Top Ten Hard Books

Top Ten Tuesday is Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

I tend to gravitate towards hard books because reading about other people's struggles makes the story seem so much more like real life. Sometimes it makes me realize how lucky I am. These books are really in no order they are all amazing. Last week's post on Light Books went to Sarah Dessen. This week's post on hard books goes to Jodi Picoult.


Hard Books is defined as books that talk about serious issues that make you think, cry, and everything in between.

Hard Books

1. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is about a school shooting. This was a very hard book to read and Jodi Picoult twisted my emotions like crazy. There was times where I believed the shooter was guilty and other times I didn't. I didn't know what was coming next. 

2. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult is Jodi Picoult's newest book and it was about Sage whose grandmother is a WWII survivor and her friend Josef who wants Sage to help him die because he is an ex-Nazi. Any WWII novel is hard because it was a horrific time in World History, but this had the added question of when is murder forgivable? My favorite theme in this book was forgiveness. 

3. The Pact by Jodi Picoult is about Chris and Emily who create a suicide pact. Emily goes through with it, but Chris is caught by the police before he can kill himself. They believe Chris murdered Emily. Jodi Picoult explores the feelings that lead people to commit suicide in this novel and it was a very emotional experience reading this novel.

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a novel everybody knows about at this point because of the movie. The movie was great, but the novel was able to dive deeper into the character's emotions. Although the novel was funny sometimes you realize how serious black peoples lives were in 60s. 

5. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is Sarah Dessen's most serious novel. This one is about abuse and the effects it can have on a girl. It was a great novel, but very emotionally heart wrenching. 

6. Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult is about Willow who has a disease called OI or brittle bone disease. This explores how hard it is as a parent to have a special needs child and what a mother would do for her child. 

7. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult is about a father who got hurt in a car accident and he is brain dead. His estranged son and his daughter Cara have to decide when to pull the plug. This would be such a hard decision to make and I hope to never have to make that decision. 

8. The Year I Turned Sixteen by Diane Schwemm is about four sisters and their lives when they turn 16. They each go through many hard struggles and their father's death which make this book very emotional. At times it was a very light book and funny. This book is on my eventual to reread list. 

9. House Rules by Jodi Picoult is about Jacob who loves murder mysteries and has asperger's disease which is a form of autism. This book explored if the court system gives people with special needs equal rights. It was a great book I highly recommend. 

10. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks is another book everybody knows about. I put this one on the list because the death in this book was really hard for me. I even cried a little bit. 

We enter into the honor books. These are books I love that are difficult reads they just didn't make it into the top ten.

11. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is another book that everybody knows about because of the movie. This one was such a hard read, anything with cancer is, and the the ending was so surprising. 

12. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is about Hazel who has cancer and meets Gus who only has one leg because of cancer. This one was beautifully written and touched me deeply. They were both such great characters. 

13. After by Amy Efaw is about a girl named Devon who threw her baby in the trash can and it is mostly about her journey in juvenile jail. Since I love kids and babies so much this was an especially hard read. 

14. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks just came out on DVD. This one is about abuse and the effects it can have on a woman. It was very scary at points reading this book because you didn't know what was going to happen to the main character Katie. 

15. Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky is about 3 girls that make a pregnancy pact. It would such a hard thing to go through a teenage pregnancy much less a planned one. 

16. While by Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky is similar to Lone Wolf in the fact that Robin's sister has to decide went to stop life support. It was such an amazing book. 

17. Night Road by Kristin Hannah is on my to reread list also. It about twins that get in a car accident with a friend and a mother's love for her children. 

18. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a WWII novel that I had to read for school. I really enjoyed this book although it is so sad. 

19. Breathing Underwater by Alex Flynn is about Nick who abuses his girlfriend Caitlin and his personal feelings on the situation. I really like this novel and was surprised that I didn't totally hate Nick as a character. 

20. Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah is a book that I'm not even done with, but it is so amazing I had to put it on this list. This book is mostly about Kate and Tully who become friends as teenagers and how their friendship grows and changes as they enter adulthood and go through many hard times. It is a very emotional book and I have developed a very deep bond with the characters. 

Thanks for reading. 

Rachael