Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
"This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!"
July 5: Top Ten Underrated Books I Enjoyed
I know the topic specifies the books should have under 2,000 ratings on Goodreads, so I divided my list into two halves; the first half of the list has over 2,000 and the second half has less. And bear with me a little if the formatting of this post is kinda wonky, I'm using the Blogger app on my phone as I'm out of town with a dead laptop and no charger!
2,000+ ratings on Goodreads:
1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart — I find that you either loved this book (like me) or hated it. Similarly, you either never saw the giant plot twist coming (also like me) or you predicted it from chapter two. What I love about this book was how detail-oriented the story was and how masterfully the whole plot unwound around the main character. I would reread this book over again and again.
2. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon — I know Nicola has a steadily growing fan base and that there was a great reception of this book considering it was her debut. I'm just surprised it's not held to the same standard as, say, The Fault in Our Stars! I think fans of TFIOS would enjoy this one, and I want more readers to see the brilliance that is Nicola Yoon.
3. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion — I'm pretty sure we all know the movie that was the dorky zombie retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but not many people seem to realize it was a book first! Told from R's perspective, this book is surprisingly eloquent for an undead narrator.
4. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson — Everyone seems to love Maureen for her quirky Twitter presence and her Shades of London series, but a lot of readers overlook her earlier works. When I was in middle school her books were a special brand of contemporary I really enjoyed, and 13LBE was a story about adventure and finding yourself. I yearned for the travel and adventure that was storied in this book.
5. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs — perhaps this title is making its way to the forefront of readers' TBR list because of the upcoming movie, but when this book first came out nobody knew what the heck it was. I picked it up five or six years ago for its Welsh setting and the mystery and horror element punctuated by actual, undoctored, creepy vintage photographs. Ransom wove a unique tale of all things weird and strange, oddities and the horrific were twisted into the norm, and a fantastic plot was the icing on the cake. If you haven't already, read this book before you see the movie. Plus, I think Eva Green makes the PERFECT Miss Peregrine.
less than 2,000 ratings on Goodreads:
6. The Seer of Shadows by Avi — with only 715 community reviews on Goodreads, it's safe to say this book is a little-known treasure. I grew up reading Avi books with my dad, and I got so excited when one day at my school's Scholastic book fair there was a new Avi book about a photography apprentice who could see ghosts. Perfect for little sixth grade me's budding love of photography and well-established love of horror, this quick read was just as satisfying as Avi's other books.
7. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnshon — With a whopping 502 community reviews on Goodreads, this summer read is another underrated early work from Maureen Johnson about three best friends whose summer vacation one year changes everything they thought they knew about themselves and one another. Added bonus, it's LGBT+ and deals with exploration, curiosity, and finding your sexuality!
8. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch — If you follow me on Twitter I'm sure you're aware of how I held a flash giveaway last week for three mystery books. Surprise, surprise, this was one of them! This book only has a little over 1,500 GR reviews and is such a unique take on your average dystopian story. The main character is a boy, a rarity alone in YA; and the plot centers on how a post-war America is surviving after deadly plague and famine, and how they're rebuilding. You usually don't see dystopia as realistic or interesting as this one.
9. The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade — A totally unique steampunk take on a classic tale, where the hunchback Modo can shape-shift and becomes a sort of spy for a secret detective agency, this book was such a fantastic journey into a new steampunk world and a great intro to the genre. This book only got around 354 GR reviews and I think it really deserves to be shared! Steampunk is a genre that is on the rise as of late, and I would love it if this book came into the forefront of that revival.
10. Dreamology by Lucy Keating — With only 1,534 ratings, and one of my favorite debuts of 2016, this was a contemporary I unexpectedly fell in love with. What happens when the boy of your dreams is no longer something your mind creates every night when you sleep, but a real life person? And what happens when he is nothing like the one you've dreamt about your whole life? That's Alice's predicament when she finds out Max may not be so fictitious after all, and what unfolds is an unforgettable and whimsical tale.
So there you have it! Have you read any of these books? If not, have I swayed you to do so? Let me know your thoughts!
