Top Ten Tuesday: Hidden Gems

Hello all and welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! I’ve really missed having a Top Ten Tuesday post every week and I’m happy to have it back! This week’s top ten topic is all about books that are hidden gems. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

So without further ado, here is this weeks Top Ten Tuesday, books that are hidden gems.

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1) Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

“According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.”

I adore this book. I feel like no one really knows it exists though. This was the book that introduced me to YA. Bookshops don’t seem to have copies of this when I look for it. So, it is certainly a hidden gem book!

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2) Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

“At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals, where it’s easier to fail breakfast than it is to flunk French.

There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds his whole life. And as he gradually becomes one of them, Sadie shows him their secrets: how to steal internet, how to sneak into town, and how to disable the med sensors they must wear at all times.”

David bought me this book for Christmas 2 years ago. I had mentioned seeing it in a book store and he bought it me just hoping I would like it. It is one of my favourite books I read in 2016. I hardly ever see it in bookshops anymore. It is extremely well written and the story is incredibly captivating. If you ever see this book in a store buy it quick!

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3) Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

“When Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital.

The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together. Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face. Where her nose, cheeks, and chin used to be, now there is…nothing.”

This is another of my favourite books that I read in 2016. I saw one copy of the book whilst wandering round a book store and bought it on instinct. I am so glad that I did, I never saw another copy in the shop. Since buying this book I have read it I think 4 times. I can’t get enough of this story it is so inspirational and heart-warming. If you get the chance to read this story I really recommend it!

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4) Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

“If you broke Elena’s heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she’s expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she’s not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels.”

I feel like not a lot of people know about this short story. Rainbow Rowell released this book for World Book Day in 2016. I spent a long time trying to find a copy of this book as it seemed to be in short supply. It only cost £1! I read this story extremely quickly which is to be expected of a book less than 100 pages. After World Book Day this book vanished until recently when bookshops have been selling it for 20p. I loved this story, short but incredible!

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5) A Seven-Letter Word by Kim Slater

“Finlay’s mother vanished two years ago. And ever since then his stutter has become almost unbearable. Bullied at school and ignored by his father, the only way to get out the words which are bouncing around in his head is by writing long letters to his ma which he knows she will never read, and by playing Scrabble online. But when Finlay is befriended by an online Scrabble player called Alex, everything changes. Could it be his mother secretly trying to contact him? Or is there something more sinister going on?”

This book is mentioned an awful lot of this blog. I read it last summer whilst on holiday. It is a book I picked up on a whim after only reading the synopsis. I read this within the space of a day after not being able to put it down. This book is certainly a hidden gem I cannot recommend enough.

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6) We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

“Thirteen-year-old Stewart is academically brilliant but socially clueless.
Fourteen-year-old Ashley is the undisputed “It” girl in her class, but her grades stink.

Their worlds are about to collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is trying to be 89.9 percent happy about it, but Ashley is 110 percent horrified. She already has to hide the real reason her dad moved out; “Spewart” could further threaten her position at the top of the social ladder.”

This is another book I read whilst on holiday last year. After finishing this book I was desperate to write a review and post it online and back then I didn’t have the blog, so, this book helped me to start Loisreadsbooks. It is just a lovely book to read when you need to relax and I feel it is a hidden gem.

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7) You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris

“One night last winter, Antoine Leiris was at home looking after his son while his wife, Hélène, was at a concert with friends. Suddenly he started receiving text messages asking if he was ok. Turning on the TV, Antoine watched the terrorist attacks in Paris unfolding around him and tried to call Hélène. She didn’t answer. That night Hélène was killed, along with 88 other people, at the Bataclan Theatre.

Three days later, Antoine wrote an open letter to his wife’s killers on Facebook. He refused to be cowed or to let his baby son’s life be defined by their acts. ‘For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom,’ he wrote. Instantly, that short post caught fire and was shared thousands of times around the world.”

I cannot believe that this book is one I class as a hidden gem. I wish this book was one that everyone would read as it is so influential and inspirational and is certainly a book that needs to be read! If you see this book in store buy it and read it, you will most likely cry when reading but it is needed.

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There you have it, this weeks Top Ten Tuesday, books that are hidden gems! There are only 8 books on this list but there are a lot of hidden gems out there! Don’t forget to leave links to your Top 10 Tuesday below!

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Until next time,