It’s official; fall is here! I’ve opened my heart and my nose to all of the apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice smells that are coming my way while keeping an open eye out for the Halloween makeup that will be flooding my Instagram dashboard. Another thing that I’m keeping an eye out for is a new book to read.
When it’s gets colder, the hermit crab within me retreats into the cozy sweaters in my closet and the plush covers on my bed more often. That means I need something to occupy my mind and keep me from getting bored. I know a lot of people like me who are also looking for some good books to read, so here is a small but very useful list of books that I’ve read and that I find appropriate for this cool weather.
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen isn’t new to the writing scene. She’s been around for quite some time, and so has her book Saint Anything. This book looks like a romance novel, but it is not centered on romantic love. In the book, the protagonist Sydney is put in a rather difficult spot in her life as she watches her charismatic, yet troubled brother go to jail. She’s lived most of her life being overshadowed by her brother, but now the spotlight is on her and she doesn’t like it one bit. She has to deal with the consequences that her parents .
This book is one of my favorites and I hold it dear to my heart. When I first bought it, I could not put it down until it was done and ended up finishing it the same day I bought it. Dessen takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions, from happy to sad, disbelief to hopeful. One minute this book is breaking your heart, then you’re yelling at the characters, and then you're melting at just how amazing and how beautifully the characters developed over the chapters.
I can’t talk about this book without giving away spoilers, but I highly recommend this book. If I were Oprah, it’d be a part of my book club. Saint Anything is definitely a book you can curl up with on a chilly night, preferably under some fairy lights.
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Milk & Honey is a captivating and forceful book of poetry written in the simplest form. Kaur takes the readers on a journey through femininity, identity, struggle, and self-empowerment while using the art of form and break to keep attention focused on the poet’s message. I read this book over the summer and I’ve read it to the point of destruction. It sits on my desk as we speak, held together by some tape.
The book itself is broken up into four parts: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing. Each chapter addresses a different kind of struggle that a woman experiences, making it both personal and interpersonal. In the first chapter, we experience the beginnings of the pain, where the struggle is born from.
By the end of the book, we are placed in a state that resembles healing and it quickly goes from the lessons taught to lessons learned. The poems are short, but hold so much depth that still baffles me with every read. I suggest this to any and every one. This is one of those books that must be read over a steaming cup or coffee or tea on the floor of your living room when it’s chilly and storming outside.
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Where do I even start with this book? It is beyond words. Nicola Yoon writes about the life of Madeline, who has been locked away in her home all of her life due to a disease that pretty much makes her allergic to any and everything. When a boy named Ollie moves in next door, she goes from her usual routines that she’s been following for 17 years to taking risks that she never thought of taking before.
Her overprotective mother and her loving nurse offer some very dynamic views on the choices she makes, and the ending is super surprising. I remember reading this and nearing the end, holding my hand over my mouth and going “No no no no no.” From its colorful and descriptive vocabulary to the way that characters and the chapters are broken up, this book lands at the very top of my list of favorites.
The illustrations are paired beautifully, and I can’t shake the emotions that this book left me with. I found myself screaming at the book a few times, even going as far as earning a hefty look in the middle of the night from my roommate (hehe, sorry Aj). It’s adventurous, heart wrenching, and beyond this world.
I’m a bookworm and my almost non-existent nose is always in a new book, but these three have stuck with me since I’ve read them. They’ve changed my outlook of a few things and they’ve left me with a few fond memories. I suggest them all, but picking one is good, too. Trust me. You’re missing out if you don’t pick one up for the fall.
