There is no doubt that BookTok and other bookish trends across all social media platforms have helped bring back books and the enjoyment of reading. With recommendations everywhere, reviews, honest opinions, trends, and bookish items, BookTok has it. But let’s go back in time, when apps like Vine ruled the world, everyone had skinny jeans, and chokers ruled fashion. The 2010s were like any other time when trends dominated the Internet, especially as it advanced. Today, we are taking a quick trip to an alternate world where BookTok was a thing back then. These are ten books that would fill every booklover’s For You page.
Trigger Warning: Some of the books in this list contain heavier topics like graphic violence, murder, sex crimes (including sexual assault), racism, cancer, and death. Please read all content and trigger warnings before purchasing.
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The 2010s were the time for dystopia, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins would be one of the leading books. With the third book in the series released in 2012, all three books would pop back up, just in time for the third release date. Panem is built on the ruins of North America, with the Capitol and 12 districts surrounding it. The Capitol is cruel, and to keep everyone in line, they force each district to send a boy and a girl to participate in a brutal game shown on TV known as the Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl, becomes a tribute, but her choice will change everything she knows, or kill her.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was another extremely popular book and series, and though originally published in Sweden in 2005, it was translated and released in the US in 2008. Just in time to become popular on BookTok. Harriet Vanger disappeared 40 years ago, but her Uncle never gave up and continued discovering what happened. He hires a journalist for help, so the journalist and a spunky girl named Lisbeth work together to unlock the truth, but only find more darkness than either thought.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Help by Kathryn Stockett was released in 2011 and was so pivotal then that it would have been just as significant in the online bookish community. The story revolves around three women — a Black maid named Aibileen, who can no longer stay quiet in the face of injustice, another Black maid named Minny, who must keep her employer’s secrets, and a White woman named Skeeter, who just graduated from college but failed to snag what actually matters: a husband. Despite their differences, the three come together to write a book centering the experiences of Black maids and emphasizing the racial inequity that permeates their segregated town. Their words, while dangerous, may change their community for the better.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
The Maze Runner by James Dashner is another book series, first published in 2010, that would have ruled BookTok. Thomas was picked up in a lift, with all his memories gone, except his name, and all the boys in the lift with him have the same story. Soon, they are dropped into an area where a constantly changing, perilous maze is the only way out. No one has succeeded. Then the first-ever girl joins them, and her message for the group changes everything they have learned.
Matched by Ally Condie
Published in 2011, Matched by Ally Condie is another dystopian book series that rocked the charts. Do you sense a pattern in the 2010s books yet? In this world, The Society chooses everything for you: who you love, what you do for a living, and when it is your time to pass. Cassie has never doubted them before, but when The Society gives her a difficult decision, her best friend, Ky, or Xander — either everything she has known or what is meant to be — nothing is the same.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
This dystopian trilogy, Divergent by Veronica Roth, which was published in 2014, was right up there with The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games, and the fanbases often overlapped; perfect for BookTok. In Beatrice Prior’s world, everyone is divided into five factions: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. Everyone has two choices: the faction you grew up in or the one you tested into. However, Beatrice’s test result will change everything; her choices will shock her community, and every action has its consequences. They come a lot sooner than you’d think.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Up next on 2010s BookTok is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which was released in 2014. Nick and Amy celebrate five years of a lovely marriage, but Amy goes missing during the festivities. Everyone was pointing fingers at Nick; it is usually the spouse. However, Amy isn’t the perfect girl everyone loves; she has her secrets, too. With pressure from her family, the media, and the cops, Nick has no idea how to act or what to do. The town’s favorite man starts to spiral, but is he really the killer?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, also published in 2014, was a #1 bestseller on multiple new sources, and would have been a #1 bestseller on BookTok. Hazel knows nothing but hospital walls and smells, with a malignant tumor making her terminal. Due to its shrinking, though, she gets a few more years, but then she meets Augustus. When he joins the cancer support group for kids, her world is flipped upside down, and maybe she will finally rewrite her story and find herself outside her diagnosis.
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Martian by Andy Weir was another 2014 book, but it is still beloved to this day. Mark was the first astronaut to walk on Mars, but he also might be the first to die on it. After a brutal dust storm, his team abandons him and he finds himself utterly alone on Mars, with no way to contact Earth. There are hundreds of forces against his survival, but Mark refuses to give up. Will his adaptability and resourcefulness be enough?
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Greek mythology never grows old, nor does The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Though first published in 2005, the last book in the series was published in 2009, making it the perfect series to blow up on 2010s BookTok. Percy Jackson has always gotten into trouble, but then again, what else will you do when your teacher turns into a monster? Now, mythical creatures are everywhere, and so are the Greek Gods, and he has already pissed off a few. Through twists and turns, and with the help of his two friends, he must return what belongs to Zeus and survive the encounter to live, but how can a 12-year-old do that?
Returning to the present, it is clear why these books ruled the charts and, therefore, will rule BookTok. What is your favorite book for the 2010s BookTok list?
Want to read about the most popular dystopian books in 2010? Click here!
Check out the team’s favorite dystopian stories here!
