Saw some good Steampunk recommendations last week! If you missed it, you can check it out HERE. I love this meme! I’m getting some great suggestions; be sure to tell all your friends. (Do I sound desperate? Because I totally am). But really, what makes a meme successful? How does one person’s idea for a weekly post become hundreds of people’s weekly features? I’d be fascinated to know what the recipe for success here is.

This week’s topic: John Green

He’ll make you laugh, and then he’ll turn around and rip your heart out and slash it into a million pieces. What books do you recommend after John Green annihilates your soul?

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road is confusing and murky, until you reach the end and you suddenly realize it’s brilliant. Kids at an Australian boarding school live lives that are somehow dreamlike and odd, though there’s no magic here. No paranormal activity. It’s real life, and yet, somehow different. One thing is certain, it’s a story about figuring out who you are, where you come from, and whether or not the two are mutually exclusive. I really loved this one.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This is actually the only Rainbow Rowell book I’ve read, but I absolutely adored it. Cath goes off to college to be a creative writing major, but she only wants to write Simon Snow  fan fiction. And hang out with Levi, her roommate’s boyfriend. She doesn’t really know how to be on her own, now that her twin has all but abandoned her to enjoy the wilder side of college while Cath spends most of her time in her dorm or in the library. This one is funny, full of romance, and follows a family trying to figure out how to function as it grows and changes.

Pieces of Me by Carrigan Richards

This was a review request that I was sent last year, and I was blown away by it. The story follows a girl who gets dropped off at a psychiatric institution by her parents because they don’t know how to deal with her panic attacks. Her nightmares. Hallucinations. The reader learns Corrine’s story as she tells it to her psychiatrist, in bits and pieces until we have the whole picture. Ultimately hopeful and victorious, this was an interesting journey through one girl’s darkest moments and how she climbed out of them.

Love’s Prey by Meg Xuemei X

This was another review request that took my by surprise. It follows the story of Xirena, a girl in a Chinese village that is abused by…well, pretty much everyone. Except for the artist boy who lives nearby, who takes an almost obsessive interest in her. Kai continues to reach out to Xirena, trying to draw her out of her protective shell, trying to get her to truly live. This was an unusual and unique romance, and I really enjoyed it.

Books on my to read list that are similar to John Green:

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

I ADORE this movie. Really. You should go watch it. It’s funny, deals with serious issues in a pretty healthy way, and has some sweet friendships and romance. I wanted to read the book the moment the movie ended. I sadly still haven’t read it, but I still really want to.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Another one that I love the movie of. I was sort of obsessed with it when it came out, and I watched it a bunch and made everyone I knew watch it. I still haven’t read the book, but seeing as Chbosky wrote the screenplay for the movie, I’m guessing it’s AWESOME.