Top Ten Tuesday: Books We Don't Mention Enough

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week we're talking about books we don't mention enough on our blog

Bekka's Picks

 1. Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul. I was absolutely in love with this book when I read it a few years ago. It still stands out as a favorite. It has everything I love in a contemporary, from the darkness and tension to the biiiiiiiiiiii characters. I love this to pieces and I need to recommend it more often.

2. Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick.  Another story about a tragic, toxic, bad girl. Those are my favorite stories, after all. If you want intense, heartbreaking, headspinning drama, this is the book for you. I could not put it down when I read it a few years ago. I think it's time for a reread.

3. The Archived by Victoria Schwab. I know most of V's fame comes from her adult SFF (Shades of Magic, Vicious/Vengeful) but I fell in love with her work through her YA paranormal series, The Archived. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you do. It's so creative and clever, and I love Mackenzie. 

4. Tides by Betsy Cornwell. This is one of my all-time favorite paranormal stories. It takes some of my favorite creatures, the selkies, and blends it with a beautiful sense of setting. The writing is vivid and gorgeous and the characters are all too real. There's just so much going on, so much packed into every word. If you want a spin on your average YA paranormal creature story, you should really try this.

5. Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by AS King. So AS King is known for writing some really weird books, and this is no exception. How many authors have thought about their characters drinking a petrified bat? Exactly. But if you give weird a chance, you'll find this to be an incredibly engaging, poignant novel about mental illness, feminism, and being an active participant in the world around you.

Alexia's Picks

1. Relative Strangers by Paula Garner. I think I'm gonna be the only person talking about Paula Garner's books. I think I featured her first book on a previous post similar to this one and now I get to talk about this book. I read this book earlier this year and it gutted me in a way I didn't expect. I spent nearly the entire book wanting to hug everyone in it (and I don't hug people) It was a stunning book that I wish more people were aware of.

2. And She Was by Jessica Verdi. Like I've said before, I am a diehard Jessica Verdi fan and I couldn't wait to read this book. It features a mother/daughter relationship that is seemingly stable until the daughter learns the truth about her mother. I had never read a book featuring a transgender character, and I was really hoping it would be done well, and Verdi did an amazing job with this book.

3. Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore. Beautiful, flowery writing is not normally my thing, but oh man, Wild Beauty exceeded my expectations in the best possible way. It made me realize that I need to read my review copies of McLemore's previous books. 

4. Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler. Dahlia Adler has yet to disappoint me and this book based around two best friends did not disappoint either. It's one of Adler's lesser known books for reasons I cannot even begin to understand. Friendship needs to be featured even more in YA, and Just Visiting does that, but with a smattering of romance too.

5. How to Make A Wish by Ashley Herring Blake. I read all three of Blake's YA books this year, actually back to back (I did not plan it that way) and as much as I loved this year's release, I wanted to feature last year's release for this post. It was a story about family, about friendship and about love. It had probably my favorite couple of the year in it.

Have you read any of these?