Books That Never Leave Us
The Books That Never Really Leave Us
I recently finished reading all three of Sarah J. Maas’s series.
If you’ve read them, you probably understand what happened next.
I went into withdrawals… For days afterward, I wasn’t quite ready to face the real world. And now that Queen Sarah has announced the next books for ACOTAR, I feel like an addict jonesing for next rush. It can’t come soon enough.
The characters stayed with me. The friendships stayed with me. The victories, losses, sacrifices, and impossible choices lingered long after I turned the final page.
That’s one of the things I love most about books and the Maasverse especially.
Some stories entertain us while we’re reading them. Others become part of us.
As both a reader and a writer, I find myself thinking about why certain stories leave such a lasting impression. It isn’t just the magic systems or epic battles. It’s the emotional connection we build with the characters. We celebrate when they succeed. We hurt when they fail. Somewhere along the way, they stop feeling fictional.
Sarah J. Maas has clearly mastered that art. The fact that millions of readers continue talking about these characters years after their stories were published says something powerful about the impact a great story can have.
As a writer, I admire that. But admiration doesn’t describe what I’m feeling and thinking completely. Yes, admiration, but also a gold-standard to strive for. I’m realistic. I can’t write the next Maas novel. No one can be Sarah J. Maas except Sarah J. Maas. Or Rebecca Yarros (another favorite) or Nancy Brooks (another legend). But I do hope to create stories that leave readers feeling something. Stories that make them think. Stories that stay with them after the final page.
That’s ultimately what inspires me most as a writer. For me, it’s not about the bestseller lists or rankings. (But, I wouldn’t be mad at a bestseller ranking either! LOL). But, the possibility that a story might matter to someone. That years later, they might still remember a character, a scene, or a choice that changed how they saw the world.
Those are the books that never really leave us.
I still remember books that I read as a kid. And when I think about those books, it still gives me the feels. Sometimes, I chuckle because my parents just loved that I was reading. Now that I’m an adult and a mom myself, I was probably reading things that I shouldn’t have at certain ages, but hey… you know… it expanded my mind. And I’m all the better for it.
Here’s books that I read in my earlier years and I still think about at times. I read these between ages 10-18. (So loooong ago).
- Where the Sidewalk Ends
- The Little Prince
- Watership Down
- I am the Cheese
- Flowers in the Attic (series)
- Anne Rice (all her books)
- Salem’s Lot (scared me, but I finished it!)
- Outbreak (this came back to me during the pandemic)
What books have stayed with you long after you finished reading them?
