Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Hidden Gems in YA Fiction

top ten tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Ten Hidden Gem Books in X Genre: Pick a genre and share with us some books that have gone under the radar in that genre!

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I chose to use a broad brush when selecting books for this topic and just went with Young Adult Hidden Gems in general.  I included several contemporary reads that I loved but it seems like not many others have read yet, as well as a couple of fantasy reads, and at least one historical fiction.  I did cheat a bit with my last three entries (sorry!) and have written little explanations for each cheat below.  Can’t wait to see what hidden gems others have come up with.  I feel like this is one of those TTT topics that is going to cause my TBR pile to grow even taller!

 

Top 10 Hidden Gems in Young Adult Fiction

 

1. WORDS IN DEEP BLUE by Cath Crowley

(Find out what it’s about…)

 

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2. THE MEMORY OF THINGS by Gae Polisner

(Find out what it’s about…)

 

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3.  WE ARE STILL TORNADOES by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen

(Find out what it’s about…)

 

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4. ZENN DIAGRAM by Wendy Brant

(Find out what it’s about…)

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5. HOW TO MAKE A WISH by Ashley Herring Blake

(Find out what it’s about…)

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6. A TRAGIC KIND OF WONDERFUL by Eric Lindstrom

(Find out what it’s about…)

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7. AIR AWAKENS by Elise Kova

(Find out what it’s about…)

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8. AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green

Okay, I’m kind of cheating on this one.  It’s John Green so how hidden is it really?  But I chose it because out of all of his books, it seems to be the one that gets the least amount of attention even though, for me anyway, it was just as good a read as any of his other books.

(Find out what it’s about…)

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9. THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON by Katherine Locke

 

I’m cheating on this one a bit as well, considering it’s just now coming out.  It’s a fabulous read (Check out my 5-star review) and yet it just doesn’t seem to be generating as much buzz as I would have expected it to.

(Find out what it’s about…)

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10. LETTERS TO THE LOST by Brigid Kemmerer

  

And here’s me cheating one last time with a book I haven’t even read yet.  This is one of my most anticipated releases for the year and I’ve read several great reviews for it, but it still doesn’t seem to be getting nearly the attention it should.

(Find out what it’s about…)

 

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Question:  What are some YA fiction reads that you consider to be hidden gems?

38 replies
  1. Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
    Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library says:

    I do like the look of Letters to the Lost even though it’s a cheat! That title definitely grabs my attention. I’ve heard good things about Abundance of Katherines. It’s always funny what book doesn’t get as much attention as it should! Some of my favorite books by well known authors are their least known books.

  2. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    An Abundance of Katherines does seem to get ignored the most, out of all John Green novels. I know all of these but i havent read any of them except Katherines! Nice list. 🙂

    My two choices would be Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert and Willow by Julia Hoban (it did well when it came out, but nowadays I think people forget about it).

    -Lauren

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Both of those titles are new to me, so I’ll have to check them out. It’s always sad when great books seem to just fade into the background.

  3. Carmen
    Carmen says:

    I have a friend that read “Letters to the Lost” and absolutely loved it. The plot really intrigued me and I added it to my TBR, but I just don`t know when I`ll get the time to read it.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Same here. I’ve read so many wonderful reviews about it. I have it on hold at the library but they only have one copy so who knows when I’ll actually get it. Hopefully soon!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Zenn Diagram was so great. I would love to see more people show that book some love. I hope you enjoy the rest of these when you get to read them 🙂

  4. Daan
    Daan says:

    I’ve been reluctant to pick up Air Awakens for a long time, even though it’s been on my TBR ! So many books are being released so fast 😭 I’ve seen both An Abundance of Katherines and Letters to the Lost at the library, hesitated for 30 minutes and decided not to choose either of them xD I’ll be moving up Air Awakens on my TBR if it is indeed a hidden gem !
    Here’s my TTT: https://alibrarymonster.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/ttt-2-hidden-gem-books-in-fantasy-genre/

  5. Jordan Rose
    Jordan Rose says:

    What a great list! The only one I know much about is Air Awakens ( and I completely forgot I wanted to read it, so I’m really glad you reminded me). I’ll have to look into these, I’m always hopeful to find more YA books I enjoy. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Yeah, I actually feel like I have better luck with the titles that fly under the radar. Less chance to overhype them in my head, I guess, lol.

  6. Jo
    Jo says:

    I did the same thing this week, general YA hidden gems, as I couldn’t find enough for one specific genre in general. I’ve heard of a few of these but haven’t read any of them.

  7. Sam@WLABB
    Sam@WLABB says:

    Zenn Diagram was on my list too. It was such a lovely book. You have my fave John Green book on your list!!! It is the most underrated of his books, and I have no idea why. Just Hassan is reason enough to love that book. We Are Still Tornados is one of my top 2016 reads. Such an awesome story of love and friendship. *feels* Words in Deep Blue is one of my top 2017 books (and so begins my Cath Crowley obsession). Letters to the Lost, Air Awakens – fabulous! The Girl with the Red Balloon was great too. I love this list!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I’m so glad to find someone else who enjoyed We Are Still Tornadoes! I saw so few reviews of it when it first came out and I just thought it was such a well done story.

  8. Literary Feline
    Literary Feline says:

    What a great list! I haven’t heard of most of these, I’m afraid. I guess that’s why they are called hidden gems, eh? I have read AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES, which I loved. I need to read more by John Green. I’ve only read that one and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. LETTERS TO THE LOST especially sounds good to me. I’ll have to add that one to my wish list along with several of the others. Thanks for sharing! I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

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