Ever had a book that made you want to scream in frustration, hurl it across the room, or even out the window? You’re not alone! In the spirit of good fun and literary venting, we’ve compiled a list of books that our team simply couldn’t bear. From plot holes you could drive a truck through to characters that made our eyes roll back into our heads, these are the novels that pushed us to our breaking point. So sit back, grab your popcorn, and enjoy the tales of the books that earned a one-way ticket to the other side of the room.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Let me preface this by saying, yes, I know this is a Pulitzer-winning book. Yes, I am aware that it was made into a movie with the devastatingly handsome Viggo Mortensen. But do I care? No. I hated both. First, there were no chapters…because why follow the rules in the apocalypse? Second, there was no designation on who was saying what and when. Quotes? Who the hell needs quotes? Last, but certainly not least, the writing was just….snooze. I did not need an entire page describing the dribbling of water down rocks to understand the devastation of the landscape or the hopelessness of continued life in a world ravaged by an unknown cataclysmic event.
The number of vague and ambiguous events that occurred — even if just for reader inference — showed a lack of creativity on the writers’ part. I absolutely disliked the “Messiah” undertones that were involved. I think the novel was an amazing idea and loved the fact that McCarthy included gruesome and taboo content that was true to how an apocalyptic world would turn, his execution just missed the mark.
- Kristi Eskew, Editorial
ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas
My opinion of this series is not a popular one. Though Sarah is the sweetest person — I actually met her at Barnes and Noble by accident — I find this series absolutely toxic and has the most annoying heroine. The first book has no connection other than Feyre always commenting on Tamlin’s looks and wanting to have sex with him. He then proceeds to lock her up and she manages to fall in love through nothing short of Stockholm Syndrome. This, friends, is a trope that drives me absolutely insane and is something I hope romance authors walk away from. Forced proximity does NOT equal Stockholm Syndrome.
Rhysand belittles Feyre and makes her feel absolutely horrible about herself by insulting her even though she is supposed to be his “chosen mate.” He then goes against her wishes and parades her around in a Night Court sex party even though it makes her feel uncomfortable.
That makes this whole hyped-up series a hard no for me and one I happily yeeted across the room.
- Blaise Senkel, Social & Editorial
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
I was required to read this book in my freshman year of high school, which shows how much I wanted to yeet this book out the window because I still remember it to this day. I had to force myself to finish this book even though I would vent about it to anyone who would listen. None of the characters are likable and the overall story made me mad. The author’s writing style was so boring. I did not need an entire long paragraph of just the description of the water and sand.
It had nothing to do with the overall story. When some of the characters were killed off, I did not care because none of them were memorable. The ending of the book was also frustrating. After all that the characters went through, the ending felt abrupt and not satisfying at all. Even though I hated this book, it did help me better understand symbolism. I do remember very distinctly that we had to have a discussion about this book after we finished reading it. I am a shy person and during this discussion, you could not get me to stop talking because I was so passionate about how much I hated this book.
- Molly Ireland, Outreach
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Truthfully, I didn’t yeet this one across the room — it was a library book, for one — but I really wanted to. I needed a new book for my reading log in fifth grade, and The Blue Sword looked interesting. Unfortunately, I was deceived. It was boring and I wanted to stop, but my teacher made me finish it because I had already started recording it on my reading log, even though I’d found another book I liked so much better. I got through it eventually. It probably wasn’t that bad of a book, but being forced to read it ruined it for me forever. (Sorry, Robin McKinley!) Just the mention of that book makes me frown, even fifteen years later.
- Danielle Tomlinson, Editorial
Atonement by Ian McEwan
We had to read this book when I was in high school, and although it is a good book, I hated it once I got to the end and to this day could never read it again. The main character’s lie caused so much pain and I couldn’t get over that. I screamed, threw things, including the book, across my room, and even punched a pillow. I’m sure my mother was worried, but she let me be. Never again.
- Jazmine B., Social, and Outreach
Gerald’s Game by Stephen King
The book is about a young woman newly married to a much older man, who is into some kinky stuff. They are at their very remote cabin, with a starving German shepherd running loose in the woods. The husband handcuffs the woman’s wrists to the bed, ready for kinky sex — and promptly dies of a heart attack at the foot of the bed. And now she’s stuck…how do I explain the yeeting moment without spoilers? Hmmm. Let’s just say I yeeted the book when the dog got hungry again…..
- Erin Dzielski, Editorial
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I really tried to persevere with this series (she says after giving up halfway through the second book) but honestly, I just couldn’t keep going. The whole premise of the story didn’t hold me with the factions and divergence concept. Tris as a character felt flat, and the last straw was when she wouldn’t stop mentioning how guilty she felt about shooting a certain character in the first book. I felt like aspects of her situation were somewhat preventable, and therefore, I had no sympathy for the character.
- M.A. Kole, Editorial
The Seduction Expert by Saya Lopez Ortega
I didn’t actually yeet this and wouldn’t say it was a bad book per se, but the main character was ATROCIOUS! I think the author intentionally wrote her that way, but my word!
It’s been a few years since I’ve read this but I believe the FMC is a marriage counselor who spends her days flaunting how rich and hot she is, usually in contrast to her “poor and ugly” clients, blackmailing her client’s husband, and stalking her current boyfriend and knowing what he’s up to all the time. I was constantly baffled by how she could act so nice to them in person and then turn around and be the most vile person ever seen.
She’s called the Baronness, B for short, and my, how she lives up to it.
- Anonymous
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I know…this is one of the extremely successful classics. It’s been years since I’ve read it (which was a school assignment and I never read it again). I love monsters, don’t get me wrong…and I loved the plot, but the prose itself just felt so dull and drab, and it took five attempts to get through the first page. I almost felt like I was reading a textbook. I did appreciate the overarching themes of the book when I finally survived it for the sake of a grade, but it’s definitely archived in my “forget pile” in the dark corners of my subconscious.
- Talia Wall, Graphics
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Let me preface this by saying that Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is actually one of my favorite books. The writing is gorgeous and riveting, and Zevin is so good at crafting raw, authentic characters. That being said, both the main characters endure injustices and tragic events that left my heart aching for both of them. I anticipated something worse was coming, after anxiously reading spoiler-free book reviews, but did not expect it to be that.
Afterward, I was in too much of a state of shock to throw the book, but couldn’t continue reading after being glued to it for hours (of course, the next day I had to continue and see what happened next). Despite the characters going through so much in this book, their perseverance through immense tragedy was actually very beautiful and even uplifting. I still highly recommend Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow to anyone. I think Zevin’s ability to make you want to throw a book across the room (or for me, be in complete shock) is a testament to her talent in writing and ability to create characters you feel so deeply for.
- Emily Chang, Outreach
The Dunning-Kruger Effect by Andrés Stoopendaal, Translated by Alex Fleming
Sometimes, books with unlikeable protagonists can be really fun. But this one was not. The entire time I kept waiting for the protagonist to have some kind of revelation or get a little justice for his behavior, and it never came. I think that might have been the whole idea —the book is supposed to be a satire on privilege, after all — but it was disappointing. And I was really looking forward to it; I’m always looking for books that have characters going through the writing experience. But the protagonist’s writing was as intolerable as his personality, so reading it felt like pulling teeth. If there was ever a book I read that needed to be tossed across the room, it would be this one.
- Abby Caswell, Editorial
One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I picked up this book for something to read on the plane and subsequently finished the entire thing. Obviously, I did not yeet it across the room, no matter how hard I wanted to. The book itself was good; it was heartwarming and made me root for all of the characters. The only problem is that I was flying halfway across the world where I would be living abroad for a while, and I was already missing my fiancé desperately, so the book’s description of grief over her own fiancé absolutely killed me. It was so vivid and raw and real that I just wanted to tear the book up into little pieces as revenge for making me sob uncontrollably next to the poor guy in the window seat. Other than that, it was great.
- Elizabeth Beaver, Editorial
And there you have it! Our team’s most yeet-worthy books, each one an unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) part of our reading adventures. While it’s true that one reader’s trash is another’s treasure, we hope you had as much fun reading about our literary grievances as we did sharing them. So next time you find yourself tossing a book in frustration, just remember — you’re in good company. Keep reading, keep venting, and who knows? Maybe your next favorite book is just around the corner, waiting to be yeeted or cherished!
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