Top Ten Underrated YA Books

A weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish :)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is about underrated books and/or authors, and I decided to narrow mine down to books in the YA genre.  This list is composed of nine books that I feel not enough people have read, or ones that I loved that not a lot of people talk about or have heard of! I am also including my favourite quote from each book.  So, in no particular order… (click the image to go to goodreads!)

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

That’s all we can do, Brit. Take steps. Take enough of them and suddenly, you’re somewhere.

Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

She even takes the goings-on of fictitious characters personally.

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

In fiction, I searched for my favorite authors, women I have trusted to reassure me than not all teenage guys are total ditwads, that the archetype of the noble cute hero who devotes himself to the girl he loves has not gone the way of the rotary phone. That all I had to do was be myself (smart, hardworking, funny) and be patient and kind and he and I would find each other.

As Bea would say, this why they call it fiction.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Envy hurt exponentially more than heartbreak because your soul was torn in two, half soaring with happiness for another person, half mired in a well of selfpity and pain.

The DUFF: The Designated Ugly Fat Friend

Wesley Rush was the most disgusting womanizing playboy to ever darken the doorstep of Hamilton High… but he was kind of hot. Maybe if you could put him on mute… and cut off his hands… maybe—just maybe—he’d be tolerable then. Otherwise, he was a real piece of shit. Horn dog shit.

 Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

For three long years, all I’ve wanted to know was what happened to you. Now… I don’t honestly know if I want you to remember.

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

What is this power the dead have over the ones they leave behind? It’s strange and beautiful and frightening, this deathless love that human beings continue to feel for the ones they’ve lost.

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Funny how we can’t hold onto time, even when it’s strapped to our wrists.

So tell me: What books or authors do you think are underrated? Are there any of these books that you think you might add to your TBR? Have you read any of these books already? I WANT TO KNOW!

Gayle Forman Read Along: Sisters in Sanity – Week 3

Hey everyone!! I’m participating in the Gayle Forman Read Along organized by the ever so wonderful Brittany from The Book Addict’s Guide! The first book we are reading is Gayle’s debut novel, Sisters in Sanity, and this book is being hosted by the amazing Judith at Paper Riot! This post contains by answers for the third week’s reading section, chapters 15-21.

1. Let’s talk about the most important thing here: Brit + Jed. How do you feel about them finally getting together? Do you think there’s a future for them if Brit gets out of the Red Rock?

Eeeeeeppppp!!!! I’m so happy they finally got together! First of all, it was insanely cute, what with Jed taking Brit to the nationaly park and going for a hike, then having their little moment on the blanket in the clearing. AWWWWWW <3 I really really really hope there is a future for them! I mean, Jed’s been taking the time to write coded letters to Brit while she’s been away for 6 months, so he clearly knows how to put effort into a relationship.

2. When Brit gets caught, V takes the blame. Why do you think she’d do that? Do you think there’s more to V than we’ve seen so far? And why would Brit be furious? Do you think this is a normal reaction?

I think that V takes the blame for Brit because…. well, I really have no idea. Maybe because she knows she can get herself out of there soon when she turns 18? I just don’t know. I definitely think there’s more to V than we’ve seen, and I hope we get to find out what she’s hiding soon! I think that Brit got mad at V because Brit feels bad that V is serving the punishment for Brit’s actions, instead of herself. Brit is also probably angry because V has kept so much to herself, and is still hiding things, yet Brit has been completely open. I definitely think it’s a normal reaction from Brit to be angry.

3. “Maybe I was going to end up crazy too. Not the carving-my-skin, barfing-up-my-lunch, ditching-class- types that passed for crazy at Red Rock. But voices-in-my-head crazy. Crazy like my mother.” Brit is afraid she’ll end up like her mother. Why does she think this? Do you think she should feel this way? Would you feel this way?

If I had someone as close to me as my mother go crazy and schizophrenic, I would definitely feel worried that it might happen to me too! The fact that she has been sent away from her family by her father to a place trying to convince her that she might be crazy probably doesn’t help either.

4. Brit’s dad comes to visit, and Brit is angry at him for sending her to the Red Rock. Why did he send her there? Do you think he even knows himself? And do you think he’s right?

Brit’s dad sent her to Red Rock because although he felt he was too late to help Brit’s mother, there is nothing stoping him from “helping” Brit. I think that is what he is telling himself, but the actual reason might just be buried too deep inside him for him to figure out. I don’t think he was right in sending Brit to Red Rock. There is nothing wrong with her at all. She’s a good kid – doesn’t drink or smoke or do drugs – but her father and step-mom don’t seem to see that!

5. And then, finally, we learn that Martha is in the hospital. For Brit, this is the final drop. She’s ready to kick some Red Rock butt. How do you feel about Martha? And what do you think Brit and the Sisters are going to do? Do you think they’ll succeed?

When I found out about Martha, I was so scared! I think Martha really does want to change her ways, but Red Rock is not helping her to do it in a healthy way at all! I really like Martha, and I hope she is okay. And all I know is that Brit is ready to shut this place down. How she is going to do it, I don’t know. But do I think she is going to succeed? Definitely.

Gayle Forman Read Along: Sisters in Sanity – Week 2

Hey everyone!! I’m participating in the Gayle Forman Read Along organized by the ever so wonderful Brittany from The Book Addict’s Guide! The first book we are reading is Gayle’s debut novel, Sisters in Sanity, and this book is being hosted by the amazing Judith at Paper Riot! This post contains by answers for the second week’s reading section, chapters 8-14.

1. “I can’t think too much about how I got here, because when I do I feel like I’ve been betrayed by you, and that makes me feel worse than everything else that’s happened.” (p. 85) Brit says that she feels betrayed by her father. In which way would she feel betrayed by him? Do you think she should feel this way?

Brit feels betrayed because her dad just dumper her at this awful place without hardly any explanation, and so Brit can only guess why he would do that. She feels like her stepmother was the one who wanted her gone, and practically brainwashed her father into wanting that too. Brit also thinks that she is a reminder to her father of what happened to her mother, and she thinks that he may believe that the same thing is going to happen to her. I think that it is fair for Brit to feel a little betrayed at this point, because she really has no idea why she is there and why her father allowed it to happen. It hurts me though, to think that Brit is feeling this way.

2. “Sooner or later, you’re going to have to talk about your mother, about the ways in which her nature mirrors your own.”(p. 117) When Clayton says this to Brit, Brit has a major freakout. Do you think Clayton was right to say this to Brit? Do you think she takes Brit’s mom’s illness seriously? Should she?

I reallllllly don’t think that Clayton has the right to say this to Brit. Clayton obviously doesn’t realize the seriousness of Brit’s mom’s condition, and that Brit doesn’t act the way she does because of it. Brit is right, she acts the way she was raised… it’s everyone else who has changed.

3. “Crazy concept. Trusting your child.” (p. 126) Brit says this to V when they talk about how their parents trust the Red Rock instead of their own children. Do you think the parents of Red Rock girls are wrong not to trust them? Do you think it’s understandable that they trust these so-called professionals instead of their own child? Do you think all of the girls need to be locked away in a special “school”?

I do not think that all of these girls need to be locked away in a “special school.” They seem like regular teenagers with regular problems to me, it’s just that their parents are taking their problems way too seriously and think that they are bigger and more life-altering than they actually are. I think the parents ARE wrong to be trusting the Red Rock staff instead of their own children, but Red Rock puts up a pretty strong facade that leads the parents to believe that everything there is amazing and that they are helping their children in the best way possible…. which we as the readers know are LIES!!!!

4. At the end of chapter 14, there’s a bit of a cliffhanger. Brit and the Sisters are trying to sneak her out to see Jed. Do you think this will work out? And do you think that Jed will actually want to see her?

I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see if this whole sneak out is going to work out okay!!! I really really want it to, but I have a gut feeling that something is going to go wrong. And if Brit actually makes it out all the way to see Jed, I deifnitely think he is going to be overjoyed to see her there. You can tell by the coded letters that he definitely misses her and is into her!

5. Talking about Jed and Brit: do you think there is a future for them? From what we’ve seen from Jed, he keeps reminding Brit of Fireflies, but would they work as a real couple, or does Brit just have an innocent crush?

I really want there to be a future for Jed and Brit!! I think that they would work as a real couple, but that is based on what I know from Brit. We don’t really know too much about Jed, so who knows. I’m always a fan of relationships with the guy being a little bit older than the girl, but then you run the risk of him thinking of her as a little sister! I hope he really does like her.

Gayle Forman Read Along: Sisters in Sanity – Week 1

Hey everyone!! I’m participating in the Gayle Forman Read Along organized by the ever so wonderful Brittany from The Book Addict’s Guide! The first book we are reading is Gayle’s debut novel, Sisters in Sanity, and this book is being hosted by the amazing Judith at Paper Riot! This post contains by answers for the first week’s reading section, chapters 1-7.

1. What is your first impression of Brit? Do you like her as a character? And do you think she really has ODD, or is she just a teenager?

I like Brit. I think that she is an interesting character who has had what sounds like a very interesting and colourful childhood. She has had to deal with a lot of things that I could never in my wildest dreams imagine dealing with, and yet despite this, I feel I am still able to connect with her. We know her true thoughts and feelings from the very moment this book begins, and I think that was a wise move on Gayle’s part, to open up her character so fully from the start. Now, about the ODD?? That diagnosis is such BS! The description of that “disorder” is called BEING A TEENAGER! I know, I still am one!!! Sure, Brit might have that, but so do 90% of all teenagers on earth!!! I really hope that ODD is not an actual thing….

2. What is your first impression of the other girls? (V, Bebe, Martha, Cassie) Do you like them? Do you think they can be trusted? Who is your favorite?

I really like V. I think that she is really and truly going to be one of Brit’s friends at Red Rock and will help her find her way out of that god awful place. If she doesn’t and ends up being a terrible backstabber I am going to be furious!!! V is definitely my favourite of the girls so far. Bebe seems like your typical rich California type girl, but she’s probably not as shallow as she seems. We don’t know too much about Martha so far, but Red Rock seems like an awful place to send someone to get skinny. Personally, I think that Martha knows what’s wrong and how to change it, and just needs the courage to do it, but she will find that courage on her own and not at Red Rock. And Cassie seems pretty funny, but we don’t know much about her yet either!

3. We get a first glimpse of how things are handled at the Red Rock. How do you feel about this so far? Do you think the way things are handled is okay?

GOD NO!!! The way things are handled at Red Rock are disgusting and are NOT OKAY. I can’t even begin to think about what being there would be like. This place practically forces girls to name call until they cry and then that is considered “treatment.” This place needs to be shut down, because by the sounds of it girls must be leaving this place in worse shape than they showed up in!

4. What do you think about the story of Brit’s parents? Do you think this has anything to do with the way Brit acts now?

Brit definitely had an interesting yet troubled childhood. To see your own mother descend into a disorder as complicated and scary as schizophrenia must have been terribly hard to bear, and then to have your father re-marry a woman who completely changes him and turns your life into a living hell would have to be just that – HELL. I think that it might have something to do with the way she acts, but in all honesty I think she just enjoys being in a band and being sarcastic to see what kind of reactions people give her.

5. What is your first impression of Sisters In Sanity after the first 7 chapters? Are you enjoying it? Is this your first Gayle Forman book?

I am loving Sisters in Sanity! I don’t know if I’ll be able to drag out the reading for an entire month though! It’s so good, and I borrowed it from the library so that has a little bit to do with it :P Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next!!!