Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Surprised Me

This prompt was a lot of fun, because surprising books are often the most memorable. Most of these are books I loved (some of my all-time favorites are in this list!), but it was also fun to rant a bit about some books I just did not like! 

Let me know your thoughts on any of these if you've read them!

1.

One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel

168 pages, Fiction

Published March 14, 2017 by Scribner

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My rating: ★★★★★

This was one of my favorite books of last year. Despite the fact that it is kind of heavy content (it's about child abuse and drug addicted parents and toxic masculinity) the writing was so clear and beautiful, I just couldn't put it down. I was reading it under my desk at school. I did not expect to fall so deeply in love with such a depressing book.

2. 

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

374 pages, YA Contemporary

Published October 3, 2017 from Harper Teen

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My rating: ★★

This one is a more recent read, so maybe that's why it stands out in my memory. I read it because it recently won the National Book Award for young people's literature, and so I expected it to be... really good? Or at least better than the synopsis made it sound (kind of generic). It wasn't, so I wasn't surprised in that regard. It was the narration that I found most surprising. It was third person omniscient, and at times very distant from the characters in a way that felt unnatural for YA.

3.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

332 pages, YA Urban Fantasy

Published January 2, 2007 by Razorbill

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My rating: ★★★★

This series has been a staple of YA since before I started reading it avidly, but I didn't read it until around when the movie came out. I thought it looked like a horribly cheesy Twilight rip off... but it was so fun and amazing! First of all, I loved Rose's snark and confidence (Definitely not a Bella Swann). Second of all, Dimitri. I read it in about a day.

4. 

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Classic, Public Domain

First published 1814

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My rating: ★★★★★

This one is actually memorable because I liked it when I didn't expect to. I used to abhor school reading (before I became a Literature major and started to actually like assigned reading??) but this was the first school book I read I really liked. On top of that, Mansfield Park is generally the least liked Austen novel. Personally, it's my favorite of those I've read (including Pride and Prejudice). Sure Fanny isn't as fiery as Lizzy, but I love how unfazed she is by Henry Crawford!

5. 

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

400 pages, YA Magical Realism

Published September 18, 2012 by PanMacmillan Australia

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My rating: ★★★★★

I don't even remember what made me decide to take a chance on this unassuming magical realist book, but it ended up being one of the most unique, whimsical YA books I've ever read. I will now read any YA book Jaclyn Moriarty writes (Here's another surprise: Jaclyn is the sister of Liane Moriarty, of Big Little Lies fame)

6. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

404 pages, YA Fantasy

Published August 7, 2012 by Bloomsbury

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My rating: ★

This book is a big NOPE from me. Which is obviously surprising because SJM is probably the current most loved YA author on the planet. My problem with the book lies in the characters. Caelena, a badass assassin? Didn't buy it. Dorian and Chaol for love interests? Yawn. And the hype around this book continues to surprise me. Sometimes I feel like I need to reread it because I missed something. But overall: NOPE.

7. 

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

354 pages, YA Dystopian/Retro-Future/Awesome

Published September 6, 2011 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux

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My rating: ★★★★★

Allow me to pitch this book to you the way I wish it were pitched to me. This book is set in a retro-future New York where many necessities are rationed and chocolate is outlawed altogether. Coming from a chocolatier family means that Anya comes from a crime family, and because her (millennial) Grandma is dying and her older brother suffers from brain trauma (due to being shot in the head), Anya has to head her family while navigating family/crime politics and trying to stay in school. The series follows Anya from high school well into her twenties, and is a coming of age story more so than your typical YA dystopian romance. (Although it does have one of my favorite YA romances). This book is honestly so unlike any other YA series I've read, and it's an all-time favorite. Please read it!!!

8.

Sunshine by Nikki Rae

330 pages, YA Paranormal Romance

Published January 28, 2013 by Nikki Rae

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My rating: ★★★★

This is a self-published book and I'm not sure what made me click around on goodreads enough to discover that the author has the same birthday as me, or why that made me read it. It is very Twilight-y in a sense, as it's about a girl who falls for a vampire. But there's also the added element of Sophie processing family trauma, and dealing with mental and physical health (which made her a lot more interesting and relatable to me). And all of the characters are to die for. Since self-published books sadly don't have marketing teams, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised by how much I liked this and how much it stuck with me. If you like paranormal romance at all, this one is definitely worth picking up

9. 

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

517 pages, YA Fantasy

Published November 6, 2012 by Little, Brown

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My rating: ★★★★★

This is a sequel, so I should have known what I was getting into, right? I really liked Karou's adventures in Prague in Daughter of Smoke and Bone (the chimera chapters were less appealing if I'm being honest) and was expecting more of the same. But this book was So. Much. Better. It was epic: it brought the story from paranormal romance to wartime high fantasy. Plus Ziri. It's my favorite of the series.

10. 

Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartlzer

416 pages, YA Memoir

Published May 27, 2014 by Little, Brown

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My rating: ★★★★★

I bought this book because I met Aaron Hartzler at a festival and felt kind of obligated to buy his book. That sounds kind of shitty, doesn't it? But one day, for whatever reason, this book was calling to me and I read all 400+ pages in one day (a very rare feat for me). It is Aaron's memoir about growing up gay in the Bible Belt, and it was full of both love and pain, and it has just really stuck with me. Who knew.

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Gal!

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