I'm trying to decide how to accurately describe what I'm looking for. I'll give some examples of books that hit the mark for the most part, but I just need something that's not so mainstream, YA, Disney, HEA feeling, you know?
– Grapes of Wrath
– Memoirs of a Geisha
– Game of Thrones
– Wuthering Heights
– Lowtown
– The Life of Anna
I need characters that actually struggle. Not just 5 chapters of something moderately bad and then some white knight scenario. Real character growth.
Hit me with anything dark and gritty.
No animal cruelty. Nothing else triggers me. Do your worst.
by seraphimas4481
9 Comments
*A Fine Balance* by Rohinton Mistry
Parable of the Sower is dystopian. Characters go through exaggerated versions of real world issues at the time. They’re still issues to today too.
Main character struggles to stay alive in a world where walls don’t really stop criminals. Then has to find something, anything savagable enough to build community to increase everyone’s chances of living.
A dark book I never see on here is “I could live here forever” by Hannah halpern. This one stayed with me for a while.
The fourth wing trilogy one of the best
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker.
journey to the end of the night
Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman. It reads a little like YA but it’s from the perspective of a teen experiencing the onset of schizoaffective disorder. The author’s son in real life also has the disorder.
If you can do horror elements, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Set in a home for pregnant teens in the 70s. The supernatural elements don’t hold a candle to the real life horrors of women who had to go through similar.
Ten Days in a Mad House. The real life story written by Nellie Bly about her time posing as mentally ill to see what really went on in late 1800s asylums. Her reporting helped make a small dent in these places changing after.
Please read “A Short Stay in Hell”. Quick read but one of my favorite books of all time.
Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Get ready to have your heart ripped out.