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Top 10 Underrated Books I Enjoyed Reading

top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books We Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads.

One thing this week’s topic taught me is that I don’t read nearly enough underrated books, so I’m very excited to do a little blog hopping after work to see what others are posting so as to expand my reading horizons.

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Underrated Books to add to your TBR List


1. Annapurna by Sharr White

03 I don’t know if drama in general is underrated on Goodreads or if Sharr White himself is because I’ve read two wonderful plays by him that both have less than 2,000 reviews. For those unfamiliar with Mr. White, he is a master at writing powerful roles for women. Even if you don’t read the plays, definitely don’t hesitate to check them out on stage. Brilliant stuff!

Synopsis from Goodreads: “Twenty years ago, Emma walked out on her husband, cowboy-poet Ulysses, in the middle of the night. Now hearing he’s in dire straits, she tracks him down in the wilds of Colorado to a filthy trailer, where he’s hooked to an oxygen tank and cooking sausage in the buff. Their reunion, charged by rage and compassion, brings back the worst and best of their former bond.”

2. A Stranger in the Kingdom by Howard Frank Mosher

04 It has been a number of years since I read this so I don’t remember much about it other than that it reminded me a lot of To Kill a Mockingbird because of the themes it tackled.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Howard Frank Mosher has earned both critical acclaim and a wide readership for his vivid historical portraits of northern New England residents in his fictional Kingdom County, Vermont. A Stranger in the Kingdom tells the unforgettable story of a brutal murder in a small town and the devastating events that follow. The town’s new preacher, a black man, finds himself on trial more for who he is than for what he might have done in this powerful drama of passion, prejudice, and innocence suddenly lost . . . and perhaps found again.

3. The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner

01 The Memory of Things actually hasn’t been published yet, so I’m kind of cheating a bit here because I think this should be on everyone’s radar for when it does come out in September. I just recently read it and thought it was such a moving and poignant read.

Synopsis from Goodreads: “The powerful story of two teenagers finding friendship, comfort, and first love in the days following 9/11 as their fractured city tries to put itself back together.” Read More…

4. Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter

05 This is a suspenseful page turner and a recent release that I’m frankly surprised hasn’t wracked up anymore reviews than it has.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Althea Bell is still heartbroken by her mother’s tragic, premature death—and tormented by the last, frantic words she whispered into young Althea’s ear: Wait for her. For the honeysuckle girl. She’ll find you, I think, but if she doesn’t, you find her. Adrift ever since, Althea is now fresh out of rehab and returning to her family home in Mobile, Alabama, determined to reconnect with her estranged, ailing father. While Althea doesn’t expect him, or her politically ambitious brother, to welcome her with open arms, she’s not prepared for the chilling revelation of a grim, long-buried family secret. Fragile and desperate, Althea escapes with an old flame to uncover the truth about her lineage. Drawn deeper into her ancestors’ lives, Althea begins to unearth their disturbing history…and the part she’s meant to play in it. You can also read my review HERE.

5. All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

06 This book is a fairly recent release that, like Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, so far hasn’t gotten as much attention as I thought it would have. It reminded me a lot of Gone Girl and to The Girl on the Train, except with the added twist that it’s told in reverse.

Synopsis from Goodreads: “Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse.

It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.” Read more…
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