5 Books I'm Obsessed With Right Now - Like No Joke, I Will Literally Rant About Them For Hours, Complete With Special Effects, Intense Hand Motions, and General Obsessiveness

Well. 

That was a long, and quite dramatic title. 

Honestly my title creativity is stellar. 

*A tiny disclaimer that this post may or may not be longer than the title*

As you can see I'm sticking with the book theme for this weeks' post, mostly because I want to add more things into the new page I put out, cleverly titled "Books, Books, and More Books!" even though there's only three books on it right now. I might shorten the title to make room for more pages. 

I'm thinking of putting in all of my book/literature themed posts on that page, so they're all together in one place. Pretty convenient if you're thinking of doing a blog post marathon (just don't go too far back, into the Saph-Was-A-Nine-Year-Old-So-Her-Posts-Resonated-That area)

I'm planning on posting a Q & A soon, so make sure you do the Blog Poll (if you haven't already) if you have a question, or even just a random thing to say to me. I'm going to try to answer all of them! I'll also put up a Q & A place on my Instagram stories, if you want to ask your questions there.

These books have varying readability ages, from YA, to Middle Grade reads. I'll put a rating beside each one so you know which ones are classified as YA and which ones are good for younger audiences (MG - Middle Grade). 

I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm super picky with what books I read. My favourite book list is very elite and - if I might say so myself - it's very hard to land a spot on it. These books are ones that truly deserve being on my favourite list. Some of them are old, and a few are newer, but they're all worth the read! 

Whenever I make a post that has my opinions threaded through it, I never fail to put this message in the post: Anything and everything I say is completely my opinion and you are absolutely not obliged to agree with it, or even like any of the books I mention. Everyone has different tastes! 

Let's get into the list~

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1. Letters To The Lost - By Brigid Kemmerer (YA)

Book Description: Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope. 

Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past. 

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. 

This book is one I just finished very recently, and boy was it a rollercoaster. 

It deals with a few touchy subjects- including self-harm, so a trigger warning for that. 

But other than that- this book took my breath away quite literally. 

Juliet and Declan had life changing events happen to them on the same day, May 25th. Juliet's mother died in a car crash, and Declan drove his father's truck into a building while he was drunk, hoping to end his life. 

The uniqueness of this story, and how it all began from one note in a cemetery, written by someone who's suffering from grief and read by someone who can understand her pain, definitely one of the best books I've read.

The revelations and new pieces on information that change the path of the entire story made me put the book down and run around the house screaming at the evil-ness of the amazing author. HOW COULD SHE ADD IN THAT MANY PLOT TWISTS? 

Something I liked was the use of poetry in Declan's perspective in school. The poems were beautiful, and they take you a minute to decipher their true meaning, and whether or not you choose to interpret them from Declan's perspective or your own is your choice. The way Declan's teacher, Mrs.Hillard, didn't give up on him when all the other teachers did so made me want to hug her. 

I also liked how the author portrayed the idea of photographs, how a single photo can tell a story. When you near the end and Juliet decided to develop some of her mother's last photos that she took on her film camera- gosh. I think I died for a second.

In the end, this book will truly play with your emotions, and every word will draw you closer to the characters. You'll get to experience their pain from a front row seat to their thoughts, and you'll be thinking about this book for the rest of your day.

Like the book says, every moment matters. 

(As a bonus- here's some fan art of Juliet!)

~~~

2. Influence - By Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham (YA-ish)

Book Description: After a video she makes goes viral, everyone knows Delilah Rollins. And now that she's in LA, Delilah's standing on the edge of something incredible. Everything is going to change. She has now idea how much. 

Jasmine Walters-Diaz grew up in the spotlight. A child star turned media darling, the posts of her in her classic Lulu C. rainbow skirt practically break the internet. But what if the world knew who Jasmine really was, her perfect life? Canceled.

Fiona Jacobs is so funny - the kind of girl for whom a crowd parts - no wonder she's always smiling! But on the inside? The girl's a hot mess. And when someone comes out of the shadows with a secret from her past, it's one that won't just embarrass Fiona: it will ruin her. 

Who wouldn't want to be Scarlet Leigh? Just look at her Instagram. Scarlet isn't just styled to perfection: she is perfection. Scarlet has a gorgeous, famous boyfriend named Jack and there's a whole fanbase about their ship.

To everyone watching online, their lives seem perfect...but are they really? The sun is hot in California...and someone's going to get burned. 

Okay first of all, the cover itself is amazing. 

The longer you look at it, the more you realise that the figure is made out of social media symbols. 

This book shows the dark side of social media, and how things aren't always what they seem like online. The co-author of this book is a social media star herself, so you know this book comes from a realistic perspective. 

This story gives you many different perspectives and bone chilling plot twists that'll send shivers down your spine. The intensity of it all expands and grows till it reaches the breaking point- a murder. 

It'll make you re-think your opinions and one-sided view of the glamourous Hollywood life, and show you that things aren't always what they seem. Each perspective gives you a different story, a different view on the character, which I thought was a great way to write the book. 

Influence will make you rethink everything you read, and as the story dives into a murder-mystery, it's hard not to get swept up in its currents. 

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3. Every Other Weekend - By Abigail Johnson (YA-ish, the romance is pretty toned down but it deals with a lot of difficult topics)

Book Description: Adam Moynihan’s life used to be awesome. Straight As, close friends and a home life so perfect that it could have been a TV show straight out of the 50s. Then his oldest brother died. Now his fun-loving mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired proved himself a coward by moving out when they needed him most.

Jolene Timber’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. As an aspiring director, she should know, because she’s been reimagining her life as a film ever since she was a kid. With her divorced parents at each other’s throats and using her as a pawn, no amount of mental reediting will give her the love she’s starving for.

Forced to spend every other weekend in the same apartment building, the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools begin an unlikely friendship. The weekends he dreaded and she endured soon become the best part of their lives. But when one’s life begins to mend while the other’s spirals out of control, they realize that falling in love while surrounded by its demise means nothing is ever guaranteed. 

I'm pretty sure this book a recommended to me by someone- so thank you to that person for introducing me to this book! 

Every Other Weekend encompasses how two teenagers find comfort in each other- all while trying to heal and accept their not-so-easy lives. The way they trust each other enough to show each other their vulnerabilities and grief will make your heart melt. But of course it takes a while for their relationship to get there, Adam actually starts off hating Jolene. 

One character, Shelly, is the type that the readers start off hating as much as the characters do. As you dive deeper into the story, that changes, and Shelly becomes a figure of...almost comfort.

The story plunges into the characters' pasts, and lets you witness their vulnerabilities, and in some ways, their grief. 

I think it was particularly interesting how the author used certain gestures to show their grief, like how Adam would listen to the last voicemail he got from his older brother. 

I felt a bit outraged at how Adam's life kept getting better, and how he was slowly solving all of his family problems, while Jolene kept getting hurt, emotionally and...physically. 

This book will take you through an array of emotions, including having you mad at the author for every terrible obstacle she throws at Jolene. Plus- everyone loves a good enemies to lovers plot. 

(TW: Abuse, assault, grief, death)

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4. Accidental - By Alex Richards (YA...ish)

This timely, emotionally-resonant story about a teen girl dealing with the aftermath of a tragic shooting is a must-read from an exciting new YA talent.

Johanna has had more than enough trauma in her life. She lost her mom in a car accident, and her father went AWOL when Johanna was just a baby. At sixteen, life is steady, boring . . . maybe even stifling, since she's being raised by her grandparents who never talk about their daughter, her mother Mandy.

Then he comes back: Robert Newsome, Johanna's father, bringing memories and pictures of Mandy. But that's not all he shares. A tragic car accident didn't kill Mandy--it was Johanna, who at two years old, accidentally shot her own mother with an unsecured gun.

Now Johanna has to sort through it all--the return of her absentee father, her grandparents' lies, her part in her mother's death. But no one, neither her loyal best friends nor her sweet new boyfriend, can help her forgive them. Most of all, can she ever find a way to forgive herself?

In a searing, ultimately uplifting story, debut author Alex Richards tackles a different side of the important issue that has galvanized teens across our country.

(TW: Gun violence)

This book was...wow. 

It'll definitely make your jaw drop. 

When Johanna find out that she was the one who killed her mother...woah. You can feel the emotions overflowing the page and dripping out of the book into your own soul. 

The anger she felt at her grandparents after finding out that they hid such a big revelation from her, the gratitude she feels for Milo. 

Gun violence is a touchy topic that most people stay away from, but Alex Richards managed to write about it while showing the readers both sides of the argument. 

The author also gave Johanna a love interest to lean on when things get to hard to handle by herself. Milo accepts and understands her, and doesn't judge her for her past.

 Johanna goes through a lot of healing, to try to accept the fact that it was a tragic accident, and not her fault. 

This book will take you through all the stages of grief, gripping at your heart and leaving an impact on you for days after its done.

~~~

5. I Killed Zoe Spanos - By Kit Frick (8th grade and up)

Book Description: What happened to Zoe won't stay buried...

When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year's Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe, and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe's life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected--and that she knows what happened to her.

Two months later, Zoe's body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna's confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn't satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina's podcast uncover the truth?

TW: Substance abuse, death, grief, and...murder? Well I feel like the way her body was found in a lake was more disturbing than the actual murder but...yeah.

A moment of silence for this MASTERPIECE.

This is my favourite mystery/crime/thriller novel. I'm terrified of calling things my favourites but this book definitely deserves it. 

You literally cannot put it down. It's filled with twists and turns, and the ENDING will echo through you, running through your mind as you sit there in shock, processing what just happened. Get used to it, 'cause you'll be doing that a lot as you read this book. 

I never saw the ending coming. My jaw physically dropped and metaphorically fell on the floor. 

The entire absurdity of Anna reliving glimpses of her past, that's basically a big void of darkness after she blacked out, definitely had me questioning the story and wondering if there was some sort of a magical aspect to it.

Its the small details that really get me, and the number of times the author makes your heart jump are uncountable. I like how the story switched between Anna's perspective and Martina's podcast, so the story isn't overly long and cumbersome to read. 

The investigation and how the story develops- absolutely no words. I was practically breathless half the time I read it. Every sentence makes a difference and sometimes even alters the entire plot. 

The way Anna redicoveres her past, her connection with Zoe, the phone messages, the bottle of whiskey, the burnt stables, the- the- the PODCAST, the flashbacks of Zoe, oh gosh.

Oh gosh.

In the end: sapphire.exe has failed to process.

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And that was the list! I originally drafted this post with 12 books, but it was wayyyy too long, so I shortened it to five. Don't worry though, I'll put out those 7 other books in another post.

 :) 

Thanks for reading! Make sure you check out all of these books! I also post about different books on my Instagram that I won't be putting on my blog, so follow me there for more!

- Sincerely, Saph