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  • Writer's pictureJaime Leigh

Top Five Wednesday (on a Sunday)


What’s up, Everyone!

I don’t usually participate in TFW. However, I saw Sam’s video this morning about underrated books and had to jump on the train. I don’t necessarily feel like I read books that are super “out there”. I tend to stick pretty close to the rest of the booktube and their recommendations. Still, I think that there are a couple of books that don’t get talked about as much on booktube that I want to recommend to people. So today we are going to talk about some underhyped books!

Number 1: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Before Long Way Down was released, I saw a couple of people talking about it. I know Margo, from Team Epic Reads, mentioned in one of her monthly book hauls that she was excited to get around to it. Yet, since its release, I haven’t seen it getting much buzz.

Long Way Down is the story of Will, an african american teenager living in a neighborhood filled with gangs and violence. One day, Will’s brother, Shawn, gets killed in a drive by shooting. Shawn’s death triggers the events of the rest of the novel, which all take place over the course of one minute in an elevator. Written in moving and eerie verse, Long Way Down is definitely not your average story. Although it takes a bit for the surreal aspects of the story to start making sense, the novel quickly becomes a lyrical powerhouse. I recommend reading Long Way Down in one sitting, as it is hard to consume the story in multiple parts. If you can’t read the whole story in one sitting, I recommend breaking it into two sections, starting at the beginning until Will enters the elevator, and from Will entering the elevator onward.

Number 2: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Scythe has been blowing up on booktube recently, since the release of Thunderhead earlier this year. I think that I could easily recommend all of Neal Shusterman’s work, but I specifically wanted to mention Unwind. Unwind might have had its hayday back in the early years of booktube, but I haven’t heard much about it on the interwebs since. The story revolves around the idea that pro-life and pro-choice advocates started a civil war over reproductive rights, which ended in the creation of the Bill of Life. The bill states that a mother has to carry a child to term and take care of them until they are thirteen. From thirteen to eighteen, the child can be unwound (like a very intense donor program). Even though the compromise leaves both sides unhappy, the society conforms to the bill. Our three main characters, Connor, Risa and Lev, come from very different parts of the post Bill of Life world. Analyzing the ethical and emotional repercussions of a startlingly believable society not so unlike our own Unwind combines the action of the Darkest Minds with the feel of A Brave New World. I recommend reading the story as a standalone, but there are a couple more books in the series that were written several years later if you want to continue after reading Unwind.

Number 3: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

This book is a throwback for me. I read The Westing Game for the first time in elementary school, and have reread it several times since. I know that since I read it, it has been put on to some summer reading lists in NC. However, if you still haven’t read it, I can’t recommend it enough. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, The Westing Game opens with sixteen people receiving invitations to the mysterious Westing Mansion. Once they arrive at the house, they discover that they are all attending the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will. Even beyond the grave, Mr. Westing sends this unlikely gang on a mission to play one last game, one that may end in a murder. At merely 182 pages, The Westing Game is a gem of a novel that has heart and mystery all wrapped into one.

Number 4:Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S.King

Out of all of A.S.King’s novels, I think I have heard the least about History of the Future. Maybe that is because, like most of A.S.King’s novels, it is a *very* strange read. It is also very difficult to explain. Essentially, the story follows Glory O’Brien, a teenage girl in a nothing happens town that acquires superpowers from a bat right before graduation. (I warned you this one was weird). Although History of the Future is filled with A.S.King’s classic magical realism, it is more of a character study of Glory and those around her. Having gained an adult sense of life and death at a very young age, Glory spends the majority of the novel trying to make sure that she has a future she never thought she could have before receiving magical powers. Glory is also fiercely loyal to her family and friends, and she is determined to make sure their futures are as promising as hers is. Even though History of the Future has some definite flaws, I remember enjoying it a lot when I read it the first time around and wish more people would pick it up.

Number 5: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.

This entry will make my AP Lit teacher very proud.

Invisible Man is a classic that was first published in 1952. Most of the people who I know have read it had to read it in high school. However, if you have powered through all of the YA novels that have come out recently discussing race, class and violence, I recommend you pick Invisible Man up. The story follows a man (he doesn’t have a name) on his journey from the Deep South to Harlem. His world is spun on its head as he encounters new worlds of race, violence, status, and impact. Invisible Man is chalked full of beautiful, multifaceted metaphors and imagery portrayed through Ellison’s gorgeous writing style. If you can push through the length and the slower pace, I highly recommend you pick up this book.

And that’s it! Those are my top five choices for underhyped books that I want to see more people in the bookish community read. Tweet me your TFW choices on Twitter, @Officalsamepage, and I'll see you all next Sunday.

-Jaime


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