Fell in a bad slump once again, I'm getting frustrated. Need recommendations.

[Lily]

This is more of a rant, but I'm also asking for recommendations. I read one too many YA thriller books where they started off strong, but then the plot got boring in the middle of the book. It's frustrating because I really wanted to like these books, too. Sometimes, I get so frustrated that I want to give up on reading the whole genre altogether because so many books have disappointed me (maybe I am just outgrowing it).

I feel like thriller is not for me. I have noticed that in many of the books, the plotline takes several chapters to develop before it picks up (about 10-15 chapters, sometimes more, sometimes less). A lot of books will also have multiple chapters of filler and slice of life content, despite not being contemporary books.

There are a lot of books being advertised on social media as "page turners," "books to get you out of a slump," or "books I couldn't put down", but when I read them, I lose interest after the tenth chapter because nothing really happens! Sometimes, I will stick around for 15 chapters or so before the plot really starts to pick up. Other times, I will automatically lose interest and return it back to the library.

With that being said, I need some book recs, YA or not, that have plotlines that hook you in and build suspense. I am fine with world-building. I don't really enjoy romance unless it's personally relatable (I'm a sucker for weirdo, nerd, gamer, or alternative subculture romance).

Here are some of the books that I have read that have gotten me out of slumps:

The Maze Runner
Ready Player One (longest book I have read)
Cinder (the second book lowkey sucked, though)
City of Bones
Clockwork Angel
Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus Series
Divergent
The Hate U Give
The Education of Margot Sanchez
Always Running
Sing, Unburied, Sing
My Dearest Darkest
Six of Crows
It Ends With Us (as fucked up as this book was)

[yyagmurrtk]

Hii!! I’m not sure if you’ve already read it but I think you might like Warcross and Wildcard by Marie Lu! This duology helped me get out of a reading slump, too. It’s science fiction with a romance subplot and overall it has an easy to understand world building. I personally felt like I was watching a movie instead of reading a book, and I guess you could say that it’s quite similar to Ready Player One.

[Emily]

Personally, the Shatter Me series brought me out of a major reading slump ages ago. The world building in Shatter Me is pretty cool. I’m not sure if you’d already read it. If that series isn’t your thing though, then I’d recommend Caraval. I actually just finished it today, but I couldn’t put it down. It has been months since I’ve been so invested in a book, and in my opinion, there was never a dull moment. The imagery is a little different, but it’s honestly perfect for the overall atmosphere of the book. While I could just be dumb, many of the plot twists genuinely caught me off guard. For the first time in a while, I was unable to predict the next sequence of events. At some point, I just threw all pretenses out the window because nothing is as it appears. I might just be in the honeymoon phase right now, but I genuinely think this was one of the best books I’ve ever read.

(I apologize for the long rant. I hope you’re able to get out of the reading slump, even if these recommendations aren’t helpful.)

[Crystal]

Try these two: Invisible friend, Mondays not coming… but usually audiobooks get me out of it. I can adjust the speed and move quickly through some parts. Ohhhh a book called OUT is toooo gooood! I’m trying to think as I type. There’s another one but I cannot remember the exact title… Story of Beautiful Girl, should be it.

[Lynne]

Try some of Adele Jones' books. They can really hook you and if there's any romance at all, it's really light. They're a bit different too.

You could start with Integrate.

Or if you want something really different, there's Immortal Mistake. It comes after the Integrate trilogy but can be read as a standalone.