I just read "All That We Carried" by Erin Bartels--I'm guessing you know about her already from Hope*Writers. And, well, I really enjoyed it, but it ticks a lot of the boxes on your "not what I want to read" list, so I won't be suggesting that. During the beginning of the lockdowns last year, I started just looking through my library's offerings of Christian fiction on Hoopla and devouring them--not that I'm against reading non-Christian stuff, but Christian fiction tends to be more of a comfort read area for me. All that to say, I guess I don't have any specific recommendations for you, but I see where you're coming from, and I hope you can find that sweet spot for yourself.
Also, I'm not sure there is any better nonsense than Leslie Knope telling Ann(e?) she's a powerful musk ox. Also, did you see that someone compared Sharon McMahon to Leslie Knope? That was wonderful and amazing!
"So Yesterday" by Scott Westerfeld sounds like a great option for you! It's pretty great!
Has anybody read Children of Blood and Bone? Can my fragile psyche handle that this year?
I just read "All That We Carried" by Erin Bartels--I'm guessing you know about her already from Hope*Writers. And, well, I really enjoyed it, but it ticks a lot of the boxes on your "not what I want to read" list, so I won't be suggesting that. During the beginning of the lockdowns last year, I started just looking through my library's offerings of Christian fiction on Hoopla and devouring them--not that I'm against reading non-Christian stuff, but Christian fiction tends to be more of a comfort read area for me. All that to say, I guess I don't have any specific recommendations for you, but I see where you're coming from, and I hope you can find that sweet spot for yourself.
Also, I'm not sure there is any better nonsense than Leslie Knope telling Ann(e?) she's a powerful musk ox. Also, did you see that someone compared Sharon McMahon to Leslie Knope? That was wonderful and amazing!