#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and you can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR. Thank you E. for the awesome graphic for these posts as well!

Hi everyone,

I can’t believe it’s November. What a year. I’m not going to be appearing on my blog much this month, as I’m busy judging for the British Fantasy Awards and Aurealis Awards! But I will be popping in for #5OnMyTBR every Monday. This week’s theme is ‘death’ and I thought I’d struggle with finding books to match. But turns out I actually have rather a lot of books on my physical TBR about death, apparently I like books about pain.

And just a content warning for this post, several of these books explore the aftermath of suicide and so this is mentioned throughout the sections on The Perfect World of Miwako Sumido and And the Stars Are Burning Brightly, if you would like to skip past those sections.

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

Let’s start with a book that even has death in the title!! This book, obviously, is all about the death of Vivek Oji, whose mother finds his body on her front step. The book explores those affected by Vivek’s death, both before and after he dies. I loved Emezi’s YA book, Pet, so I can’t wait to read this one (and their other book on my TBR, Freshwater).

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan

In this book, the titular character Miwako Sumida, has hanged herself, after hiding away in a small mountain town in the months before she killed herself. The book follows two friends of Miwako as they try to discover why she was in hiding and pick up the pieces after she’s gone.

Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall

I really want to read this book asap because I think it will end up being one of my favourite books of the year. It’s about a closeted bi girl whose secret girlfriend dies unexpectedly in a car crash. The only one she can talk to about her grief is her dead girlfriend’s ex; and that’s also the person she should definitely not be getting feelings for.

After Elias by Eddy Boudel Tan

Another book I want to read asap because I think it’ll be a new favourite because I love PAIN. In After Elias, we follow Coen after his soon-to-be-husband’s plane crashes the day before their wedding. But the cryptic last words from Elias on the plane’s recording confuse Coen and Coen is soon forced to question everything he knew about Elias and their relationship.

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando

Finally, this UKYA book has been on my TBR since my preorder arrived earlier this year and seriously, much like every other book on this list, I need to read it asap. It follows 15-year-old Nathan after his brother commits suicide as he tries to retrace his brother’s steps to figure out why he did it, along with the help of Meg, one of his brother’s classmates.

So yeah, a heavy topic this week and pretty sure if I had to put money on what books on my TBR will make me cry, it’ll be these five. I really like reading books that are as hugely emotional as these books will likely be: I like being made to feel something, even if that something isn’t necessarily a happy emotion. Do you like to read books like this? Do you have any favourites that deal with death? Let me know in the comments!