As a millennial, I’ve (mostly) resisted the siren song of TikTok – let the youth have their own platform, rather than invading it the way Boomers invaded Facebook, and all that. That said, it’s impossible to deny the impact that ‘BookTok’ has had on publishing. It’s now common to see books with covers proudly advertising that they are ‘TikTok sensations’, or tables dedicated to ‘BookTok Best-Sellers’ in bookstores. If, like me, you’re not on TikTok but you’re curious about what the kids are reading, here are some of the books that are big on TikTok.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
38.6M posts
Blurb: “Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros. Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. Fourth Wing will have your heart pounding from beginning to end.” Read my full review of Fourth Wing here.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
17.6M posts
Blurb: “In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in The Hunger Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.” Read my full review of The Hunger Games here.
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
13.7M posts
Blurb: “A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder is the story about an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an ending you’ll never expect. Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town. But she can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?” Read my full review of A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder here.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
15.3M posts
Blurb: “A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma.” Read my full review of A Little Life here.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
29M posts
Blurb: “Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other. Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t.” Read my full review of Normal People here.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
114.8M posts
Blurb: “Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true. An honest, evocative, and tender novel, It Ends With Us is a glorious and touching read, a forever keeper.” Read my review of It Ends With Us here.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
2.9M posts
Blurb: “In Beach Read, a romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.”
A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Maas
29.1M posts
Blurb: “When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world. From bestselling author Sarah J. Maas comes A Court Of Thorns And Roses, a seductive, breathtaking book that blends romance, adventure, and faerie lore into an unforgettable read.” Read my full review of A Court Of Thorns And Roses here.
First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
1.1M posts
Blurb: “Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing. A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in First-Time Caller, a cozy, Sleepless in Seattle–inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.” Read my full review of First-Time Caller here.
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
13.8M posts
Blurb: “When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming an adult, writer Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, finding a job, getting drunk, getting dumped, and that absolutely no one can ever compare to her best girlfriends. Everything I Know About Love is about bad dates, good friends and—above all else— realizing that you are enough. Glittering with wit and insight, heart and humor, Dolly Alderton’s unforgettable debut weaves together personal stories, satirical observations, a series of lists, recipes, and other vignettes that will strike a chord of recognition with women of every age.” Read my full review of Everything I Know About Love here.
Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
7.8M posts
Blurb: “Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the Transition. Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. In Tender Is The Flesh, he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.” Read my full review of Tender Is The Flesh here.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
3.9M posts
Blurb: “Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later they fled in the dead of night, an ordeal her father recounted in a memoir called House of Horrors. Maggie was too young to remember any of the horrific events that supposedly took place, and as an adult she doesn’t believe a word of her father’s claims. In Home Before Dark, Maggie starts to experience strange occurrences ripped from the pages of her father’s book, and the truth she uncovers about the house’s dark history will challenge everything she believes.”
They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
4.8M posts
Blurb: “On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day. They Both Die at the End is a tour de force from acclaimed author Adam Silvera.” Read my full review of They Both Die At The End here.
Shadow And Bone by Leigh Bardugo
12.4M posts
Blurb: “Enter the Grishaverse in Shadow And Bone. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold―a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed. Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite―and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.”
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
4.9M posts
Blurb: “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. Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable. The modern, sophisticated suspense novel became a runaway smash hit on TikTok and introduced the world to a family hiding a jaw-dropping secret.” Read my full review of We Were Liars here.
Swift And Saddled by Lyla Sage
29.5M posts
Blurb: “When Ada arrives in Meadowlark, she finds herself in a dive bar where she can’t seem to shake the eyes of a handsome cowboy. When she leads him to the back of the bar, he leaves her with a kiss that most people can only fantasize about. She almost regrets that she’ll never see him again… except it turns out he’s her new boss. Weston Ryder is a happy guy. Even happier now that the mystery woman from the bar is the interior designer for his dream project on his family’s ranch. He feels like he hit the jackpot. It’s too bad she wants absolutely nothing to do with him outside of work. From the author of the BookTok sensation Done and Dusted comes the next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, Swift And Saddled – a small town romance featuring opposites attract and forced proximity.” Read my full review of Swift And Saddled here.
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
44.9M posts
Blurb: “Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.” Read my full review of The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo here.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
22.7M posts
Blurb: “Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.”
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
6.8M posts
Blurb: “In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.” Read my full review of The Midnight Library here.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
16.4M posts
Blurb: “When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic.” Read my full review of Red, White & Royal Blue here.
April 5, 2025 at 12:44 AM
I was starting to think I was officially and undeniably out of touch till I got to Where the Crawdads Sing. I have read that one and I could not put it down. 😂
April 11, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Ahahaha well clearly you’re still young and hip Hannah 😉