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In this aggressively digital age we’re living in, it can be insanely easy to find ourselves in an anti-literary slump. Our attention spans are waning, and it’s so much easier for us to concentrate on Instagram Reels than a full novel. But just because it’s easier doesn’t mean it’s better.
With the rather frightening decline of literacy rates in the U.S. right now, it’s more important than ever that we prioritize reading. In the words of my girl Ilana from Broad City, “Honestly Abbi, if you don’t read a book soon, you’re gonna forget how.”
Here are 8 ultimate page-turners with insane twists that'll have you hooked from the first chapter.
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The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
This novel is a feminist literary classic, so please don’t let the crappy 2004 Nicole Kidman movie fool you into thinking otherwise. By the end of the novel, when that unexpected twist resulted in utter tragedy, I was legitimately shivering and calling up all my friends to express my overwhelmed emotions.
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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I listened to this one in audiobook format while walking around Chicago. When I got to the plot twist, I literally screamed in public, and started jumping up and down. A sweet elderly woman asked if I was okay. And honestly? I was in shock. In pure shock.
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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
While not a thriller, this romance novel, (considering you go into it without knowing the premise) will leave you elated with sheer joy once you get to the big reveal. You think it’s about famous 1950s cinema darling Evelyn Hugo and her seven husbands, but as you learn throughout the novel, it’s a whooooole lot more complex than that.
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Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
Ahhhh! I read this book eight years ago, but I’m still terrified, utterly terrified, by its plot twist ending. This is one of those books I had to throw across the room. I contemplated hiding it since I was so frightened.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
We all know and love the Disney movie, but the book, written by Victor Hugo in the 19th century, is so much darker than the film. And let’s be real: the movie itself is crazy dark in general, not just for a Disney movie. But while the animated classic has a happy ending, the book on the other hand… well, I won’t reveal any spoilers but let’s just say it will leave you shocked.
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Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Additionally, Victor Hugo’s other outstanding novel Les Misérables is literally crowded with unexpected twists from page to page. And there are a lot of pages. On a personal note, this has got to be my favorite book, perhaps of all time, and this is coming from someone who hated the 2012 movie.
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1984 by George Orwell
We were assigned this book in high school, and it was one of those transformative novels that changes your way of thinking for eternity. It certainly had that effect on me as a teenager, who was just learning to understand the complexities and nuances of the world. Now more than ever, big brother is watching you.
Amazon
One Day by David Nicholls
Oh, man. That ending. That unexpected, horrendous, shocking, gripping ending! Some people were so overwhelmed by the unexpected twist that it caused an existential crisis or two (I was one of them.) But still, I was a fan of that plot twist TBH, because in a narrative sense, it added so much more weight to the story.
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