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The 52 Book Club's 2025 Challenge - hosted by the52bookclub

Breaks the fourth wall
The fourth wall is an imaginary wall that separates the reader from the characters. We as the reader can see and understand the story, but usually characters don't know of or acknowledge the existence of a reader. When a character breaks the fourth wall, they're removing the barrier between the reader and themselves.

In literature, there are a variety of ways a book may break the fourth wall. One of the most common ways perhaps, is addressing the reader directly. (Think of the famous line from Jane Eyre: "Reader, I married him.")

Narrators may address the reader with side comments or an authorial intrusion. (For example, in The Princess Bride, the narrator uses asides marked in parentheses to comment on the story.) 

Breaking the fourth wall is also commonly used in metafiction. Metafiction intentionally references the work's fictional nature. An example of this is when the narrator or characters are aware of or acknowledge that they are fictional characters. 

While there are a variety of interpretations as to what breaking the fourth wall looks like within literature, for this prompt, we're looking for books that break the barrier between reader and character. It may be something occurring constantly within the book, or only a line or two sprinkled throughout. If you think that's happening in the story, it counts toward this prompt! 
All books added
The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman

The Daughters' War

The Blacktongue Thief #0

Christopher Buehlman

399 pages • paperback • 2024

fiction fantasy adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

Horror Movie

Paul Tremblay

336 pages • hardcover • 2024

fiction horror dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spotswood

Dead in the Frame

Pentecost and Parker #5

Stephen Spotswood

384 pages • hardcover • 2025

fiction crime lgbtqia+ mystery thriller adventurous mysterious medium-paced
Repentance at Qumran: The Penitential Framework of Religious Experience in the Dead Sea Scrolls by Mark A. Jason

Repentance at Qumran: The Penitential Framework of Religious Experience in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Mark A. Jason

302 pages • 2015

informative medium-paced
Dear Reader by Tate James

Dear Reader

Devil's Backbone #1

Tate James

387 pages • digital • 2025

fiction romance dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

Confessions of the Fox

Jordy Rosenberg

329 pages • hardcover • 2018

fiction historical lgbtqia+ adventurous challenging medium-paced
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

The Book of Form and Emptiness

Ruth Ozeki

560 pages • digital • 2021

fiction contemporary literary magical realism emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Hope for the Best by Jodi Taylor

Hope for the Best

The Chronicles of St Mary's #10

Jodi Taylor

12 hours, 31 minutes • audio • 2019

fiction historical science fiction adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and The Glory of Growing Up by Evanna Lynch

The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and The Glory of Growing Up

Evanna Lynch

13 hours, 1 minutes • audio • 2021

nonfiction memoir emotional reflective medium-paced
All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell

All the Living and the Dead

Hayley Campbell

8 hours, 57 minutes • audio • 2022

nonfiction history emotional informative reflective medium-paced