Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.
Click HERE for a complete list of participants and future topics.
This week's theme is books with "hard" topics - like illness, mental health, sexual assault, etc. I can't believe for a minute I actually drew a blank. I'll blame a mid-morning sugar crash since I didn't have my McD's sweet tea this morning. But then I regained my senses and came up with plenty of possibilities. Here are my Top 5:
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park were incredible characters that completely charmed me. But Eleanor's home life also hurt my heart.
Eleanor and Park were incredible characters that completely charmed me. But Eleanor's home life also hurt my heart.
Stolen - Lucy Christopher
Gemma is kidnapped from an airport and taken to the Australian Outback. Her captor? A man who loves her and has planned this new life for years. I tried hard to hate Ty but found it impossible.
Gemma is kidnapped from an airport and taken to the Australian Outback. Her captor? A man who loves her and has planned this new life for years. I tried hard to hate Ty but found it impossible.
Hopeless - Colleen Hoover
There's very little I can say about Hopeless without spoilers. But between Sky and Holder it covers several issues.
Addicted To You - Krista & Becca Ritchie
This remarkable book (the first in my favorite series *ever*) deals with addiction in a heartbreakingly real way. Lily and Lo's struggles aren't pretty but I fell in love with them and have cheered them on throughout the series.
Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
After 5 years with her abductor, Alice has lost all hope of salvation. To this day I'm not sure if I'm glad I read this book or not.
There's very little I can say about Hopeless without spoilers. But between Sky and Holder it covers several issues.
Addicted To You - Krista & Becca Ritchie
This remarkable book (the first in my favorite series *ever*) deals with addiction in a heartbreakingly real way. Lily and Lo's struggles aren't pretty but I fell in love with them and have cheered them on throughout the series.
Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
After 5 years with her abductor, Alice has lost all hope of salvation. To this day I'm not sure if I'm glad I read this book or not.
Do you enjoy books that tackle tough topics?
Have you read any of these?
Have you read any of these?
I really enjoyed Hopeless and Eleanor & Park. I think they both handled their difficult topics so well/. Addicted to You is on my TBR. Great list!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Grace. Both Hopeless and E&P dealt with serious issues without skimming over them *or* being too maudlin.
DeleteGreat picks! I loved Hopeless! How I Fall/How I Fly by Anne Eliot are probably my favorites in this category -- actually Almost by her, too
ReplyDeleteThose are totally new to me, Eva. As is Anne Eliot. Off to check them out...
DeleteHaven't read any of these except E & P. But I do appreciate books that tackle difficult topics well, so I will keep these in mind!
ReplyDeleteJen @ YA Romantics
Out of all these I think you would probably enjoy/appreciate Stolen the most. Thanks for stopping by Jen!
DeleteSo many I want to read, but I DO own Eleanor & Park and Stolen, so I need to get on it! To be honest, some of my favorite books deal with hard topics. I just love some good realistic fiction. One of those favorites and I totally recommend is Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert.
ReplyDelete-lauren
I definitely gravitate to realistic fiction, too. E&P was the first I ever read from Rainbow Rowell and is still a favorite (it shares the top spot with Attachments). And thanks for the recommendation! I'm about to go check that one out.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting picks. I haven't read any of them. Oh wait, I take that back...I read Eleanor and Park and loved it. It's a great book and a great pick for this topic.
ReplyDeleteI just loved E&P - as heartbreaking as much of it was. It was the first I ever read by Rainbow Rowell and I have such a soft spot for it. I would love a sequel one day!
DeleteHopeless was my first Colleen read and I wasn't too impressed honestly. Stolen was a great read for me though. I can do a book with hard topics if it's done right. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteStolen was so unique to me. And done so well. One of the few second person POV novels that have ever worked for me.
DeleteLily and Lo didn't snap right into your head? :O :O
ReplyDeleteHopeless is a sob feast. As are most CoHo books. She's evil.
I read Stolen so long ago. Wow. It was hard to hate Ty; definitely agree there. But as a whole I wasn't all that impressed with the book. :(
IKR? I still blame low blood sugar. I'm useless without my McD's tea.
DeleteCoHo must gain strength from our tears. It's the only answer.
Actually I didn't connect totally with Stolen. And I wasn't blown away by it. But for some reason it still stuck with me. And I found myself having such sympathy for Ty. Which was kinda whack.
I've been recommended Stolen for years. I haven't read it yet, but I feel like I already know the story. I feel like I even know Ty. And I like him, which I believe is so wrong. :(
ReplyDeleteHopeless has so many tough issues that I seriously don't know how the characters survived them all. They sure as strong. I would have crumbled!
I know, isn't is crazy, Melissa? It's like, okay, Am I experiencing a taste of Stockholm Syndrome myself? Or is Ty really not a *truly* bad guy? It really makes you question things.
DeleteAnd Hopeless... OMG. I kept thinking there would come a point where Sky would just curl up into a little ball and say enough. That girl was a fighter. And of course she had Dean Holder on her side. :)
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ReplyDeleteanother reason for me to read Eleanor and Park! I need to do so already!
ReplyDeleteand YES MY FAVORITE! i am so happy to see you included Stolen! talk about a serious problem~ and i loved the plot itself it was wonderful. i loved that it was set in Australia because it's such a unique setting! i can't say i've ever read another book with a similar setting before!
Great list and topic!
Emily @ www.rabbitholereviews.com
Yes! E&P was my first by Rainbow Rowell and I loved it so, so much. Eleanor and Park together were just perfect and gave all the feels of that first relationship, where every single thing (every hand touch and look) is special and wonderful. And at the same time my heart broke for Eleanor. I think you'll love it, Emily. And Stolen was so unique - both the setting and the way it was told.
DeleteThese are new to me, but I am looking forward to getting into them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Verushka!
DeleteI'm glad Stolen made it onto this list! It was such a neat concept but so hard to read at the same time. I too tried to hate Ty but it seemed impossible. Maybe it was because of how the story was being told, but I don't know. It's been a while since I've read it. Great list! Wish I could've participated in T5W this week.
ReplyDeleteDanica @ A Redheaded Bookworm
What's interesting is that it's not like I just *loved* Stolen. It was good but not one that I totally got into and just loved or anything. And yet I still find myself thinking about it and having those mixed feelings about Ty. I guess the author really did her job because I have so many conflicting feelings about Ty. Sorry that you didn't get to T5W last week - I would have loved to see your list!
DeleteYou've intrigued me when it comes to the Addicted series - I might have to pick that one up!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Oh boy, I really tend to gush when it comes to the Addicted series, Nicole. It's my favorite contemporary series (and I usually say picking favorite books is impossible - but not so here). It's realistic, well-written, the characters are certainly flawed but I love it. I feel like I know these people know (after 8 or 9 books). And the girls who write this series (twin sisters) are the sweetest, friendliest people. The last book comes out next month and I'm so sad to say goodbye to these characters!
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