CanCulture’s top 5 Canadian BookTok recommendations

If you’ve been scrolling through TikTok in hopes of discovering your next book to splurge on, we have you covered.

By: Apurva Bhat

(Konstantin Dyadyun/Unsplash)

I think we can all agree that TikTok is an addicting app. With over one billion monthly users, the platform has it all: fashion recommendations, day-in-the-life vlogs, skits and, one of my favorites, book suggestions. 

The term “BookTok” is one that you may or may not have heard of, but its hashtag is extremely popular on the social media app and has over 47 billion views. Books such as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover have received immense popularity through TikTok. 

Given that there are so many recommendations to go through, we felt that it was only appropriate to create a list of Canadian authors receiving all the love on BookTok!

Citizen: Season One by Maggie Ray

Similar to Divergent and The Hunger Games, Citizen: Season One is a young-adult, dystopian novel. When a new cure for mental illnesses is introduced in the city of Reye, Sabine LeRoux is one of the first few to receive it. The enforceable cure is one that Sabine takes willingly. However, things don’t go as she had planned. 

When Sabine wakes up after weeks of being unconscious since taking the cure, she finds out that her best friend Rory has gone missing. What’s weird? No one cares about Rory’s whereabouts. What’s even weirder? The cure has not worked on her. 

Buy Citizen: Season One on Amazon!

Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin

Twenty-something Gilda is obsessed with death and the idea of dying — it’s all she can think or talk about. She’s depressed, anxious, loves animals and is a lesbian atheist that stumbles across a free therapy poster at a local church. When she visits the therapist’s office, she is mistaken as a candidate for a job posting and is instantly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace. 

The book explores Gilda’s interactions and thoughts as she explores this new side of her life which requires her to hide her new girlfriend and the fact that she knows barely anything about the church or God. Oh and also, Gilda becomes a suspect in Grace’s murder.

Buy Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead on Amazon, Audible and Indigo.

Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal

What if men became extinct? 

This graphic novel explores a world with no men in it. When a birth defect wipes out half of the population, women in the world rise to the occasion. This comedic dystopia focuses on a group of women and how they tackle this new extinction alongside their traumas, fears and individual journeys. 

Dhaliwal’s entertaining comic strips seamlessly move the story forward and gracefully introduces feminist concerns such as self-expression and relationships.

Read a preview of Woman World here. Buy Woman World on Amazon, Google Play Books and Bookshop.

@gimmykibbler just wanted to share this book with you 😌 Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal #foryou #fyp #wlw #lqbtq #lesbian #bi #women ♬ Nice Boys - TEMPOREX

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

This slow-burn might leave you wanting more towards the end. Written by New York Times bestselling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Beautiful Ones follows the protagonist Nina as she makes her debut in the city of Loisail, where she hopes to climb the social hierarchical ranks and find a husband (Bridgerton vibes). Her societal debut, however, turns out to be disastrous after members of the community find out about the uncontrollable outcomes of her telekinetic abilities. 

In the midst of all this, Hector Auvray walks into her life. He is also a telekinetic (but one that has made his place in society). 

But their story isn’t like the others. Despite how perfect they may seem for each other, Loisail’s scandalous society and Hector’s past might ruin their relationship before it even begins. 

Buy The Beautiful Ones on Amazon and Google Play Books. 

@kaliereads The Beautiful Ones — 5/5⭐️ such a beautiful, character driven story! #thebeautifulones #silviamorenogarcia #kaliereads #historicalromance ♬ original sound - kaliereads

You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon

Based on the many (MANY) reviews on Goodreads, this thriller-mystery has an ending that is unpredictable and “twisted.” 

The story starts with a man waking up on a beach in Maryland with very few memories of his past and a gash on his head. With some hazy memories and a limited understanding of who he is, he ends up in Maine where his sister Maya recognizes him despite not seeing him for years. To his sister, he’s Asher.

While this is happening, the book’s third protagonist Lily goes to the police because her boyfriend Jack is missing after he didn’t come back from a swim. The twist? Jack and Asher are the same person. 

Lily starts an investigation of her own and finds Jack in Maine only to realize that he lied about his name, among other things.

You Will Remember Me intrigued me in ways I can’t explain, and TikTok convinced me it’s one of those books that I need to read. All I’m wondering now is how he got the gash on his head and why he lied!?

BuyYou Will Remember Me on Amazon, Google Play Books and Indigo.

@hannahmarymckinnon My 5th novel YOU WILL REMEMBER ME is in the @globeandmail ! ❤️😁🥳 #booktok ♬ You Make Me Happy - My Sun and Stars

Please note that the stores linked are only some of the platforms you can purchase the books from — consider supporting your local independent bookshop too!