What to Read if You Love Every Last Word
I absolutely devoured Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, and based on it’s popularity I am not the only one! And let me tell you, the book hangover I had after I finished it… girl, it was rough! Would I ever feel the same exhilaration, elation, heartbreak from another book? Well, I did so I believe you will too! And to help, I’ve compiled a list of books you’ll love if you adored Every Last Word! Let these soothe that book hangover… or put you into another one since they are that good!
No Going Back
Heart-wrenching and compulsively readable, I dare you to put this one down! Told over the course of a weekend, this book follows Antonio Sullivan just as he’s being released early from Zephyr Woods Youth Detention Center. He’s determined to make amends to the two people he hurt most: his mother and his lifelong best friend, Maya. The conditions of his early release are clear – Antonio can’t have any contact with his father or miss his first meeting with his parole officer Monday morning. But a lot can happen in a weekend, especially when the odds are against you. This one had my heart breaking and racing in turn, and my fellow fans of Every Last Word will love the twists and turns taken throughout this one incredible weekend!
An Appetite for Miracles
If you love Every Last Word for its poignant storytelling and poetry asides, you’ll love An Appetite for Miracles! Told in verse, this novel follows two teens Danna and Raúl. Danna’s grandfather is slowly losing himself to memory loss, and Raúl seeks to find himself in music while he deals with the wrongful incarceration of his mother. When the two meet, sparks fly and they embark on a mission to heal Danna’s grandfather… and maybe heal themselves along the way. This is another heart-wrencher you won’t be able to put down!
Love Times Infinity
by Lane Clarke
One of the things I loved most about Every Last Word was our main character Samantha – she was just so immediately loveable! So too with Michie from Love Times Infinity! If Michie can’t steal your heart, it’s because you don’t have one. I spent the whole of this book wanting only the best things for Michie as she begins to grapple with big questions of purpose, family, and of course first love! Featuring a would-be love interest in Derek de la Rosa, new kid and basketball superstar, this book has plenty of squeal-worthy scenes that will have you kicking your feet in delight balanced perfectly with a heart-wrenching, tear-worthy journey to self-belief. I laughed, I cried, and you will too!
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow
Another one unputdownable read that made me absolutely bawl, As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow stays with me still! If you love Every Last Word for its jaw-dropping revelations you’re gonna want to go get this one right now! Before the Syrian Revolution, Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student with a normal teenager’s life. Now she volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. But her sister-in-law Layla is pregnant, and Salama is desperate to find a way out of the country before she gives birth. So desperate she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move. Torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive, Salama will be forced to choose – one way or another. This one had me absolutely weeping on the subway and had my jaw on the floor! It is not one to be missed!
All the Yellow Suns
If you wished you could get more of Poet’s Corner from Every Last Word, you will be fascinated with the Pugilists – a secret society of artist, vandals and mischief-makers fighting for justice from All the Yellow Suns! When sixteen-year-old Maya Krishnan meets Juneau Zale, she think they’re polar opposites. Maya knows better than to rock the boat, Juneau would capsize the boat just for kicks. But when Juneau invites Maya to join the Pugilists, Maya descends into the world of resistance and the two girls form a fast romance. As their romance turns painful and twisted, Maya will have to learn how to speak her truth – even if it results in heartbreak. This book is like if Every Last Word and Euphoria had a baby. Go check it out, and you can thank me later.
Trinkets
A beauty queen, a wallflower, a burnout: Tabitha, Elodie, and Moe. When the three are brought together by a Shoplifters Anonymous meeting, they forge an unlikely friendship linked by the thrill of stealing and the reasons that spawn it. If you loved watching Sam forge new friendships in Every Last Word, you’ll love watching these girls bond – and maybe just start the step to recovery. Plus, one of the perspectives in this book is told in verse for all my fans of Poet’s Corner!
How She Died, How I Lived
I was one of five. The five girls Kyle texted that day. The girls it could have been. Only Jamie – beautiful, saintly Jamie – was kind enough to respond. And it got her killed.
Stuck somewhere between the horrifying past and the unknown future, another of the “chosen ones” is full of anger as she tries to piece together why she gets to live while Jamie is dead. Now she finds herself drawn to Charlie, Jamie’s boyfriend, all the while knowing their relationship will always be haunted by what-ifs and why-nots. Is hope possible in the face of such violence? Is forgiveness? How do you go on living when you know it could have been you instead? If you love Sam’s journey toward healing in Every Last Word, you’ll adore this soulful and poignant novel as it covers survivor’s guilt, trauma, and one girl’s journey through it.
