The simple hashtag #BookTok has revived interest in reading for so many — from teens to adults.
The tag comes from the widely popular social media app TikTok. #BookTok occupies a very cozy, yet busy, nook on the platform where people who love reading recommend the hottest and most interesting books around.
In fact, the Bradford Library is starting a #BookTok #BookClub for teens and young adults reading only books popular on #BookTok. Teens and young adults can join through the library’s Eventbrite. The first three books for the book club will be Six of Crows, We Were Liars, and They Both Die at the End.
To keep up to date with all teen events in the library, teens are encouraged to sign up to the Teen Scene newsletter on the library’s website.
Below is a selection of picks popular with #BookTok-ers for both adults and young adults:
One of Us is Lying, by Karen M. McManus
When the creator of a high school gossip app mysteriously dies in front of four high-profile students, all four become suspects. It’s up to them to solve the case. This is an excellent young adult mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from stories, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin, a High Lord of the faeries. As her feelings toward him transform from hostility to a fiery passion, the threats against the faerie lands grow. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose Tamlin forever in this addicting fantasy read.
They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera
In a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, teenagers Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.
From Blood and Ash, by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers. The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honour bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need.
We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
Each summer the wealthy, seemingly perfect Sinclair family meets on their private island. Cadence, Johnny, Mirren, and Gat are a unit, especially during “summer 15,” marking their 15th year on Beechwood — the summer that Cady and Gat fall in love. Cady became involved in a mysterious accident, in which she sustained a blow to the head, and now suffers from debilitating migraines and memory loss. When she returns to Beechwood during summer 17, issues of guilt and blame, love and truth all come into play.