Here are 85 books that Three Things I Know Are True fans have personally recommended if you like
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As a former school counselor, I helped students navigate the ups and downs of friendships daily. As I mended relationships as part of my day job, my nights consisted of listening to true crime podcasts, reading murder mysteries, and watching enough thrillers on the Lifetime network to write a book about it. So, I did. Well, not literally, but I am the author of YA thrillers where friendships take centerstage. Now, I help fictional characters navigate friendships—this time, with disastrous results.
I had to include the OG twisty friendship story on this list. Even though I read this novel a decade ago, that final twist stays with me. However, the twist wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t been invested in the relationships.
What really struck me is that the “friends,” in this case, are actually cousins. As someone who considers my cousins to be my best friends, this was the aspect of the novel that resonated the most with me. Also, reading about a vacation home near Martha’s Vineyard didn’t hurt matters.
The TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller.
A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends-the Liars-whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honouree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
Don't miss FAMILY OF LIARS, the thrilling prequel to We Were Liars, published in May 2022.
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
As a troubled teen who wasn’t raised in a traditional family environment, I had always gravitated toward books with transformative characters—underdogs who were lost or lost their way by accident and on purpose.
The genre never mattered to me as much as my ability to relate to struggling protagonists who needed to escape their situation or environment, regardless of what they had to do, right or wrong. Love them or loathe them, I learned something from each of them. I hope you enjoy their journeys as much as I have.
I found it easy to sympathize with Ponyboy Curtis as a victim of circumstance. He’s poor and raised by someone other than his parents, just like I was. More than that, I loved how he doesn’t cling to any of the early illusions about himself, his family, the neighborhood gang, or even the rival gang from the West side.
Instead, he tries to see things as they are. And even though this 14-year-old punk, who belongs to a “gang of greasers,” discovers how unfair life can be, he still takes it upon himself to give meaning to what is lost. There is something incredibly noble in seeing a smart, empathetic teen wrestling with loss and struggling to be his own person against all odds.
50 years of an iconic classic! This international bestseller and inspiration for a beloved movie is a heroic story of friendship and belonging.
Cover may vary.
No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends-true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is…
I have always straddled between the worlds of fiction and poetry. I received my MFA in poetry in 2016, but during my time in the program, I was often told my poems were too narrative. Sometimes in my fiction workshops in undergrad, I was told my stories were too poetic. So when I finally jumped into the world of verse, I really fell in love with the intersection of poetry and story. Finally, there was a medium that felt “just right!” There are so many fantastic novels in verse out there—with so many more to come—but I hope you’ll enjoy these five favorites of mine!
Long Way Down does an incredible job of telling such a contained story, telling everything within the span of a single elevator ride.
Reynolds uses the elevator trip to make the protagonist encounter ghosts of multiple dead people in his community, all connected to his murdered brother, and question if vengeance is the right answer to his grief. This is a well-deserved classic, and a must-read for all novel-in-verse fans!
“An intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger.” —Booklist (starred review) “Astonishing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A tour de force.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A Newbery Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Honor Book A Printz Honor Book A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of…
Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away.
When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…
I’ve always thought that the most clear-eyed, unforgiving observers in literature are teenagers, not because adolescence is simple (it’s the opposite), but because young people haven’t yet learned to shrug and look away. The novels I've chosen here all have central characters who see the adult world's failures, hypocrisies, and prejudices with a directness that most of us gradually lose; and they all use coming of age as a way to confront a world that is already, in some fundamental way, broken – by grief, violence, or the gap between what adults promise and what they deliver. Those are exactly the themes I love to write about.
I’ve always been fascinated by strange social enclaves and secretive, sealed-off, private worlds, and this book has both.
But in fact, the thing I admire most here is the sense of place and atmosphere. Tartt writes with a lush, immersive style which I found is increasingly compelling as the book went on.
Using a murder as the gateway drug to what’s really a literary fiction character study is both sneaky and brilliant: I was hooked by the story in the first chapter, but once I’d finished the book, it was Richard’s voice, those eerie characters, their strange insular co-dependency, and the biting Vermont winter landscape that really stayed with me.
'Everything, somehow, fit together; some sly and benevolent Providence was revealing itself by degrees and I felt myself trembling on the brink of a fabulous discovery, as though any morning it was all going to come together---my future, my past, the whole of my life---and I was going to sit up in bed like a thunderbolt and say oh! oh! oh!'
Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries.…
I have always been fascinated by people and I love stories. All we are is who we are to each other. Our childhoods are such a formative time and they echo into our future. We never really leave them behind. If we have a childhood wound we have to fix it. Childhood trauma and recovering from it is such a fascinating topic. Psychology has always intrigued me. We can suppress memories and then, boom!, they hit us and we have to deal with the fallout. I have read so many books on the topic and I look forward to reading more in the future.
Ripple Effect has the perfect title as it shows how the things that happen in our past ripple through into our adulthood. N. A. Cooper does such a superb job of telling the story of Erin who had an affair with a teacher when she was only fifteen years old. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, her past starts to haunt her after she is attacked in the park and left notes about what happened all of those years ago.
Haunted by her past and unable to allow herself to be happy Erin gets in her own way. Can she learn the truth about what really happened? I loved this book.
“Outstanding . . . one of the best books I have read.” —Beechclose, five stars
A long-ago illicit relationship continues to upend lives in this taut psychological suspense novel . . .
Fifteen years ago, teenage Erin had an affair with her teacher that led to tragedy and changed Erin’s life. Today, she’s a married woman who keeps to herself and stays close to home, still scarred by the experience.
When she’s attacked while running in the park, Erin doesn’t tell her husband—but she does confide in Nick, the man who came to her rescue. Then letters start to arrive,…
I am a voracious reader of romantic fiction, and I’m always drawn in by books where time plays an important role. I love it when the characters have limited time and are on a countdown, or time is stretched out between their interactions, or when one single moment changes the course of their lives so completely. It always adds so much conflict and drama to a plot, as if time is a character in itself: it’s such a big thing in all our lives, but it’s also, in some respects, completely arbitrary. I love all these books because time and timing have such a big impact on the characters.
I found this book so emotional: a book that deals with such difficult subjects and has heartbreak in it but is so uplifting, too.
Scarlet is killed in an accident and has to watch the people she loves deal with the aftermath. I thought Evie’s grief was so real, and I was desperate for her to find happiness again after losing her best friend. I am always drawn to a love story that seems impossible, and this one had me on the edge of my seat as Nate is drawn to Evie, but their happy ever after seems so out of reach.
I cried a lot but finished it full of joy and with a renewed desire to live life to the fullest.
This heart-wrenching read about friendship, love, and loss tells the story of a woman grieving the death of her best friend and learning to embrace a future she never imagined—perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver.
One moment in time can change everything...
The day Scarlett dies, her hopes and dreams for the future die with her…or so she thinks. Because she’s still here—wherever here is—watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most. She’d do anything to go back and join the living, especially Evie, her best friend who needs…
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…
As a 15-year-old, Peter started his first business remodeling houses. He hired help older than him so they could drive him to the job sites. Peter used this first business to help finance his college education. After graduating from the University of Kansas, Peter started his career working in the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in the Houston, TX metro, and in the evenings, Peter received his M.B.A. from the University of Houston. It was through his initial career experiences, that Peter discovered he wanted to help businesses become the best that they could be in pursuit of their vision.
To succeed in selling your product, service, or even yourself into the job of your dreams, Tyler Watson asserts that you shouldn’t be selling at all! Instead, your focus needs to be on enrolling your customers or your new employer into what you are bringing to the table that will transform their lives. The Enrollment Effect gives you the information you need to master the tools of enrollment at all levels including relationships and your own personal success psychology. So, whether you are working on starting a new business or looking for your dream job, you must study and master enrollment to fulfill your objectives and elevate your income!
In 2013, Tyler Watson was averaging $15 an hour as a massage therapist. Today, he is earning five to six figures a month teaching message-bearers like you—networkers, trainers, speakers, leaders, healers, those in service-based sales, anyone with a message—how to share your message, master your stories, and sell your passion in a way that will allow you to step into your power and enroll clients consistently. What has made the difference? In The Enrollment Effect, Tyler reveals the powerful set of truths that has unlocked his earning potential and moved him into a sphere of success he once believed was…
I adore romance in all its forms. I’ll read Viking romance, contemporary rom-coms, alien adventure, and fantastical, magical shifter tales to romances that take place in prison or an equipment rental store. But my first love will always be Regency romance, which is probably why I’ve also chosen to write it. The stories that are always closest to my heart, no matter the subgenre, are the ones that succeed in breaking the mold. The five books on this list are only the beginning of the wonderful, unusual historical romances that are waiting for intrepid readers. Happy reading!
I’ve read this m/m romance multiple times for many reasons. First, it takes place in NYC. Second, both characters are working men (no dukes or millionaires!!) and Third, it is a hot, hot, hot enemies to lovers romance that gives the reader a vibrant picture of both the banking business at the end of the nineteenth century, but also tons of fascinating details about daily life and work culture.
My favorite part of this story is the development of the relationship between the two leads. Both Jonah and Reid practically leap off the page. I love having an anal-retentive control freak paired with a charming, easy-going rogue.
Jonah Woolner's life is as prudently regulated as the bank where he works. It's a satisfying life until he's passed over for promotion in favor of newcomer Reid Hylliard. Brash and enterprising, Reid beguiles everyone except Jonah, who's convinced Reid's progressive ideas will be the bank's ruin. When Jonah begins to discover there's more to Reid than meets the eye, he risks succumbing to Reid's charms - but unlocking the vault to all of Reid's secrets could lead him down a dangerous path.Losing his promotion - and perhaps his heart - is the least of Jonah's difficulties. When the vengeful…
After picking up a copy of James Herbert’s Lair (the second in his Rats trilogy) back in the early 80s, I decided I wanted to write something myself one day. That day came in about 1990, when I finished my first manuscript, Minstrel’s Bargain. I also wrote another MS around that time called Point of Contact, but nothing happened with these stories and I gave up on my writing dreams to concentrate on bringing up a family. Fast forward to 2015, and I sent the MS for Minstrel’s Bargain to an indie publisher. To my surprise, they took it on, and that book has spawned two sequels, entitled the Prophecy Trilogy.
James Herbert was, for me, the king, and The Jonah is brilliant. Jim Kelso, undercover cop, is a man with dark secrets. Shunned by others in the Police, he is seen as the eponymous Jonah as everything he touches seems to go wrong. Sent off to investigate a suspected drug factory on the coast, Kelso finds himself not only fighting the drug dealers he has been sent to bring to justice, but also with his own horrifying past. Part police procedural, part terrifying horror. Brilliant stuff.
The shadow of the past was always with him. But he never knew what it was, or when it would strike next. In James Herbert's The Jonah, detective Jim Kelso is sent to a small coastal town to investigate drug smuggling and stumbles on a dangerous organization. Suddenly more than just his life is at stake. It's his past, his future, his sanity. Through torture and drugs he discovers the terrifying secret of The Jonah. And learns, in the most horrifying way that it can destroy him as well as others . . .
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
I enjoy stories with morals & adventure! The animal kingdom has always been a favourite of children around the world, and a perfect way of conveying these fables without boring the reader. My particular love for foxes has always been there but also extends to other forest creatures. They are always my first choice when picking a book that kids will love and also for my video game designs.
The theme of this book is universal. Many of us have always desired more and find little solace in what we have, when what we have is truly all we need. The Whale Who Wanted More reflects a society that needs too much of everything and never has enough. The book tells the story of not living the life one should and depriving ourselves of real happiness only because we think we need more. Humphrey the whale wonders in the deep blue too busy and stressed to think about what he really wants in life.
A stunning undersea tale of friendship, community and discovery from the bestselling creators of The Lion Inside.
Under glittering waves of a vast ocean blue, a beautiful world is hidden from view. And there, in the cool and the quiet of the deep, a great, gentle giant was stirring from sleep . . .
Humphrey the whale is on a quest: to find the one perfect object that will make him feel complete. He roams far and wide, gathering endless undersea treasure as he goes. Yet, no matter how many goodies he accumulates, Humphrey still doesn't feel content. Could it…
