Top Ten books I read in 2023 that had me sobbing in my bed late at night.

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera
This book left me in tears. It changed my brain chemistry. It captured me in a way that no book ever has so much so that I literally could not put it down. I read it in one sitting, 8 hours and went to school deprived of sleep and crying.

Paper Towns - John Green
This book really made me feel for the characters and it really made me think about my own life and what I have planned for the future. There's so much heart in this book and it really made me think.

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
This book had me in tears and wanting nothing more than to curl up and die. I closed this book and took 30 minutes staring into space to process what I just read. It has incredible writing and is stained with my tears.

The First to Die at the End - Adam Silvera
The prequel to my number one. The first third is a lot of world building and introduction of characters but once you get past that it becomes a story of self discovery and dealing with grief and learning to enjoy life in the moment and I think that's a beautiful thing.

Looking For Alaska - John Green
John Green is a literary genius that is able to connect to people in a way I've never seen before. This book, like his others, really makes you think and appreciate what you have in life and this book really drives that theme stronger than any other book he's written.

Children of Blood & Bone - Tomi Adeyemi
This is a story about racial intolerance, corruption of power and people finally using their voices to make a difference. It came out years ago but it’s incredibly relevant to our modern day where people are losing their rights slowly over time and as the new generation gets older they start using their voices and creating change.

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do - Amy Morin
This book doesn’t have a story. It doesn't have fictional characters. But it doesn't have anything meaningless either. This book helped me to learn to live with my grief when I didn’t know how to and it helped me start to heal.

We’ll Fly Away - Bryan Bliss
This is an incredible novel about grief and loss and learning to live with it while also trying to find and accept who you are as a person. There are so many quotes from this book I have printed out and taped to my mirror just so I can look at them and remind myself that I am enough and that I can ask for help and support when I need it.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan
This entire series is an incredibly smart series about the trouble with corrupt power and broken homes. It's got witty humor and incredibly solemn serious moments. The end of the book has a big speech about power corruption and family abandonment. The way it's written makes you realize the effects these things can actually have.

 A Wolf Called Wander -  Rosanne Parry
This is a brilliant found-family book that made me feel so many things. It’s a story about abandonment and searching for the person that you can finally be you with.