A Guide to Viral TikTok Books: Which Books are Worth Reading?
Posted on January 26, 2022
While mindlessly scrolling through my for-you page, I stumbled upon a side of TikTok called BookTok. As the name suggests, BookTok is devoted to everything and anything related to books – reviews, recommendations, hauls, etc. Certain books even went viral on TikTok and lead to popular book chains such as Indigo creating “Trending on TikTok” sections in their stores and online. Like many others, I became intrigued and wondered if these books were really as good as people were making them out to be. As a result, here are my reviews and ratings of popular BookTok books.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Image Credit: Amazon
I don’t think I could make this list without talking about The Song of Achilles as it is probably one of the most talked-about books on BookTok. It’s a modern take on Greek mythology that follows the story of Patroclus and Achilles and focuses on topics such as growing up, love, and war. This book was so well-written that I found myself really invested in the story and the characters. I especially loved Patroclus’s wisdom and view of the world. I will admit that a couple of parts in the middle of the novel felt long and slow but there was so much detail that I think really contributed to the story in the end. I ended up rating this novel 5 out of 5 stars and I honestly think that everyone should read it. Beware though, the final few chapters are heart-wrenching, to say the least.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Image Credit: Amazon
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo gives us a look into the world of Hollywood glamour and celebrity culture. It’s a story of stardom, love, and tragedy told by old Hollywood movie icon, Evelyn Hugo herself. I honestly loved everything about this book. It was written with so much emotion and attention to detail that I felt like Evelyn Hugo was a real person. Also, the plot twist near the end of the novel was unexpected and really tied everything together. All in all, I really loved this book and loved getting a glimpse into the complicated lives of movie stars. This book exceeded my expectations and I ended up rating it 5 stars.
They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera
Image Credit: Amazon
Another very popular recommendation from BookTok is They Both Die At the End. One of the main reasons I chose to pick up this book was the title which appears to spoil the ending. Despite the interesting title, this book really fell short for me. It is a story about two strangers, Mateo and Rufus, who spend their last day on Earth together. While I think that it was a good concept, I don’t think that it was well executed and found it to be very cheesy, almost cringey at times. I ended up rating this book 3 stars. It would have been a 2-star rating if not for the ending which I thought was very impactful and well thought out. I did like that this novel was fast-paced, having entirely taken place in one day, however, I definitely don’t think it lived up to the TikTok hype and likely wouldn’t recommend it.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Image Credit: Amazon
It Ends With Us is primarily a romance novel about Lily and Ryle who bump into each other in unexpected ways and quickly fall in love, however, something happens that reminds Lily of her troubled upbringing and causes her to question everything. I had a hard time putting down this book due to it being easy to read and also its fast-paced plot. However, there were definitely some parts of the book where I felt like things were missing or were overlooked. Nonetheless, I ended up rating this book 4 stars and would definitely recommend it to others. I think it would be a great book to get out of a reading slump due to its fast-paced nature. This book does touch on some intense and possibly triggering topics so I would encourage anyone to look up the trigger warnings before reading it.
