But that was the point, right? Humor can break the tension when things become unbearably heavy. Sadness and deeper understanding can sneak in after a few good snorts have won you over and opened you up. I read her debut memoir, The Clancys of Queens, soon after. About growing up in working class Queens, it was the literary embodiment of the woman herself and I thought: Of course! This is how I want every book to be! Here are other recent reads of mine that scratch that same itch. Pretty please suggest even more? Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. I read this book over the course of a single evening, because I couldn’t stop. You’ve likely seen this book mentioned many times on Book Riot. I’ve even mentioned it myself. But just to remind you, it’s a YA about a year in the life of a teenage girl who is sinking under the weight of a big, terrible secret: her rape at the hands of a high school senior the summer before. This book was gripping and true and heartbreaking and insightful. But what really pulled me through was the narrator, whose quiet humor and strength while in the midst of depression only made her story more compelling. Sara Farizan’s If You Could Be Mine. This one is a recent recommendation from a fellow Book Rioter, and I’m actually in the middle of reading it now, but I’m already loving it. It’s another YA novel, this one about two teen girls in Iran who have been in love with each other all their lives… but who fear what might happen if the truth ever came out. The stakes are high, but the voice of the protagonist—driven by love and filled with optimism—is delightful.
