I’m looking for recommendations for a book to get for my 17 year old sister!
Some of the things she enjoys in general:
– Vampire media, gothic
-dark academia
– She’s interested in becoming a pathologist
– Well written interesting female characters
– Hannibal the show
-being an academic weapon and characters who are scarily ambitious often to the point of taking questionable measures to achieve their goals
Her top books:
– The poppy war (still reading) for its deep character exploration and blurred morals
– stalking Jack the Ripper – for the portrayal of feminine yet capable character and atmospheric setting, the romantic relationship
– bunny! This is her favourite book. She enjoyed the unreliable narrator and the sort of psychodelic aesthetic, thriller elements
– Katabasis – for the vibes, she says she enjoys the writing style and the male character. Also she relates to the main character’s ambition, characters who are ambitious to a fault are in general her cup of tea
In general I’m looking for: primarily books that feature an unreliable narrator and are a bit psychodelic like bunny. Written by female authors is a big plus – an interesting ambitious main character. Smart characters that face a mystery. Both classic books and new releases.
I’m already plotting getting girl interrupted for her but I’m looking for more recommendations.
She hates:
Popular TikTok romantasy books
She hated ACOTAR and any cringe smut book (no offense just not her cup of tea)
Please recommend any book that might fit some of the criteria or go a bit beyond them but which seem like they would interest her! They can be YA or not, but well written.
Thank you very much
by Fun-Sell3030
3 Comments
loved shutter island!
def check out The Secret History by donna tartt – its like the ultimate dark academia with morally questionable characters and that whole “smart kids doing terrible things” vibe she seems to love
also maybe Mexican Gothic by silvia moreno-garcia, gothic vibes with an unreliable female narrator and some really trippy psychological elements that might scratch teh same itch as Bunny
To break her niche tastes (its wonderful to have them btw), consider *Let The Great World Spin*. It is a 911 novel set in 1974 New York City. Tilly (a heroin addicted prostitute, and grandmother whose best friend is a priest) is tied for my favorite female character ever (next to Briony from *Atonement*), wonderfully written. This book is the reason I made it in literature when I was in college.