Top Ten Tuesday is a Tuesday book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish to make lists of our favourite books or book-related topics. For this week's theme I picked my favourite underrated books from my old spring feature Wannabee Book Hipster. I only chose books published before 2011 though since they're usually the most neglected. Great theme idea!
Top Ten Underrated Books
1. The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz. Probably the most popular book from my list, The Vinyl Princess is a hilarious summer read. The spunky, fiesty protagonist will win over your heart in the first few chapters. If you're a music junkie you'll love the band and lyric references and chances are you'll make your own playlist with the mixed tape songs, just like I did!
2. Waves by Sharon Dogar. A poetic summer novel, Waves is the perfect beach read for anyone bored with shallow gossip novels. Also if you're looking for something with more of a family feel to it rather than romance, yet another great choice.
3. My Life: The Musical by Maryrose Wood. As many of you know I'm a fan of theatre and will be pursuing a degree in it this fall. My Life the Musical is the perfect book for a theatre geek. It's filled with show references, lyrics, and a plot that makes me heart swell.
4. After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr. It's really hard to describe After the Moment because it leaves you with such intense emotions and thoughts. A deeply poetic novel about a boy and a girl who meet one year and the aftermath. Garret Freymann-Weyr is a wonderful author who definitely deserves more recognition for her work.
5. Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby. One of my favourite LGBTQ books by an awesome Canadian author. I loved how it both enforced and broke down the stereotypes of "gay people". If you're not particularly open to LGBTQ literature this might be a good starter.
6. Grace by Elizabeth Scott. Elizabeth Scott is the opposite of an underrated author but for some reason her 2010 novel Grace has received next to no reviews. Maybe it's because it's not her typical contemporary or comedic romance, but it's an amazing novel nontheless. I applaud Elizabeth Scott for taking the plunge into a different genre and rocking it!
7. Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw. I love this book! This was the first non-cookbook food-related book I read and I fell in love. The recipes are awesome and the plot is cute. More people should read Tucker Shaw novels.
8. After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy. One of my favourite prose novels of all time! A thought-provoking tale about cheating from both sides of the act, from the perspectives of the two girls it affects.
9. How I Spent My Last Night on Earth by Todd Strasser. This was one of the first books I ever read that truly tugged on my heart strings. Some people have read it and totally missed all the references, poetic messages, and quotes that make the book so amazing. If I ever found out the world was going to end, this is exactly how I'd want to spend my day.
10. Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony. Another great book by a Canadian author. A very mild dystopian about a futuristic yet rural USA. If you want to take a dip into dystopian without going hardcore, this would be a great choice.
Did you do a Top Ten Tuesday? Post your link in the comments!
I hardly know any books on this list so thanks for inspiring me to read something new :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of any of these. That is what I love about this week's question. You get to hear about books that normally don't come across your radar.
ReplyDeleteI've read The Vinyl Princess and Grace and agree that both of those books definitively should be more read. Oh, and I'm glad to hear After the Moment is good! Have you read Garett's other book Stay With Me? It's a fantastic book.
ReplyDeleteI've read 3 of these, which is something I guess, haha. I'll have to check out 'The Vinyl Princess'!
ReplyDeleteAfter the moment sounds so good! and i've been wanting to read Restoring Harmony for a while, yay for canadian authors :P great list, i think i have some reading to do :P
ReplyDeleteI have not read any of these ...it seems to really be going that way for this top 10. [: But, now I have lots more I want to look into.
ReplyDeleteErin @ Let's Evaluate
Here is my TOP 10!
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ReplyDeleteHello Laura! I seriously haven't read any of these and I am so worried now. My list of To-Read is just getting longer! Thank you for highlighting these good but ignored books. Going to pick some of them soon.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Grace as well and feel the same way you do about it. I'm a Todd Strasser fan, but I haven't heard of this one. I'm adding it to my TBR list.
ReplyDelete-Sarah @ Y.A. Love
How I Spent My Last Night on Earth, eh? Yes, I'd say with a title like that it is definitely a heartbreaker!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Top Ten post for this week: Top Ten Underappreciated Books
And don't forget to stop in and sign up to win in the Readerbuzz August Giveaway!
I must admit I do not really know any of these books, but I have had Grace on my TBR list FOREVER.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of any of these books...more to check out! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog. I want to read the Todd Strasser book that you mentioned. Thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteAnne
My Head is Full of Books
A bunch of these are definitely new to me. I'm surprised that Grace seems to have gotten so little attention given Elizabeth Scott's usual popularity. It sounds really good, too, so what gives? anyhow - I'm definitely planning on reading it now!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in reading After the Kiss and Grace. I wish I heard about them before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great recommendations:)
-leslie
Thank you for your comment and for the great recommendations, I haven't read no books from your list!
ReplyDelete