Happy Autumn! This is the best time of the year to relax with a warm cup of tea while reading the most gut-wrenching, tear-jerking novels. Don’t you agree? If so, here are my recommended books to read for the season.
I should warn you that sensitive topics are discussed, and happy endings are NOT guaranteed. There is a high possibility you will cry while reading these novels and suffer SEVERE post-book blues. These books are just so sad… but highly recommended by yours truly. Proceed at your own risk!
- If He Had Been With Me- Laura Nowlin
If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin ranks number one as the most angst-ridden novel. A tragic story about young love and misunderstanding, this book guides you along the intertwined lives of characters Autumn and Phineas. Twin flames in their adolescence, Autumn and Phineas suddenly drift apart in high school. The end of their friendship leaves behind a sense of longing, pain, and confusion about their true feelings for one another. Laura Nowlin’s writing in If He Had Been With Me is intimate and spoken from the heart, so much so that I found myself putting down the book at times to process what Laura’s words meant to me. This story was truly written with love. If He Had Been With Me is my favorite read.
- Girl in Pieces- Kathleen Glasgow
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow is a novel about loss and the pain that swallows you up after. Charlotte Davis, the young female protagonist, embarks on a path to bring herself back to the surface after drowning in hurt and pain for so long. This novel is a true depiction of endurance and recovery, which is never a perfect linear slope of progression. As a reader, I saw parts of myself in Charlotte. Her story resonated deeply with me and is one I will never forget. Girl in Pieces is a book with very sensitive topics, such as self-harm, so please read with caution.
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder- Holly Jackson
A trilogy of a murder mystery, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson is ranked as the third most angst-ridden book. The series follows the headstrong and brilliant Pippa, a senior who dedicates her final school project to studying a murder case in her town that was deemed closed years ago. Falling deeper and deeper into the investigation, Pippa begins to see the people in her town and the case in its cold-blooded nature, realizing the killer is not who the court deemed it was. A great take on injustice and the dark realities of crime solving, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder earns its ranking due to high levels of agitation within its readers. That references me. This was an incredibly aggravating read, yet I could not put down the book for the heck of it. Each book gets even darker than the last – a well-written series.
These novel recommendations are just what you need for the perfect fall reading session. Which book recommendation made you angry or clutched your heartstrings? You’ll just have to read them all to see. May the autumn leaves fall just as fast as the pages in your book turn! Happy reading!