RECOMMENDED
Anime
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.
Better known as AnoHana, this anime is one of those simple stories that leaves an impression. Also, it is the only anime that has ever made me literally cry. It's the story of how one boy deals with a tragedy within his group of friends, but it branches out to show how each person in the group is coping, eventually coming back together again in a heartbreakingly beautiful ending.
Durarara!!
This is one of my favorite anime of all time. It has action, mystery, slice of life, interesting characters, and an amazing nonlinear plot line that actually requires you to think. It's a hard series to describe because there are so many characters with so many stories going on at once, but trust me when I say it's at least worth a look.
Zankyou no Terror
This series tackles a lot of touchy subjects: child abuse, alienation, bullying, government conspiracies, terrorism. But it handles them in a (mostly) realistic, sensitive way.
Books
Bad Monkey by Matt Ruff
Bad Monkey is a funny, action-packed adventure that's written in an interesting and unique format. It leaves you guessing who the bad guys and who the good guys are, and it has not one, but two unexpected plot twists. Some of the ideas are a bit outlandish, but Ruff has this way of making even the most ridiculous concept (mostly) believable. He sort of slips near the end, though, an in my personal opinion, the first twist would have made a better ending.
Kiss Me, Judas by Will Christopher Baer
This is actually the first in a series, but I found that the second book was far too pointlessly violent, and the first book works perfectly well as a standalone. This one isn't much better in terms of the amount of gore, and I can tell you right now, this isn't for everyone. It has a very noir detective feel to it with realistic, if not always likeable, characters, and a well constructed plot.
Legend and Prodigy by Marie Lu
This is one of those books that grips you right from the beginning. There are some points where that grip slips a bit, but it always recovers and comes back even stronger. It employs a few pretty common concepts: a dystopoian world with a corrupt Government, two people from completely different backgrounds working toward a common goal and eventually falling in love. What makes this series different is the characters. I didn't add Champion because I personally feel that the second book finished up the story nicely, and the third was just added on because the main pairing was at a kind of odd spot at the end of Prodigy.
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Angels have been big in entertainment lately, and most of the angel related media I've seen lately are pretty similar. TMI, on the other hand, handles the angel concept in a pretty interesting fashion. It has it's own well-developed mythos with characters that deal with that mythos realistically. My only problems with this series is that the main character can be extremely childish at times (then again, she is a teenager), and the ending is tied up a little too neatly.
Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto by Anneli Rufus
This is the only book on the list that I don't have a single complaint about. It's also not a novel, but a self-help book. The title pretty much says it all. I personally can relate to the title of loner, and there were so many times while reading this that I had "oh my god, I thought I was the only one" moments. I would still recommend it to anyone, though. To self-proclaimed loners obviously, but even social butterflies could learn a thing or two from it.
This Book Does Not Exist by Mike Schneider
This is one of those books that at times pushes the limit of suspension of disbelief to the point where, unless you take it as exactly what it is, a fictional story, it could become tedious to read. But it's so interesting, and it leaves a lot of things to think about. It's a fun read, even though it isn't for everyone. Then again, what book is?
