Top Tens: Young Adult
Welcome to Sarai's Top Tens!
Every month we're going to discuss different Top Ten Lists!
For April we're going to be looking at Young Adult Books (as voted for by the people of Goodreads)! 71,879 people voted on this particular list.
With each list I plan on discussing, briefly, the ones I have read and the ones I intend to read, plus give you my opinions on what should've made the Top Ten, but didn't according to the voters. And, if I have reviewed the particular book, I'll include links to my reviews.
Special Note: If the listed book is part of a series I will provide the book number and the series title after the book title.
The Top Ten books on this list (out of 10,870 books) are:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) by J.K. Rowling
- The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) by Rick Riordan
- Twilight (Twilight, #1) by Stephanie Meyer
- The Giver (The Giver, #1) by Lois Lowry
- The City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
- Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Books I've Read
Out of the ten books on this list I have read 5 of them.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I read this book when I was 16 as part of a school project. I wasn't allowed to read this book when it first came out because my ex-step-father was a very strict Christian (whose views on a variety of topics were quite skewed, but that's more for therapy than book reviews). Unfortunately, because I read it when I was 16 (with a lot of pre-conceived notions), I didn't enjoy it and I never read any of the other books. I do intend to re-read the first book at some point. On Goodreads I gave it a 4 star.
- Twilight. I read this book purely so I could make fun of it. I knew enough about the book before I started reading it that I wasn't going to like it. And, soon, I intend to write a full length review on why I despise this book more than life. On Goodreads I gave it a 1 star.
- The City of Bones. I read this book after I went and saw the movie with my bestie. I really enjoyed the movie (mostly because of Jamie Campbell Bower...) and was excited to get into a new (to me) series. I liked the first book quite a bit. However, I hate the main character. On Goodreads I gave it a 4 star.
- To Kill a Mockingbird. What can I say about one of the books that shaped me as a person? I first read this book when I was having an asthma attack at a friend's house. Due to the attack I had to take a breathing treatment (also known as a nebulizer treatment) and (back in the early 2000s/late 90s) this process usually took 30 minutes. So why not read? I had seen the movie and wanted to read the book anyway. It blew me away. On Goodreads I gave it a 5 star.
- The Book Thief. I read this book after seeing the movie (I do that a lot, actually) and I loved it. It sucked me in and didn't let me go for 552 pages. It was sad, it was perfect, I loved it. On Goodreads I gave it a 5 star.
The Books I want to Read
Out of the ten books on this list I want to read 3 of them.
- The Giver. I've actually been wanting to read this book since I was in Middle School, but for some reason still haven't read it. Though I keep hearing it's good and I keep meaning to read it.
- The Fault in Our Stars. I have seen the movie. (You'll find this is a common theme, I make no apologies for that.) I own the book. I have read excerpts and I'm intrigued by it. Plus John Green is a pretty cool dude and I enjoy his views and opinions.
- The Hunger Games. I literally only want to read this book because I want to better articulate why I hate it. It is a rip off of "Battle Royale" (which is BRILLIANT) and I want to read it so I can make fun of it. Kind of like how I did with Twilight.
Problems I have with the List
Here's a few issues I have with the above list:
- There are no authors of colour on that list at all. None.
- None of the main protagonists are people of colour.
- There are no LGBTQIA+ authors on the list.
- None of the main characters are LGBTQIA+.
- A severe lack of Diversity.
This is a fairly consistent problem. As you can see from this screenshot I took of Popular YA books.
The only good thing about the list and the above picture is that, except for a few exceptions, the authors are almost all women. We've definitely come a long way since women had to publish under men's names to be able to write. There are still a lot of people who'd like a chance too. Neuro-diverse, people of colour, LGBTQIA+, etc. should be on these lists as much as anyone else.
My Top Ten
Here are ten books that fall on my own personal list of favourites.
- The First Part Last (Heaven, #2) by Angela Johnson
- Infandous by Elana K Arnold (Review)
- Where the Heart is by Billie Letts
- Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
- Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
- Luka and the Fire of Life (Khalifa Brothers, #2) by Salman Rushdie
- Island of the Blue Dolphins (Island of the Blue Dolphins, #1) by Scott O'Dell
- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- Romiette and Julio by Sharon M Draper
What are your thoughts? Did you like the books that made the lists? I'd love to hear from you, the Reader!
In the meantime, Keep Reading and Stay Tuned for more Reviews!
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