I have a love-hate relationship with BookTok. For those who don’t know, “BookTok” refers to the niche community on TikTok where readers discuss books they’ve read. It sounds like a nice concept, right? That’s what I thought when I first learned about it too. I could not have been more wrong.  

This may sound like a pure and unbridled hatred of BookTok, but it’s not! My underlying problem with BookTok is the marketing. A lot of BookTok authors claim that their novels are Young Adult (YA) to excuse poor writing and basic or underdeveloped plots. Moreover, YA literature is meant for ages as young as 12 and as old as 18. That is a huge age gap. Your mindset, perspective of the world and understanding of things are very different at 12 compared to 18. But since the age gap is so wide and marketing lumps these different groups of people together, often you have kids diving into books with content that is definitely not appropriate. With that being said, there are several BookTok novels that I love.

The first of the following books falls into a popular BookTok trend called “romantasy” (romantic fantasy), while the second is a dystopian sci-fi. 

“Caraval” by Stephanie Garber

“Caraval” follows Scarlett and Donatella Dragna from their island home to participate in Caraval, a magical performance in which the audience vies for a grand prize. But as soon as they arrive, Donatella is kidnapped by Caraval’s ringmaster, Legend, and whoever finds her first wins. Scarlett is forced to rely on a mysterious sailor in a game to find her sister where no one is what they appear to be. This book was honestly just plain fun to read and very captivating. It kept me guessing. One of the big mysteries in Caraval is who Legend is since he could be any of the players in the game. Trying to figure out what’s going on is the reader’s task as much as it is Scarlett’s. Despite the romantic element, the theme of “Caraval” is really more about familial relationships than romantic. I particularly recommend this book to anyone with a sibling.

“Scythe” by Neal Shusterman 

This dystopian novel takes place in the future where conflict, illness and even death have been eradicated by a supercomputer designed to aid humanity. However, in order to keep society from overpopulation, “Scythes” are essentially sanctioned killers. Enter Rowan and Citra, who are chosen by Scythe Faraday to be his apprentices. Neither want the role, but if they turn it down, they themselves will be killed. Almost every chapter ends on a wild, infuriating cliffhanger that will be sure to keep you turning page after page. I’m pretty sure I finished the whole trilogy in around a week, if that’s any indication of how incredible it is. 

By this point, you should know that when it comes to my preferences for sci-fi and fantasy books, worldbuilding is everything to me. A lot of the time, BookTok novels don’t have it. When it comes to fantasy, good worldbuilding means the world should be immersive. “Caraval” does that. For sci-fi, the science aspects shouldn’t be too fantastical. I’ll admit, there were times when “Scythe” tested my suspension of disbelief, but it never went so far as to impede on my enjoyment of the book. Overall, I’m still not a huge BookTok lover, but these two books were good outliers, and very fun to read. Enjoy them!