Top 10 Books That Broke My Heart a Little

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and The Bookish. Check it out here!

This week's theme is books that broke my heart and, honestly, there are SO many books that break my heart, all for different reasons. Mostly because of some gut-wrenching romantic theme or the tough subject that it deals with. I could probably come up with a list of about 100 books that have broken my heart in one way or another so I'm just going to list ten of my favorites off the top of my head (which also means they're either staring at me on my shelf or I read them recently.)

In no particular order:

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy by Jenny Han. I recently read this trilogy in less than 24 hours and it certainly packs a punch. Each one broke my heart a little more than the previous one did.

2. Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert. Oh, Ballads. You twist my heart and smash it to pieces every time I open you. Maybe that's why I love you so much.

3. Sea by Heidi R. Kling. Oh, the last 50 pages of this book smashed my heart to pieces. It's such a well-written book but it's pretty much guaranteed that your heart will ache by the time it's over.

4. Saving June by Hannah Harrington. Dead sister, hot guy with a secret, and a roadtrip. Enough said.

5. Burned by Ellen Hopkins. This is my favorite Hopkins book but I think it's impossible to read any of her books without having your heart broken just a little bit. So intense, so gut-wrenching, so perfect.

6. By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Read by Julie Anne Peters. This book is just...yikes. Intense. Sad. Wonderful. Made me want to cry.

7. Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala. Oh, Holly...you know how to break someone's heart! Both of her books broke my heart a little bit but since I've been fangirling over Don't Breathe a Word lately, I wanted to give Tell Me a Secret some love. It deals with such a tough subject matter and you want the characters to succeed SO badly and it just...heart. pieces.

8. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder. This is definitely a book of hope but it's also a book about the day before some very life-changing things happen and even though we don't get to see those things happen, it kind of breaks me heart for the characters.

9. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. Oh, Owen. I love you. I love this book, the romance in it, and everything about it. Even though everything *spoiler* ends up okay, it still hurt my heart to watch it happen.

10. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book is so sad and overwhelming that if it doesn't hurt your heart a little, nothing will. Laurie Halse Anderson is a goddess.

Do you agree/disagree with my choices? What would you put on your list?

Top 10 Books I'd Hand to Someone Who Says They Don't Like to Read

This post is part of Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish! Check out their blog and participate in Top Ten Tuesday on your blog!

Below are a list of books that I've personally handed to people when they tell me that they don't like to read. All of them are books that I absolutely adored and while I wouldn't give all of them to the same person, I think that this list encompasses people from a variety of different interests.


1.) Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert. I recommend this book to EVERYONE. Ever since I first read it a few years ago I've been handing it out to anyone that will stand still for a few seconds. The best part? Most of them, even if they don't read, end up loving it.

2.) Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken. I hand this out to people who like action-fantasy movies or fans of Harry Potter. This book has magic, action, romance, and it's written so well that one can almost forget that they're actually reading a book.

3.) Stolen by Lucy Christopher. I just read this over the weekend but when a friend who normally doesn't read beyond Ellen Hopkins asked me if there was anything I could recommend, this was it! It's intense, twisted, and mind-blowing. Plus, it's short and it flies. Those two things combined make it a great read for a reluctant reader.

4.) Saving June by Hannah Harrington. I have a friend who is kinda punk, totally addicted to music that never reads and after I finished this book, I threw it at her and demanded she read it. Guess what? She loved it! This book has music, a roadtrip, a hot boy, and characters that force you to care. A perfect combo for almost anyone.


5.) Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder. Books in verse are the way to go for people that don't like reading. Even if there are a large number of pages, there are fewer words and still short. The poetry format cuts down on unnecessary words and descriptions and keeps the book straightforward, making them more accessible to slow readers. While I love all of Lisa's novels, Chasing Brooklyn is by far my favorite and I recommend it all the time.

6.) Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala. This is another of my all-time favorites. I tend to recommend it to people who are intense and like things honest. This book tackles the tough subject of teen homelessness and introduces the reader to a whole new world. Once you start reading, you immediately become attached to the characters, which makes it difficult to put down. Short, sweet, and intense.

7.) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Sometimes I think that it is easier to convince people to read a book when they can be enticed with watching the movie afterwards. I suggested Water for Elephants to multiple adult family members and nearly all of them loved it.

8.) Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade. This one is for all of the people who say "Twilight is the only book I like". It has action, romance, and vampires, just like Twilight but it's so much better. Plus, it's a series which means that people won't just be reading this one book.

9.) Ordinary Beauty by Laura Weiss. I'm cheating with this one because I recommend it to adults who read adult fiction but stick their noses up at YA. While Ordinary Beauty is technically a young adult book, it also exhibits qualities of adult fiction. Because the characters deal with mature themes and are close to adulthood, it is easier for adults to sink their teeth in it. Plus the book just flat-out rocks. Once they're addicted to this, I start handing them the other books mentioned on the list.

10.) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready. Real life with a dose of paranormal plus boys in kilts and music. Shade has something that will appeal to almost any reader out there. I recommend this over and over and I've yet to find someone that doesn't love it.

Honorable Mention:
Sirenz by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman. I recommend this to my fashionista friends and those who may not enjoy paranormal or a really intense novel. It's cute, short, and fun. Always a hit.