Worth The Read?
The best and worst books from BookTok.
PHOTO | Alexandria Mansfield| The Florida Times-Union
Barns and Nobels BookTok stand filled with the most talked about books from BookTok.
Scrolling on the for you page of TikTok, a video pops up of a book circling the internet. A studious looking girl in a sweater with her hair in a messy bun, stands in front of a bookshelf and gives her opinion on the book. And you totally buy it.
Book TikTok or BookTok has been influencing youth culture on which books they should or shouldn’t read as popular creators, such as Ayman Chaudhary, give their opinions on the stories. As much as BookTok has allowed people to discover some incredible reads, creators also turn people away from books that they don’t personally enjoy. Sometimes they’re right and the books aren’t great. Sometimes the books are absolute gems.
This avid reader is here to tell you the age old phrase: don’t judge a book by its cover. But in this day and age, I guess it’s don’t judge a book because some influencer told you how to feel. So for what it’s worth, here are some of the most overhyped books and some that are worth your time.
Overhyped Books
“Love And Gelato”
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“Love And Gelato” is a classic love story, very predictable. Boy meets girl, they both fall in love, but won’t tell each other and eventually find out and live happily ever after. I was told that this book was great and that I would love it, but it turns out that it was a let down and left me regretting reading it and spending my own money on it. This book was adapted into a movie so rather than waste time on this overhyped book go watch the movie on Netflix.
“We Were Liars”
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“We Were Liars” was very predictable and only got interesting near the end. There’s a hidden meaning behind the ending, but it isn’t easy to catch onto it. It was another overhyped book and it left me wanting more from it.
“The Spanish Love Deception”
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“The Spanish Love Deception”, a New York Times best seller, must be good but in fact wasn’t. A slow-burn love story where two people fake date and eventually fall in love, how predictable is that? Some people love this type of story, but the amount of attention and praise that it got made me think it would be all that in a bag of chips.
“November 9th”
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“November 9th” is about a novelist who meets a girl and they spend her last day in L.A together. Her life inspires the novelist to write about her, creating a plot twist in the story. But like many books this was again predictable and left me bored and upset. I was led to believe this book was supposed to be great which in fact it was nothing like this. It was a let down to say the least.
The Best Books On BookTok
“A Court of Thorns And Roses” Series
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The “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series is a five book series about mythical creatures and is filled with unpredictable twists and turns: multiple love interests, betrayal, and heartbreak. This whole series will have you buying the next book after the other, leaving you on the edge of your seat and losing track of time.
“Red White & Royal Blue”
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“Red White & Royal Blue” is a gay love story between a British prince and the first son of the United States. Two boys who start off hating each other and and eventually fall in love; a classic enemies to lovers love story. This story made me wish it never ended with how captivating and entertaining it was, made me wish it I had a love story just like it. I can’t wait to watch “Red, White & Royal Blue” come to life in an upcoming movie.
“It Ends With Us”
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“It Ends With Us” brings serious issues to the forefront and takes your head for a spin. But I fully enjoyed it. People all over TikTok are making videos about their dream cast for a movie about this book. Videos about certain scenes from the book had me loving this book even more than I originally did. This book may be triggering to some so do be cautious if you do read it.
“The Love Hypothesis”
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“The Love Hypothesis” is running off the shelves and is on back order due to it being great and having so much hype which it deserves. This book is a page turner love story that made me wish I could read it for the first time again. Some of my friends loved it so much because of the fact they could relate to the main character so much because of the serious topics brought up throughout the book.
After reading this article one might not want to read any of the books that weren’t highlighted well and the ones that were some might go to the store to get them now. This is what the impact of someone’s words on a book can do to readers. Don’t judge a book by its cover.