stepfather, was understandably strained, and it was very powerful to see just how the cameras transformed people's characters.

It must be said though, that a secondary character very nearly stole the show in Something Real. Patrick, Bonnie™/Chloe's love interest was the most steady, handsome, nerdy, wonderful rock throughout the seemingly endless turmoil of the novel. Whenever she needed him most, he was there with the words and love she needed most. Even when she pushed him away, he never strayed too far. Most of all though, it was beautiful to see a teenage love story played out in an honest, pure and beautiful way. Rather than thrusting us into an insta-love scenario, Bonnie™ and Patrick are friends, above all else, and their romance stems from this - the most powerful of places. Also amazing to experience was a well-executed plot that progressed through Bonnie™'s carefully executed character development, which fueled the major plot points and really kept things moving. And, it simply must be said, that this novel gives you a cast of characters that are true-to-life and easily relatable, which makes the novel all the more enjoyable.

I've always said that the hardest books to review are the ones we love the most, and I'm not doing Something Real justice at all. Ms. Demetrios has crafted a novel that I will cherish among my favourites, and I will most certainly be on the lookout for more of her excellent, quirky and charismatic storytelling in the future. I give this novel a 5 out of 5, and I can't recommend it enough to all fans of YA and adult fiction, especially those who enjoy powerful contemporary novels.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.