At the time of writing, we’re approaching six months of COVID wreaking absolute havoc on our day-to-day lives. While we are slowly getting used to our new normal as we anxiously wait for COVID to end, happily ever afters might seem few and far between. Do you need a happy ending, some joy or just an escape to a different world where COVID doesn’t exist? This reading list is the one for you.
- Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy
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Faith: Taking Flight is a blast of a book. Faith, a self-proclaimed fat teen, learns she has superpowers over the summer but doesn’t share the news with anyone. Part coming of age, superhero origin story and a love letter to friendships and family, Faith: Taking Flight is a perfect book to escape into.
- Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
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Take a Hint, Dani Brown is like eating your favorite food personified. It hits just the right spot, and you’ll want to go back to it again and again. The rom-com has the best staples of the romance genre: fake dating, off the charts chemistry and humor.
- I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee
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I’ll Be the One is an escapist novel at its finest. The YA book taps into the modern craze of K-Pop, as the main character, Skye Shin, enters a K-Pop competition for dance and singing. This book is just pure fun and left me smiling ear to ear the whole time.
- Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
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Oona Out of Order is such a quirky, wild novel that you’ll forget about COVID in no time. Oona has her whole life ahead of her, or so she thinks. But on her 19th birthday, she wakes up in the body of her future 51-year-old self. She starts living life out of order, leading to uncomfortable, hilarious and bittersweet moments. A sweet ending propels the book into happily-ever-after status.
- Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
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Perhaps the hardest-hitting of all the books on this list, Stay Gold is a shining star of a novel. An own voices story, Stay Gold chronicles trans teen Pony and his high school experience as a closeted guy falling in love with one of the most popular girls at school. Stay Gold shows that happy endings aren’t just for cis-gender people, but for everyone.
Those are just five books for you to take your mind off current events and into another world. If you’re looking for more book recommendations, check out these posts about escapist novels, sex-positive reads and a guide to shojo manga.