**A rainbow peeks out from behind a few clouds after the storm, and the sky is painted a shade of blue like a robin’s egg. The last of the raindrops chase each other down my window and I watch as they race to the bottom. Such a lovely day to read and watch as the world brightens once again.**

I’m sure a lot of us feel some type of emotion when reading, be it sad, happy, angry, or any other emotion. I actually really like when books make me feel something (well, maybe not angry). Because of that, I wanted to go over a few of the books that have made me feel some type of strong emotion.

• Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
  • I don’t think I’ve ever teared up so many times in a book. This one follows Taylor whose family is returning to their summerhouse for the first time in several years after her father receives terrible news, and she has to face some people from her past that she hurt. This book is very emotional and there are several scenes that really get me. I’ve read this book twice and I was just as emotional the second time.
• White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
  • I’m not much of a thriller person anymore, but I used to love them a few years ago. However, I usually get that suspense, edge-of-your-seat-feeling. With this one, I was actually kind of scared by it. This is a haunted house type story following a family that moves into a new house, but the main character’s new stepsister says that her new friend wants her gone. The plot twist was crazy and quite honestly kind of freaked me out, but it was soooo good!
• Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn
  • This is a book that follows a girl going back to the Hamptons where she reconnects with an old friend but pretends to be someone else to get through the summer. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a character more than the main character in this book. This book has that trope of “I can’t go back to this place or talk to this person because of something I’ve done.” Usually, the reason never seems valid, but wow! If I were her, I wouldn’t go back either. I actually DNF’d this one about a hundred pages in for the sole reason that I hated the character.
• Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
  • This was my favorite book of 2023. If you don’t know what it’s about, it follows a girl named Liz Buxbaum who is obsessed with trying to create her own rom-com worthy romance. In order to do so, she gets the help from her next door nemesis. I loved this book. I felt like there were a lot of cute and funny moments that had me smiling, which is a pretty rare thing for me when I’m reading.
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
  • I will smile when reading on a rare occasion, but I don’t think I’ve ever really laughed in a book until I read this one. Puddleglum was the highlight of this book and he had this pessimistic sense of humor that was so funny. There were a few scenes that really got me and it’s a book that stands out to me because of that.

There are so many more books that I could talk about here, but I want to leave it just at a few. I love finding a book that really makes me feel something. Those ones are so much more special. Are there any books any of you have had emotional reactions to?

xoxo,

Just another reader