Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Hidden Gems in YA That Deserve More Hype

Hello, and welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday is a meme that is run by the lovely folks over at Broke and Bookish. This week, our topic is the Top Ten Hidden Gems in whatever genre we prefer. I am going to talk about the Not So Hidden Gems That Deserve the Hype.

Let’s begin.

10. White cat by holly black

Not many people talk about this trilogy, and, like, listen: this is so good. Noir fiction is not something I reach for normally. Holly Black just knows how to write dark and eerie fiction, that is dramatic and funny at the same time. I’m due for a reread at some point soon. It’s been five years since I have read this series.

9. Lament by maggie stiefvater

For whatever reason, I feel like Stiefvater’s older work tends to be dismissed. Before I had even heard of the Raven Cycle, I read this duology (is it a duology? Such a mystery). It had music, and fairies. In short, it was a delight.

8. the knife of never letting go by patrick ness

In general, Patrick Ness doesn’t get enough credit in the blogging scene. After reading his A Monster Calls, I am pretty much invested in all his work, which I have collected quite a bit of (ew, that sentence was so gross. I apologize to my friends and family). All I hear is how there’s something horrific that happens in this first book. As Augustus Waters says to Hazel Grace Lancaster, “It’d be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.” That’s all I can say to Patrick Ness. I’m ready for this.

7. the girl at midnight by melissa gray

I started reading this book a few days ago, and I was kind of annoyed by all the claims that it was just another Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which I also had read snippets of before. This story is a bit of a slow burn, but it has such an intricate world. Plus, the main character steals a burrito. How can I not like her? Come on.

6. Deathless by cathrynne m. valente

Haven’t read this one yet, but I noticed that it doesn’t have much of a discussion on it. It has a fascinating exploration of a Russian myth/folklore and I want to read it so bad. I have the book ready to go, and I will be picking it up soon to see what it’s all about. For me, I am hoping to see a better exploration of power and good/evil. The way this story was pitched on the Internet was “Shadow and Bone but with more Russian folklore and better relationship discussion.” I am here for this! Also, we need to talk about this book more. That, I know already.

5. unspoken by sarah rees brennan

Sarah Rees Brennan is often mentioned as a side-character to Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, which is so not fair. This lady is such a talented humorous person, and I just love her writing. Yes, some of it can be boring at time (at least in the Demon’s Lexicon world), but I am definitely looking forward to this trilogy. She has a lot of really neat ideas, and I’d love to hear more discussion on her work.

4.When the moon was ours by anna marie mclemore

We need to discuss diverse writers, and share the love. I can’t praise this book enough. McLemore has a fan in me forever, because she is inclusive, sensitive, and cautious with her characters. Beautiful work like hers needs all the attention it can get.

3. the falconer by elizabeth may

All I saw on Goodreads was a lot of assumptions about this trilogy. Look, books can have a similar premise, but that doesn’t mean it is “diet version” of each other. Every author can have a different take on the same idea. Elizabeth May develops this premise so much in the second book, and I love this person’s writing so much. I feel like she is so underrated and it is not fair.

2. Beautiful creatures by kami garcia and margaret stolh

I’ll be honest. The spin-off of this series was not a wise idea. The beauty of our Dark Castor is that she was a mystery. Some things are best left alone. But, still. The series was so cool, and it explored a dark setting and tone. I’ll always love this pairing and the characters in general. Plus, libraries are powerful in this series. How can you not like that?

 1. poison study by maria v. snyder

No one talks about this series that much, and it is such a shame. This is one of the most fast-paced and exciting novels I have read in a long, long time. Normally, I slowly go through a story. Not this one. I flew through it, and I am thrilled to be continuing with the series. We need to show this series some serious loving, because, it is such an accomplishment in storytelling. Truth, not exaggerating.