The Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

So normally I would have done this on Tuesday with everyone else but I had something else scheduled for that day. However this feature is still hosted by the ladies of The Broke & The Bookish no matter when I post this.

This week’s topic was The Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry. This post was both easy and hard for me as I cry a lot when I’m reading. So I may or may not be able to keep it to ten books. We shall see. I’ll try to keep them in order but no promises.
1.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowling.

This book destroyed me. I cried so much and so hard that I was essentially hyperventilating on the floor of my (ex) best friend’s bedroom floor. I seriously considered sending JKR my therapy bill after this one. I mean…really Jo. Why kill them. Yes I’m being vague for the few people who haven’t finished the series yet.Chapters 32 & 33 did serious emotional damage.

2.

The Program (The Program #1) by Suzanne Young

This book had me basically locked in a fetal position for pretty much the entire book. I loved it, I adored it and I repeatedly told people that it was my favorite read of 2013. I pushed this book so many times but also told people to load up on kleenex.

3.

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

It’s been no secret that I loved this book. I’ve basically told everyone what an amazingly beautiful and heartbreaking book this is. It’s beautifully written and it made me cry so much. To the point of having to catch my breath between the sobs.

4. 

If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2)

Okay first of all Courtney Cole is a goddess. She knows how to write wonderfully real characters that people can relate to. I loved this story as I could relate so well to Madison and what she experienced as a child. I understood why her childhood experiences made her tentative about love.Watching her realize that she was not going to be her mom and that she deserved love was beautiful and it filled me with a lot of hope.

5. 

Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

Beautiful book about family and how you can overcome things. That just because you experienced things that no child should ever experience, does not mean you are “tainted” or “dirty” or unlovable. Watching Callie evolve from being fiercely loyal to her mom and suspicious of her dad and stepmom to realizing that her dad wanted only the best for her and her mom wasn’t it, was beautiful and at the same time, heart wrenching.

6.

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

There were two parts that I cried over but they were major parts that involved major characters. I remember finishing the book and just being heartbroken at some of the things that happened. It involved killing off my favorite male character (which I STILL haven’t forgiven Suzanne for) I am not looking forward to those parts in the book.

7.

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

This book was more than just another one of those “cancer books” It was a book about loyalty, family and friendship. I remember vividly, finishing my e-ARC of this and just sobbing so hard I was sure I was going to puke. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and gosh just so wonderful.

8.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

So I cried in this book as did many MANY other people. Yet it was funny too which I didn’t expect from a “cancer book” However the last 75 or so pages, I sobbed. It was so heartbreaking and at times I couldn’t believe that this was happening. At this point, I ran out of kleenex so I had to use paper towels.

9.

Pushing The Limits (Pushing The Limits #1) by Katie McGarry

I probably could have put this one further up on the list but I had forgotten about some of the others on the list. Or maybe my brain helped me forget how much I cried over this one. Not sure. Anyway, this book was beautiful and both Noah’s and Echo’s back stories were heartbreaking and pretty much caused a flood of tears through a good chunk of the book.

10.

The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi

Now this one doesn’t come out until April but I read it and loved it. I cried through a lot of it. The journey that Lexi goes through is inspiring that alone was enough to make me cry. Not to mention the crap that one of her friends’ goes through.

-Honorable Mentions-

Dare You To (Pushing The Limits #3) by Katie McGarry

I love Beth and reading her story was heartbreaking. She is so fiercely loyal to her mom which I understand because I am the same way. Yet she knows that her mom is an adult and she insists on making bad choices. My heart ached for Beth.

The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Beautiful writing and beautiful characters. I had managed not to cry until the very end and that’s when the tears started falling. These characters were great characters and I found myself rooting for the couple but also liking Josh’s best friend.

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu

Yet another amazing debut. Corey Ann Haydu managed to be raw and honest about OCD and the various forms it takes while giving us characters to root for, to smile with and to laugh with. OCD Love Story made me cry mostly because I know what it’s like to deal with OCD on a daily basis and Corey Ann Haydu portrayed it wonderfully. 

So there ya go. What books were on your TTT this week? Put your links in the comments and I’ll do my best to stop by.

Top Ten Books I read in 2013

This feature is hosted by the ladies of The Broke and the Bookish

This was an interesting year for me. I started this blog in April and since then, I’ve found some simply amazing books of all different genres. Books that I probably wouldn’t have found if I wasn’t blogging.

So here goes my list…

It should shock no one that I am putting The Program by Suzanne Young on here. Every single time I’ve been asked for my favorite book of the year, The Program has been my immediate answer. The feels are all there and the character development is amazing. Go read it right now if you haven’t already.

Splintered by A.G. Howard quickly became a new favorite of mine. I had never read retellings before but it looked amazing. So when I got it as a Christmas present, I dove right in. And I loved it. It was absolute perfection.

My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi was a surprise to me. I had no idea how much I would like and yes even love this one.This one was an unexpected and happy surprise.

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu had the power to be amazing or be terrible and it was amazing. It was awesome to see the characterization of OCD done right and not understated or overstated.

If You Find Me was an amazing debut and it had me pondering my own life and being thankful for the people in it. It also had me pondering the idea of sending Emily Murdoch my therapy bill.It broke me in the best possible way.

Oh how I love books about cults. Gated by Amy Christine Parker was awesome and I loved it big time.It brought out the feels in me a lot towards the end. Yet I totally understand that it’s not a book for everyone.

Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry actually came out in 2012, but since this is a list of books I’ve read in 2013, I figured it’s okay to put Pushing the Limits on this list. Um, this book was amazing, beautiful and full of feels. Go read this one if you haven’t already.

The Sea Of Tranquility also came out in 2012, but I just recently read it so it made it’s way onto the list.Amazing book, yet another one that broke me into teeny tiny pieces by the time it was the end of the book. I teased the lovely Katja Millay that I was going to send her my therapy bill. I am stunned that it took me this long to read this book.

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan doesn’t come out until the beginning of 2014, but I did read it this year so it also gets to be on this list.It was awesome and different and heartbreaking. Go pre-order this book right now.

Pivot Point by Kasie West was awesome and beautiful and amazing. After only reading one of Kasie West’s books, she has cemented herself on my list of auto-buy authors.Pivot Point was beautifully written and it had one of the best friendships I’ve ever seen in Addie & Laila.Go read this book right now and get ready for Split Second.

All of these authors were actually new to me. That’s been another perk of book blogging. I’ve been introduced to hordes of new authors.Looking at my list, over half of them were contemporaries.Of the other 4, one was fantasy,one was paranormal,one was science fiction and one was dystopian.

So let me know if you’ve read any of these and if you did a Top Ten list this week, link me to that as well. See you guys next year!

Happy New Year!

Review: The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Book Title: The Sea of Tranquility

Author: Katja Millay

Release Date: November 13th, 2012

Publisher: Atria Books

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Disclaimer: This was a personal purchase.

Review:

How the hell do I write a review for this book? Writing a review of this book will definitely prove to be difficult as it was amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after reading this. It had everything you could ever want in a book and more.

When you read this synopsis, you don’t think this book is going to be funny, but it is funny. It;s also sad,so sad in fact that it pretty much destroyed me in the best possible way. Yes, apparently there is a way to be destroyed in a positive way. There has to be, because I was. Holy crap, I am SO mad at myself for not reading this book sooner. I have a thing for books about damaged characters, yes I’m weird like that. 

You wouldn’t think that Nastya would be likable,but in her own way, she was and I loved that she wasn’t a typical sullen, angry teenager.I also liked that her family was in the book and that specifically her aunt was in the book. Not many YA books involve the extended family so I was excited to see that this one did.

Her family was similar to Drew’s family in a lot of ways, but also different in a lot of ways. Drew’s family doesn’t push her to talk unlike her own family who desperately wants and I think needs to hear her talk.

In contrast, Josh has only one family member left, his grandfather and his grandfather is very sick and he dies in the book. Yet he is very close with Drew and Drew’s family. Drew’s mother likes to take in “strays” and with Josh, she does.

The beginning of this book is slow as it does a lot of introducing the characters and taking a peek into their daily lives. Yet, it wasn’t the kind of slow that was boring. In fact, I devoured every word.

The second half of this book but most especially the last 150 some pages are emotional, gut wrenching and heartbreaking. Like I said before, it destroyed me. I was in bed, sobbing violently into my kleenex until my kleenex was shredded beyond recognition.

I loved that Nastya and Josh’s relationship was slow burning. Much better than having them jump into bed two seconds after meeting. They established a friendship first which I loved.

I cannot say enough about the writing. It was absolutely gorgeous and I think I mentioned that a couple times in my Goodreads & Twitter updates. The dual points of view were done amazingly and I would argue that it was one of the best examples of dual POV’s that I’ve ever read.

Gahhh, I just loved this book. It was perfection and I cannot wait to read the next thing that Katja writes.This was amazing and well worth the 5 stars I’m giving it. If I could give it 6 stars, I would.