TikTok Made Me Read It

Greetings, this is Jen! If you haven’t noticed, I’m a voracious reader. When someone asks me for a book recommendation, I’m like a puppy who’s been given a treat. As a result, I am well-versed in BookTok, TikTok’s bookish spinoff.

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The literary world appears to be unable to resist the influence of BookTok. Even more remarkable is the fact that ravenous and enthusiastic readers have pushed so many individual works to the tops of bestseller lists. Dedicated BookTok sales tables can be seen at bookstores. So I made it my job — indeed, my duty! — to read these highly anticipated books.

• Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles.
  This cover is recognizable without TikTok.
  It was published in 2012 and reimagines The Iliad.
  Patroclus tells the story, not Achilles.
  Patroclus, Achilles’ close friend and presumed lover, is exiled to Phthia, where he befriends the god’s son and future greatest warrior.
  When Helen of Sparta is stolen and war ensues, heroism and empathy pull Patroclus and Achilles apart.

• After finishing Beach Read, I was excited to read Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation.
  Because everyone touted Beach Read, I was excited to read People We Meet on Vacation.
  This book updates When Harry Met Sally.
  Alex and Poppy are introduced in past and current tense.
  In college, the two buddies realize they are extreme opposites with little in common.
  One road trip changes that, and they start budget-traveling together.
  Alex and Poppy had a falling out in the present timeframe, but Poppy wants to reconcile.
  She invites him on a “business” trip that may help them reconnect.

• I read It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover since so many TikTok users recommended it.
  Many folks urged me to start with Ugly Love when I said I’d never read a Colleen Hoover novel.
  Ugly Love is a smutty, passionate love story, and I loved it.
  It Ends With Us has more emotion than Ugly Love.
  This 2016 book follows Lily as she opens her own flower store in Boston.
  After her father’s funeral, she and neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid fall in love.
  Lily’s teen letters to Ellen DeGeneres provide flashbacks.
  Lily captures their relationship as she tries to help her 18-year-old homeless neighbor Atlas Corrigan.
  But Atlas appears in Lily’s present reality after she’s met the perfect man.
  

• 4) Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
  Where have you been? Netflix recently confirmed plans to film the novel.
  It’s a book with a lot of TikTok buzz.
  The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows reporter Monique Grant, who is chosen by aging Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo to write about her life.
  Monique doesn’t know Evelyn, so she’s curious why her.
  After each conversation, Monique realizes how tragically and irreversibly her life interacts with Evelyn’s.

• I appreciate Adam Silvera’s books, and since TikTok loves They Both Die at the End, I had to reread.
  This book was released in 2017, but the TikTok hype machine blew it up during the lockdown of 2020, leading to a large jump in sales and a year on the New York Times bestseller list.
  The book is speculative and contemporary.
  Mateo and Rufus receive calls from Death-Cast.
  Death-Cast tells individuals they’re dying.
  The brothers meet on Last Friend and spend their dying hours together.

• I was pumped about my next pick because everyone was talking about it! V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue captivated me.
  What’s the big deal about a popular book? Isn’t that funny? Okay.
  The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue surprised me.
  The story follows Addie, who strikes a bad pact with the dark and is condemned to live a life of forgetfulness.
  Then, in 2014, she meets a boy who does not forget her as soon as she leaves.

• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is popular, so I read it.
  A Court of Thorns and Roses came out in 2015, but this series has TikTok users salivating.
  Fantasy isn’t my thing.
  I find it difficult to follow world building and rules, especially if they aren’t presented correctly.
  I don’t appreciate having to work to enjoy something that should be shown organically.
  I couldn’t stop reading this book.
  The 432-page novel terrified me, so I listened to it.
  Feyre’s penalty for killing a predator in the woods is to dwell among fairyfolk, away from her hungry family.
  Tamlin is her captor.
  Tamlin permits Feyre to live independently in his world if she follows certain conditions.
  As the tale progresses, Feyre sets out to help Tamlin overcome his curse.

• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is another popular novel.
  This novel was heavily discussed in 2019.
  I still feel like I’m seeing the cover everywhere! I had to look.
  Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry, son of England’s royal dynasty, are rivals.
  When a tabloid prints a photo of Alex and Henry fighting, the two are forced to fake a friendship.
  But what starts as friends quickly becomes more.

• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake is a genre I don’t usually read, but everyone seems to love it.
  To be honest, I didn’t think this book would appeal to me.
  The synopsis reminded me of The Magicians.
  But, after hearing so many positive reviews, I decided to give it a go.
  In a multiple-point-of-view story, we meet the Alexandrian Society, a group of magical academicians determined to protect forgotten knowledge.
  Only six qualify each decade, but only five are inducted.
  Atlas Blakely said they’ll have access to the society’s archives and be graded on their contributions.
  The story is told through the perspectives of Libby Rhodes, Nicolás Ferrer de Varona, Reina Mori, Parisa Kamali, Tristan Caine, and Callum Nova.

• I finished Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis.
  I read The Love Hypothesis early.
  I read 70% of the book on a 3-hour flight and finished it at home.
  Olive, a third-year PhD student, is our major character.
  Her best buddy Anh thinks Olive is dating.
  Olive proves her falsehood by kissing the first man she meets.
  Adam Carlsen is this individual.
  Luckily for her, Adam agrees to fake-date Olive for Anh.
  Adam wants Stanford University to assume he’s being kept there, but he’s actually seeking elsewhere.
  Real feelings form afterwards.
  

I’m sure there are more TikTok-hyped books I missed. Which should I go see next? Comment! Have you read any of the ones I mentioned? Let me know.

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If you’d like to watch a video of these books, check the link here. https://youtu.be/Ce_qzCTNYTw