Sometimes there are books that I dubbed favorites and gave 4 or 5 stars and wanted for my collection...and then a year or so goes by and they're no longer favorites.
This post is an open apology (sort of) to all those books I loved before but no longer do.
To Falling for Hamlet: You were one of the first actual YA books I read, and you had the perfect recipe for a new favorite of mine. A Shakespeare retelling! Sadly, I didn't reread you for a couple of years and when I did, the love was no longer there. Your pace was too slow, and you were a stereotypical YA with your foul language and sexual content.
To Nearly Gone: It's not really your fault I've fallen out of love with you. You were great with a female protagonist interested in STEM, and similarities to The Naturals, but then I read your sequel in June, which was nowhere near as good. Nearly Found is the reason I no longer love you.
To North of Beautiful: Like Falling for Hamlet, you were one of the first YA books I read and loved. You were deeply introspective and unique, and I thought you'd be one of my favorite books forever. But like with FfH, I didn't reread you for a while and you changed...or maybe I changed.
To Deception's Princess: Your similarity to Brave grew more apparent when I reread you, and your sequel annoyed me to no end. You have lost my love.
To The Darkest Minds: Your worldbuilding and concept were great, but your sequel dragged you down. I haven't finished your series yet, but I plan to. Still, I don't think that will make me love you again.
To Dorothy Must Die: I thought you were pretty rad when I first read you, but then your sequel, well, stunk. Majorly. It suffered from an extreme case of Second-Book Syndrome. Plus, I can't forget the fact that your author sort of condoned what Kathleen Hale did.
To Isla and the Happily Ever After: While Anna will always be my favorite book of this trilogy, you were my second favorite until I reread all of you last year. Somehow, Lola, which I had never really liked, surpassed you. And then I reread you, Isla, and I found myself annoyed with your main characters and your ending.
To The Summer I Became a Nerd: I thought you were really cute and fun when I first read you, but I kept putting off rereading you and I realized your writing and plot were a little too simple for me. I'm sure you'll delight many other people! Just not me.
So, if you could write goodbye letters to all the books you've loved before, in the vein of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, which books would you choose?
To Deception's Princess: Your similarity to Brave grew more apparent when I reread you, and your sequel annoyed me to no end. You have lost my love.
To The Darkest Minds: Your worldbuilding and concept were great, but your sequel dragged you down. I haven't finished your series yet, but I plan to. Still, I don't think that will make me love you again.
To Dorothy Must Die: I thought you were pretty rad when I first read you, but then your sequel, well, stunk. Majorly. It suffered from an extreme case of Second-Book Syndrome. Plus, I can't forget the fact that your author sort of condoned what Kathleen Hale did.
To Isla and the Happily Ever After: While Anna will always be my favorite book of this trilogy, you were my second favorite until I reread all of you last year. Somehow, Lola, which I had never really liked, surpassed you. And then I reread you, Isla, and I found myself annoyed with your main characters and your ending.
To The Summer I Became a Nerd: I thought you were really cute and fun when I first read you, but I kept putting off rereading you and I realized your writing and plot were a little too simple for me. I'm sure you'll delight many other people! Just not me.
So, if you could write goodbye letters to all the books you've loved before, in the vein of To All the Boys I've Loved Before, which books would you choose?
This is such an awesome idea! I can totally relate, how I love a book when I read it, but then I forget about it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!