Books are powerful, and sometimes, the emotional impact of a story stays with you long after you turn the final page.
For example, in college, I picked up Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow because it reminded me of Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, which I'd read for a class. Girl in Pieces gave me the strongest emotional reaction I think I've ever had to a book. I can still remember reading it on my friend's couch and just feeling numb.
A few years ago, I read They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera. Even though, from the title, I knew how it was going to end, I kept hoping it was a trick, and that somehow, at the last minute, Mateo and Rufus would survive. Reading it during the pandemic compounded the feeling of hopelessness I felt after closing the book.
