If you’re like me and you love stories that make you uncomfortable in the best way—stories with unreliable narrators, emotional landmines, and endings that make you stare at the wall for a while—then here are a couple books that have been sitting heavy with me lately:
-
I know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan – I mean, if you haven’t read this one, stop reading this post and go read it now. The twist. The atmosphere. The grief. It wrecked and delighted me in the best way.
- Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden – I picked this up thinking I’d read a few chapters before bed—and the next thing I knew, it was 2 a.m., and I was questioning everything. Freida McFadden does this amazing thing where she lures you in with what feels like a familiar setup, and then slowly, quietly, she starts peeling back the layers. By the time you realize something’s really wrong, it’s too late—you’re hooked.
I think what I love most about these stories—and the ones I write—is that they don’t tie everything up neatly. They leave room for ache. For guilt. For all the messy, horrible, beautiful things that make us human.
And that’s the thing about secrets, right? You try to bury them, but they find a way to breathe. To bloom. Sometimes they rot us from the inside out. And sometimes—just sometimes—they set us free.
