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My favorite book recs

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Many of my book recommendations contain plot twists, psychological thrillers, family drama, romance, and historical fiction books. Happy Reading! ๐Ÿ“– ๐Ÿ›
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Jocelyn Zapata profile picture
The writing really embodies what is it to be a teenager. How your upbringing affects how you see the world.
Looking for Alaska by John Green, Paperback
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Such a great thriller. One minute you THINK you know whatโ€™s happening and then BOOM! another twist. 10/10
The Surrogate Mother - Freida McFadden
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WOW!! WOW. WOW. It dives into the world of a teenager living in a communist country. Wanting to be free from oppression but unsure how to go about it. After all, he is only 17! This book left me in tears. Beautifully written
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, Paperback
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Would you go back to the past knowing that thereโ€™s nothing you could do to change the future?
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (B&N Exclusive Edition) ...
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Psychological thriller. Everyone wants fame and fortune. But what are you willing to sacrifice for that lifestyle?
Still See You Everywhere (Paperback)
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Family chaos. Family secrets. This author beautifully uses a weather metaphor to describe the events that occur throughout the life of the Alvarado family.
L.A. Weather: A Novel by Marรญa Amparo Escandรณn, Paperback
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Heartfelt & emotional book with a plot twist at the end.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Paperback
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10/10. No notes
The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Book One) by Suzanne Collins
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An eye opener. I have learned many stories that our school systems have suppressed.
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
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Heartbreaking story about life in Japanese intermittent camps. Also, reflects a lot of the issues going on in America today
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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The hard truth of individualism and marrying outside of your culture. We get so caught up in our new lives that we unintentionally lose sight of who, what, and where we came from.
Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins
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Rex (the main character) grows up in a hostile environment with a narcissistic mother. He deals with emotional and physical abuse, struggles with self discovery and self doubt. Due to his perseverance and love and motivation from his grandmother.. Re...
Abuela, Don't Forget Me by Rex Ogle
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We donโ€™t get to choose our family. But we do get to choose how we cope with the traumas theyโ€™ve passed down
Between Two Trailers : A Memoir - J-Dana-Trent
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Our bodies are unique in the way they suppress bad memories to keep us safe. We must look internally to heal ourselves
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk
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A young girls POV living in natzi Germany. Very important book to read especially during these times.
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank, Paperback
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Emotional book. Really puts into perspective the daily battles POC deal with. I enjoyed the movie as well
The Hate U Give (Printz Honor Winner) by Angie Thomas, Paperback
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Heartbreaking and insightful. The hard reality of many families till this day. The main character is resilient, he learns how to survive on his own and not let detainment define his whole life
Detained by D. Esperanza; Gerardo Ivรกn Morales
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Anything Frieda McFadden is a 10/10. The writing draws you in for more. You donโ€™t want to put the book down
The Housemaid (Paperback) - Books
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Relationships are more than just loving someone they can be messy, chaotic, entertaining, eye opening, fun, and everything in between! Would you be willing to risk it all even if it meant you donโ€™t get to end up in the same timeline as the person you...
The Seven Year Slip (Paperback) - Walmart.com
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It really is these damn phones! ๐Ÿ“ž โŒ
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
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Immigration is important for a society to thrive. This book does an amazing deep dive as to how immigration benefits all.
The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome ...
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I grew up catholic. Itโ€™s all Iโ€™ve ever known. So, reading this book about Christianity from a Hispanic perspective was insightful & educational
Maรฑana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective|eBook
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The biggest thing this book taught me was to question everything. Everything is not what it seems.
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
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RIP. Jane Goodall โค๏ธ. Truly an inspiration and a light in this dark world
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times|Hardcover
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History rhythms. Educate before itโ€™s too late.
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
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A coming of age storyline. Exploring family tensions, sexuality, career goals, and, life goals. How much are you willing to sacrifice for your dream life?
My Train Leaves at Three by Natalie Guerrero
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Amazing book. Would recommend a thousand times over
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, Paperback
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I had two theories on how this would end & I was wrong. So many twists and turns. Makes you second guess everything
Fifty Fifty: A Novel by Steve Cavanagh, Paperback
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Family secrets everyone has them. But what will happen when everyone has had enough of the lies and secrecy? What are they willing to sacrifice for true freedom?
We Were Liars Books & Family of Liars Novels
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Ultra rich familyโ€™s empire is staring to crumble. What secrets are they hiding?
We Fell Apart - (We Were Liars) by E Lockhart (Hardcover)
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If youโ€™re in a book rut I would definitely recommend this book. It pulls you in from the first chapter & makes you question every character. Amazing twist around chapter 25. Left my jaw hanging open lol.
Never Lie by Freida McFadden, Paperback
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Weโ€™re introduced to a rich affluent family who takes a vacation visiting their daughter, who now lives on an island. Everything seems fine. Except the daughter is hiding something. Every other family member wants something, needs something or is hidi...
The Inheritance: A Novel by Trisha Sakhlecha, Paperback
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A profound investigation into the meaning of justice, empathy, and doing what is right even when the odds are against you.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Harper Lee, Paperback
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memoir on the authors experience growing up as a mixed-race Filipina in suburban Florida, exploring themes of identity, belonging, and family dysfunction through the lens of her relationship with her mother and the infamous mango tree that led to a f...
The Mango Tree: Memoir of Fruit & Felony
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a coming-of-age novel told through lyrical vignettes about Esperanza Cordero, a young Chicana girl in a poor Hispanic neighborhood of Chicago, exploring themes of identity, belonging, poverty, gender, and dreams of escape, all centered around her dis...
The House on Mango Street (Vintage Contemporaries)
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set in Nazi Germany during World War II, following young Liesel Meminger as she steals books and learns to read, finding solace and connection through words while her foster family hides a Jewish man in their basement
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Paperback
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two polar-opposite best friends, Poppy and Alex, who take annual summer vacations together for a decade until a trip to Croatia ruins their friendship
People We Meet on Vacation by Henry & Emily
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a woman who finds her fiancรฉ with his childhood best friend, only to end up in a fake relationship with the best friend to make their exes jealous, leading to unexpected feelings
Emily Henry - Funny Story
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A former alchemist with amnesia, who is imprisoned by necromancers in a war-torn world and must uncover her past while navigating a dangerous relationship with her captor, the High Reeve..
Alchemised (B&N Exclusive Edition) by SenLinYu, Hardcover
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a popular young adult dystopian science fiction series. following a group of teens trapped in a mysterious, deadly maze.
The Maze Runner Series Complete Collection Boxed Set (5-Book)
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The story follows Violet Sorrengail, a frail 20-year-old forced to become a dragon rider at the brutal Basgiath War College
Rebecca Yarros - Fourth Wing Series 3 Book Set
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the rise and fall, birth and death of a mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family
One Hundred Years of Solitude: Classic Novel
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set in colonial Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and serving as a critique of South Africa's racial politics and the psychological toll of apartheid
The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing
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one ordinary day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin, following three charactersโ€”Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalusโ€”as they navigate their thoughts, actions, and interactions
Ulysses: 9780679722762: Joyce, James: Books
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memoir detailing eli wiesels survival as a teenager in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Buchenwald
Night by Elie Wiesel, Paperback
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a queer couple, Charlie and Eve, who buy a house to flip, only for the previous residents to show up uninvited, leading to supernatural events, disappearances, and Eve's descent into madness as she questions reality and the true nature of the family
We Used to Live Here: A Novel by Marcus Kliewer, Paperback
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two couples whose lives intertwine when one husband, Jake, goes missing, leading to secrets, lies, and betrayals between the friends, Lily and Nina, and their husbands, Christian and Jake
Just the Nicest Couple: A Thrilling Suspense
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a young woman named Loretta who escapes an abusive "ranch" for troubled teens run by her parents in the 1990s, and later becomes an advocate for runaways as an adult in New York City
The Home for Wayward Girls by Marcia Bradley
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historical fiction novel that connects three women across different time periods (1900, 1966, and 2024) through a mysterious and valuable book, exploring themes of forbidden love, secrets, and the enduring power of literature
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton
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a humorous and heartfelt adult novel about the chaotic lives of teachers at a Texas high school, Baldwin High, following the death of a substitute teacher in the faculty lounge
The Faculty Lounge: A Novel - Jennifer Mathieu