OE

OE — Open Ending

The Giver

by Lois Lowry · 1993 · Dystopia / YA

OEInfant 'release'Authoritarian control

In a colorless 'perfect' community, young Jonas is chosen to receive its hidden memories.

The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss · 2007 · Fantasy

OEViolence

Legendary Kvothe narrates the story of his early life.

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood · 1985 · Dystopia / Literary

OESexual violenceAuthoritarian control

Offred lives as a Handmaid in the theocratic Republic of Gilead.

Re:Zero — Starting Life in Another World

by Tappei Nagatsuki · 2014 · Light Novel / Isekai

OERepeated deathGore

Subaru is sent to another world where his death resets time.

Conversations with Friends

by Sally Rooney · 2017 · Contemporary / Literary

OEInfidelity (protagonist)Cheating

Dublin student Frances begins an affair with married actor Nick, unsettling her bond with friend Bobbi.

Eleanor & Park

by Rainbow Rowell · 2013 · YA / 1980s

OEStepfather abuseBullying

Omaha, 1986. A bullied, abused Eleanor and a reluctant Park slowly find each other on the school bus.

An Ember in the Ashes

by Sabaa Tahir · 2015 · YA / Fantasy / Dystopia

OEGraphic violenceThreat of SA

Enslaved Laia infiltrates the Empire's brutal military academy to save her brother; cadet Elias plots to escape it.

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer · 2012 · YA / Sci-fi / Fairy-tale Retelling

OEMild violence

In New Beijing, cyborg mechanic Cinder repairs a prince's android and is pulled into a plague and lunar conspiracy.

Scythe

by Neal Shusterman · 2016 · YA / Dystopia

OEExecution scenesMass death

In a post-mortal world, the only sanctioned killers — Scythes — take on two reluctant teen apprentices.

Legend

by Marie Lu · 2011 · YA / Dystopia

OEViolencePlague

In a fractured future America, prodigy June is sent to hunt fugitive Day — and uncovers the regime's lies.

The Fifth Season

by N. K. Jemisin · 2015 · Fantasy / Apocalyptic

OEChild deathIntimate-partner violence

On the cataclysm-prone continent of the Stillness, orogenes who can quell earthquakes are oppressed and feared.

In the Woods

by Tana French · 2007 · Thriller / Procedural

OEChild deathViolence

A Dublin detective investigates a girl's murder in the same woods where his childhood friends vanished 20 years ago.

The Wife Between Us

by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen · 2018 · Thriller / Domestic

OECoercive controlStalking

An ex-wife stalks her ex-husband's new fiancée — but the narrative keeps flipping.