Top Ten Tuesday: Difficult Reads

This week's theme is books that were difficult for you to read. There are a number of ways you can intercept this prompt and many reasons why books can be difficult to read.

This week my list is split between books that were difficult for me to read because of subject matter or intense emotions, and the books that I know WILL be difficult for me to read because of subject matter.
Hosted by:The Broke and the Bookish

Books that were difficult for me to read because of subject/emotions but that I still recommend

 

1. Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

I read this book in one of my high school classes, and while it was very good and enlightening, it was extremely difficult to read. This book is a man's reflection on his survival of the Holocaust. What makes this book unique is the author and survivor is a psychologist, so he examines the psychological impact along side the physical impact that Concentration Camps had on prisoners.   

2. The Handmaid's Tale, Margret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale should be read by everyone. The world that Atwood has created is so scary and so plausible that this book had me enraged at some points. The way women are forced to live in this world is hard to swallow, and I think that is what makes this book so powerful, along with the fact that this world doesn't seem that far-fetched or fantastical.

3. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

I'm sure this book is difficult for any book lover to read. Imagining a world without books is very difficult and Bradbury does an excellent job of showcasing what a nightmare a world without books and sharing stories and knowledge would be.

 

4. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Another Holocaust novel, this book shows the Holocaust from the German civilian point of view, which is not often seen. The fact that the main characters in this novel are kids really adds extra oomf to the punch in the gut that is this book. But the writing is beautiful and the story is unforgettable. 

5. Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol, Gyles Brandeth 

I love the Oscar Wilde Murder Mystery Series but the most recent book in the series was very difficult for me to read. Oscar was imprisoned in Reading Gaol prison for this book, and it broke my heart. Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labor for his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas and the imprisonment and being abandoned by Douglas broke his spirit and my heart too.   

6. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

I read this one in my Freshman English class in high school, and I was so upset with the end! I won't spoil it, but something really unfair and cruel happens to Ender and it really upset me. Now, I will say that Ender reminds me of my younger brother which is probably a big part of the reason I was so upset. 

Books that I know will be difficult for me to read

 

7. The Quiet American, Graham Green

This one takes place in Vietnam during the war, and of course war books are always difficult to read. I have seen the movie version of this book, but I really want to read the book soon. I took a class in high school that covered the Vietnam War pretty extensively and it is a particularly upsetting war to hear about, but it is also a very powerful setting for literature.   

8. Beloved, Toni Morrison

I haven't read any Toni Morrison yet, but I really want to. Most of her books deal with heavy and difficult subject matter, but this one is very critically acclaimed. This book deals with the aftermath of slavery and centers around a freed slave women who is haunted by her past as a slave.

9. Atonement, Ian McEwan

This one will be difficult for a few reasons. One, it is a war novel, and two it is a love story. And you know how love stories are when there is a war involved. I have been wanting to read this one for a while now and need to jump on it, I'm waiting to watch the movie until after I read the book, so hopefully that will motivate me. 

10. American Psycho. Bret Easton Ellis   

This one will be difficult for obvious reasons. The narrator of this book is a serial killer so the book contains many disturbing scenes. I want to read this and experience it, but at the same time I'm not so sure if I can handle it. I featured this book on my Top Ten Books I'm on the Fence About Reading List and I'm still unsure if I will ever get to this one. Let me know if you have read it.   

What books made your list? 

  

Recently Read: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

Author: R.L. LaFevers (pen name for Robin LaFevers)
Genre: Middle Grade Mystery/Adventure
Year Published: 2007
Page Count: 233
Rating: 4/5

After finishing the monster that is Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas I was ready for a light and quick read. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos was perfect to fulfill this want!

Theodosia is a a young girl with a great big personality who spends most of her time in the Museum of Legends and Antiques in London, which her parents oversee. She has a particular interest in the ancient Egyptian section of the museum and has the ability to see when objects are cursed with black magic. Theodosia spends most of her time removing those curses and gets no thanks from any of the adults who don't even know the curses exist, When someone steals a very cursed object from the museum, Theodosia goes on a mission to get it back, and undo the curse that has been released. 

This book has all of the elements of a great middle grade novel: humor, adventure, and lovable characters. Theodosia is so clever and it is enjoyable to see the world through her eyes. This book also has a handful of beautiful black and white illustrations in it that add to the story and the tone of the book. The mystery element was well done and built lots of suspense and action.

I loved the added element of Egyptian history and mythology. The book contained a lot of interesting information on the culture without seeming like a boring text book. Theodosia really knows her stuff, and it's great to see a young woman character so interested, passionate, and confident in an academic subject such as history. 

This book was a perfect read after reading a large, emotional, and heavy book. This is the first book in a series, with three other books out right now, I plan to pick up the next books soon and see what sort of trouble and adventures Theodosia encounters in the future! I highly recommend you check out this series, it's so much fun! 

Leave your Middle Grade recommendations below!       

Happy Banned Books Week!

It's Banned Books week!! I love that this week exists and how much work the American Library Association puts into celebrating the freedom from censorship and the freedom to have accesses to information! In honor of this week, I thought I would put together a little collection of the formally banned and often challenged books that sit proudly on my book shelves.

You can see last year's post here.

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky 

Looking for Alaska, John Green

Elanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell 

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou 

The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

The Handmaid's Tale, Margret Atwood 

Beloved, Toni Morrison

The Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

1984, George Orwell 

It is important to note that books are still being challenged and removed from school and library shelves today. If a book has been challenged or removed from your school or library contact the ALA (American Library Association) and they will help you to restore the book to its proper place on the shelf. Hearing about the work the ALA is responsible for makes me swell with pride to be in a place and time where learning and access to information and literature is important and appreciated. It makes me proud to be a future educator of literature.

ALA website 

This site has lots of information on banned and challenged books of the past and present, as well as information on how to fight the removal of a book, and merchandise you can purchase to support banned books week.     

Currently Watching: Monarch of the Glen

I always scroll through all of the BBC shows on Netflix and long to watch them all and curse the fact that I live in America! I've been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I'm currently on season five of seven) but found that I needed a break. I've always eyed the tv show Monarch of the Glen while scrolling through Netflix so I decided I would finally start it!

The show centers around the MacDonald Family who owns the Glenbogle estate in Scotland. Archie, the son, is called back home from London because the family is having financial problems with the house and he finds out that he has been made Lard of the estate, which comes with a whole set up problems. Archie must decide if he wants to stay in Scotland and help his family run the estate, or if he wants to return to London and to his girlfriend. 

The scenery in this show is so beautiful! The estate is gorgeous, the castle is gorgeous, the landscape is gorgeous... are you getting the picture here? 

This show is so funny! The characters are so crazy and so lovable. Archie's father cracks me up with all of the trouble he gets into. The house has its own small staff with huge personalities, and Archie is a hot commodity around town. I have watched the first season and first few episodes of the second season and there has been love triangles galore! 

The show first came out in 2000. There's six seasons on Netflix currently which comes out to fifty-seven episodes. It's very possible there is a seventh season, but I'm too afraid to look it up because I don't want to get spoiled! 

If you're looking for a cute and funny show where everyone has a beautiful Scottish accent (think of it like a whole cast of David Tennants!) I highly recommend you check this one out. The BBC can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. 

P.S. The show is based on a book series by Compton Mackenzie. The first book, The Monarch of the Glen was published in 1941. The series is titled The Highland Series. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR List

I have a lot of books I want to read this fall, but here is my top ten. 

Hosted By The Broke and the Bookish

 

1. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

This book is on my classics to read in 2014 list and since the year is coming to end, I need to read it. I have been saving this book for the fall though, because that seems like the perfect time to read this book. I'm excited to finally read this one.

2. Kiss of Deception, Mary E. Pearson

I just bought this one recently, and I have been really enjoying YA fantasy. This one sounds like a great start to a new series, and the cover is so beautiful. 

3. Persuasion, Jane Austen

This one is also on my classics to read in 2014 list, and will be my second Austen novel. I need to catch up on my Austen so I can start watching all of the movie and mini-series adaptations!

 

4. The Sherlockian, Graham Moore

This one comes recommended to me by my mother, and again it seems like fall is the perfect time to read this book. Plus Oscar Wilde makes a cameo in this book! :) 

5. Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein 

Another book I NEED to read. I have heard nothing but good things about this book and I'm eager to read it. I haven't read any historical fiction in a long time and I'm in the mood for some. 

6. Dracula, Bram Stoker

When else would you read this book?

7. The End of the Affair, Graham Green

I haven't read any Graham Green yet, and I own three of his books. This is the one of his that I bought first, and I get a fall vibe from it. This one is about a man and a woman who break off their affair, but the man just can't quite get over it. 

8. The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater

I've heard nothing but good things about this series, and Maggie Stiefvater in general. This book sound mysterious, and creepy and perfect for fall.  

9. Tiger Lily, Jodi Lyn Anderson 

I can't believe I haven't read this book yet! It is happening this fall! 

10. The Darkest Minds, Alexandra Bracken  

The final book in this trilogy is coming out this fall, so I want to marathon it. I haven't read a lot of dystopian lately, so this will be a fun treat.

What's on your fall TBR. Leave me a link, I want to know!

Literary Look: The Harlem Renaissance

Welcome to my second installment of Literary Look! My first post was on the Beatnik Generation (which you can read here.)  Today I'm here with some information on and recommendations from the Harlem Renaissance.

Quick Overview 
The Harlem Renaissance spanned the 1920's and was a cultural movement that included art, music, and literature. Harlem, New York was the hub of this movement and was packed with talented artists from the African American community, who had migrated from the South to the Northeast and Midwest. So many amazing examples of art came out of this period that I think the best way to learn about this movement is through the art itself.


Poetry
One of the most well known leaders of the Harlem Renaissance is Langston Hughes. Hughes wrote prose, plays, and poetry, but his poetry tends to be the most popular examples of his work. His poems include Let America be America Again, Democracy, Mother to Son, and Harlem (A dream deferred). His poem Harlem (A dream deferred) was written in 1951 after the decline and decay of Harlem and is extremely powerful.

Another poet, Claude Mckay wrote such poems as If We Must Die and The Harlem Dancer. If We Must Die was one of the earlier poems to come out of Harlem and acted as as catalyst to art dealing with themes of oppression and overcoming obstacles.

One of my favorite poems from this movement is Yet Do I Marvel by Countee Cullen. This poem's theme of race oppression is so powerful. The last line of this poem hits you like a punch in the gut.

  

Prose 
Highlights in the form of novels include Nella Larson's Passing, which I loved!, the works of Zora Neal Hurston such as Their Eyes Were Watching God, and the most interesting novel from this movement I have read is Jean Toomer's Cane. This novel is written in an experimental from. The tone of this novel is the most powerful element of this novel and conveys the themes more so than the characters or plots.

 


Music
Music was a huge influence to the literary artists of this time. Jazz music filled the veins of Harlem, and everyone wanted to be a part of the music this town was producing, Such artists as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday are still known and loved today.

 

The Decay of the Dream
By the mid 1930's Harlem, much like the rest of the US was greatly affected by the great Depression. Poverty had wrecked the city, and those with money had left fearing that violence would soon follow the decline of the city. By 1964 Harlem's population was 95% black and less than 20% of the businesses in Harlem were owned by the black population of the city. That meant that any revenue made in the stores left the city each night with the business owners. Riots and violence soon racked the city, and it seemed that as Hughes had suggested in his poem Harlem (A dream deferred), the dream had exploded.

Leave me your favorite art pieces from the Harlem Renaissance below!

Previous Literary Look: The Beatnik Movement

The Time Machine & Appreciating vs. Liking

Author: H.G. Wells
Genre: Classic/Science Fiction
Year Published: 1895
Page Count: 77
Rating: 3/5

Just here to share some quick thoughts on The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. I had to read this one for school, so I don't want to spend too much time writing about and analyzing it here since I'm already doing it in class but I thought I would share something about it.

I'm sure you are familiar with the plot of this novel. A man builds a time machine and travels into the future. This novel is more known for its groundbreaking science fictionness, so to speak, and the impact it had on the genre. This is usually regarded as one of the first science fiction novels.

Honestly, I didn't like this book. I thought it was pretty boring and the action was nonexistent, but because of the impact this book had on the genre of science fiction and its important place in literature history, I appreciate it.  

Which brings me to the biggest thing I will take away from reading this novel. It is totally possible to not enjoy a book, and still appreciate it. Now, I'm sure a lot of people feel this way about classics, but for me this is a big deal. I love literature, and I am devoting my life to studying literature and then teaching others about literature, so for me to admit that I didn't like this significant and highly praised novel is a big deal. I wanted to like it, I expected to like it, but I didn't. I like almost everything I read, very rarely do I read a book that I don't like. Would I like to talk about the plot, symbols, and themes in this book for three weeks of class? Nope. But am I still interested in learning about the impact this novel had on an entire genre of fiction? Yep. 

So, if you come across a book that you're not crazy about, especially in a school setting, try coming at it from a different angle. Don't just focus on the literary elements; try placing it into history, or looking at the book's impact, and learn to say, "I appreciate this work, but I don't like it."  

Which books do you feel this way about?   

Recently Read: Heir of Fire

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Year Published: 2014
Page Count: 562
Rating: 5/5

Also by Sarah J. Maas:
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight
The Assassin's Blade

*This review is spoiler free for the entire Throne of Glass Series*

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas has taken me a while to finish because of how busy I have been with school, but holy moly did I love this book when I finally got the chance to finish it.

And can I just say, this book is gorgeous! I love the covers for this series!

Since this is the third book in the series, I won't give a synopsis and will just jump right into my thoughts about it. 

If you have not started this series yet, you need to. The series is so action packed and has so many great characters and plot twists and turns. The ending of this book specifically was so crammed packed with action I couldn't read fast enough. I'm really excited about where the next book is going to take us based on the ending and I think this series is only getting better and better. Yes, this is a rather large book, but it follows multiple characters some new, some old, and the action never lulls. 

My favorite thing about this series is Celaena as a character. She is so flawed which means you get mad at her for the way she reacts to events or other characters, but that also means she's so real. She is loyal, fierce, brave, completely full of herself, and stubborn. But more than anything, she is afraid of herself, and she feels so real. 

This novel has some very beautiful scenes that illustrate loyalty and love. They are beautiful because they are gritty and reckless, not because they are perfectly staged. There are also powerful scenes in this novel where Celaena must face herself and her past which are done very beautifully. You can almost feel the love that Maas has for Celaena, which is amazing. I can NOT wait for the next book in this series, and I am NOT looking forward to the long wait we will be facing between books! But I will be just as excited when the tittle and cover are released, because I can't wait to see the next cover for this series.

If I could say one thing to Celaena it would be, You Go Girl!  

Also, Maas is releasing an adult fiction novel, which is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, titled, A Court of Thrones and Roses. It is the first book in a series and is set to release May, 2015. Yay!      

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

I thought I would do a Waiting on Wednesday this week, and possibly do some more in the future whenever I'm interested in a new release.

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer 
Release Date: September 30, 2014

Goodreads Summary:
If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be  at home in New Jersey with her sweet British  boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching  old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing  him in the library stacks.

She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.

Why I'm Excited:
I love, love, love The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath which this novel connects too. I know the main character studies Plath's works in her English class, and the tittle of the book is meant to sound like The Bell Jar. I have been seeing some good reviews of this book by those who have read it early, so I have high hopes for it. 

I love when Young Adult literature can appeal to those who read Classics, and since I love both genres, I'm hopefully going to enjoy this book. 

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by: Breaking the Spine

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I've only read one book from but need to read more

I had lots of authors for this list, so I had to narrow my list down to ten. I'm super excited with all of these authors and loved the previous book of theirs that I have read. Again, this list is split into Young Adult and Classics because that is the way my brain and reading tastes work!
Hosted By: The Broke and the Bookish

1. Libba Bray I read The Diviners last October and really enjoyed it. I've heard lots of great things about her other books. I want to read the sequel to The Diviners, Lair of Dreams, which is not yet published and has been pushed back, and her Printz Award wining book Going Bovine next.

2. A.S. King I read Everybody Sees the Ants recently and loved it. I really enjoyed A.S. King's writing and the depth of that book even though it was so short. I  purchased Ask the Passengers shortly after finishing Everybody Sees the Ants, so that is the next book of hers I plan to read.

3. Rainbow Rowell I don't know why I have only read one Rainbow Rowell book. I read Elanor and Park about a year ago, but I just haven't gotten around to picking up anything else by her. I own Fangirl, which I think I will read next from her, and Attachments.

4. Laurie Halse Anderson I read Wintergirls for my Children's Lit class last spring semester and was so impressed by it that I can't stop talking about it! I need to read Speak because it has achieved classic status, and I would love to read her newest release The Knife of Never Letting Go. 

5. Neil Gaiman I have heard nothing but amazing praise for Gaiman and I feel like I'm missing out on something because I'm not head-over-heels in love with him. I read The Graveyard Book and enjoyed it, but I wasn't blown away by it. I own Fragile Things which is a short story collection that I would love to read in the Fall, and I want to read The Ocean at the End of the Lane because everyone and their mother loves that book. 

6. Margaret Atwood My love for The Handmaid's Tale is indescribable, therefore I need to read more Atwood, now! Problem is, I don't know what to read next from her. Any suggestions?

7. Virginia Woolf A Room of One's Own was really great, and I would love to read some of Woolf's fiction. Next up I'm thinking To the Light House before I tackle her masterpiece Mrs. Dalloway. 

8. Jane Austen Of course we can all agree that Pride and Prejudice is one of the greatest novels ever written, and it adapts to screen so beautifully, but I need to read more Austen. I have been meaning to read Persuasion all year, but I'm going to read it before the end of the year for sure (You can hold me to that). I own all of Austen's novels so I need to get on them! I love the humor in her books and her characters are amazing.

9. J.D. Salinger I read The Catcher in the Rye when I was still in high school, and I plan to reread it soon, but I want to read more of Salinger's works. I own three short story collections by him, and next I plan to read Franny and Zooey.

10. Jack Kerouac I read On the Road in August and loved Kerouac's simple and honest writing style. I would love to make my way through his Duluoz Legend and next up is Visions of Cody. 

What author's are on your list? What books by these authors should I read next? 

Love Lost

"Goodbye, dear. Keep well, and be just for your sake and mine."

-Napoleon to his ex-wife Josephine 

1810 

Stacking the Shelves: Nook Purchases

Because I moved, I'm not near a bookstore anymore, which means I haven't been able to just wander around a bookstore and pick something out, so my physical book buying is pretty much at a stand still. This is both good and bad. Good because I can not add to my ever growing TBR pile as quickly as I could have with weekly trips to the bookstore. Bad because I miss my book store!!
I have been purchasing a few things on my nook to hold me over on the book buying feeling. The $2.99 and under section always sucks me in.

 





















Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover I've read one other Colleen Hoover book, Hopeless and I enjoyed it. I have heard that lots of people LOVE this book, which is one of her newest ones, so I thought I would give it a try. I've heard it's quite emotional, which after reading Hopeless, that doesn't surprise me.
Order of Darkness book 1: Changeling by Phillipa Gregory I know nothing about this book besides the fact that it is young adult historical fiction, possibly fantasy, written by Phillipa Gregory. I have yet to read one of her novels, which is crazy because I love historical fiction and the Tudor age which she specializes in.
The Agency book 1: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee I saw this book on someone's underrated books list last Tuesday, and then found it was under $2.99 on my nook so I picked it up. It's a Victorian mystery that sounds like a fun and quick read. I'm really looking forward to picking this one up.

State of Mind

With a new semester at a new school and living in a new apartment, I'm beat. When I'm not in class I don't feel like doing anything besides sleeping. That means I have no energy left to read for pleasure or to write about what I'm reading, and that makes me feel sluggish and not my normal self (kinda like going through a day without your morning beverage of choice.)

Which is one of the weird things about college, it's marketed as the time in your life where you discover what you're good at and what you enjoy, but it also makes it impossible to do those things. And I know the next year is going to be even busier with school, and then after that I have at least two years of grad school.

Thinking about all of this time that I won't have the energy or free time to do something that I truly enjoy has left me a little depressed with a "why even bother to read, I only have twenty free minutes" attitude, But I think the best cure for this problem is to... read!

To get myself out of this slumpy mindset, I plan on rereading some of my favorite books, After finishing the book I'm reading now, (Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas which is amazing but almost six hundred pages long!) I plan to pick up the rest of the books on my rereads of 2014 list (You can see my mid-year update here.) So that means I will be reading one of my all time favorite books The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Not only is this one of my favorite books, but it fits my situation all too perfectly right now, Esther I feel ya girl! My second reread I have planned is The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. 

Knowing that I plan to reread some of my favorite books helps motivate me to read with those extra twenty minutes that I would previously use to just lay in bed.

What do you do to get out of a reading slump or even a life slump?
Leave me your tips!

Top Ten Tuesday: Five Underrated Books in Two Genres

This week's theme is the top underrated books in a genre of your choice. I thought I would split this up between my two favorite genres that I read, Young Adult and Classics. Now I'm not using a real professional or specific definition of the word underrated. If I haven't seen the book around in the bookosphere, then I'm counting it as underrated. I've also included the number Goodreads ratings so you can see how many times the book has been rated there.

Hosted by: The Broke and The Bookish 

YOUNG ADULT and MIDDLE GRADE 

 

1. Death Cloud, Andrew Lane 3,448 ratings on Goodreads
This is the first book in the Young Sherlock Holmes series. These books are about a teenage Sherlock and how he first got into sleuthing. These books are really fun because they line up so well with the original Sherlock stories, and Lane provides possible origins for Holmes' interests and methods. There are four books out in this series so far. I talk a little more about this book in my Sherlock filled post.  

2. The Boyfriend List, e. Lockhart  16,263 ratings on Goodreads 

I have been hearing lots of buzz about e. Lockhart's newest novel We Were Liars but I haven't heard a lot of about this book, which is one of her older works. This is the first book in a four book series about Ruby Oliver. I read this book a long time ago, I'm pretty sure I was in middle school actually, but I remember thinking it was really funny. I have only read the first one, but have been considering reading the rest in the series sometime soon. 

3. The Shadow Club, Neal Shusterman 1,073 ratings on Goodreads

Shusterman is well known for his Unwind series, but I haven't heard much about this book which is part of a dualology. One of my teachers read us the two books in sixth grade, though I would consider it young adult and not middle grade, and I loved both of them. The second book is The Shadow Club Rising.

 

4. Peter and the Star Catchers, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson  61,000 ratings on Goodreads

I know a lot of people enjoy middle grade series, and I highly recommend this one. This is a spin off of Peter Pan written by the grandson of Peter Pan's original author J.M. Barrie. How cool is that?! There are five books out in the series, and although I have not finished the series yet, I'm very eager too. The first book presents the origin story of Peter Pan, Neverland, Captain Hook, Tinker Belle, and the Lost Boys.   

5. Time Stops for no Mouse , Micheal Hoeye 2,022 ratings on Goodreads

I would consider this book to be middle grade as well. I read this while I was in middle school and it was one of the first times I remember being impressed by a book. It is a bit of a mystery story with a mouse for the main character, and he is a very clever mouse indeed. This is the first in a four book series. I have read the first two, and were unaware that there was more in the series. I may have to revisit these books.The last book in this series only has 312 ratings on Goodreads! 

CLASSICS 

 

6. Passing, Nella Larson 350 ratings on Goodreads

Will I ever stop mentioning this book? Probably not! I love this book, and I want everyone to read it. Written during the Harlem Renaissance this is the story of two black women who are friends, one is living in the black community, the other is passing as a white women with a white husband unaware of her heritage. The ending of this book is so great!  Passing review

7. In Our Time, Ernest Hemingway 11,856 ratings on Goodreads 

While I don't necessarily approve of Hemingway's treatment of women, both in and out of fiction, the man can write a great short story. This is a collection of short pieces of fiction that all connect to each other through vignettes that appear at the start of each story. More on this work here. 

8. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald 56,006 rating on Goodreads

Now I know there is nothing underrated about Fitzgerald, but a lot of people read Gatsby and then quit. While Gatsby is his masterpiece, this book is excellent as well. I read this after reading Gatsby and this book is what cemented Fitzgerald as one of my favorite authors. The man can write messed up and miserable characters like no one's business. 

 

9. Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw 53,442 ratings on Goodreads

This is probably the most well-known book on my list, but I still feel that it is underrated, This is the play that the movie My Fair Lady was based off of. If you liked the movie read this. George Bernard Shaw would have been furious with the ending of My Fair Lady, This play is a great piece of feminist literature and Eliza Doolittle is a much stronger character in the play then she is in the movie. 

10. The Fox, D.H. Lawrence  1,032 ratings on Goodreads

This is the only work I have read by Lawrence, but I am eager to read more. Lawrence claimed to understand women more than women understood themselves, which makes me very eager to read his works and find out if I agree with him or not, which I'm pretty sure I already don't agree with his outrageous statement. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this novella by him. It had really powerful symbols and really powerful writing.