Top Ten Tuesday: Books People Have Told Me I MUST Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which bloggers post their "Top Ten" list of books based on that week's theme. This week's theme:

TOP TEN BOOKS PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME I MUST READ
(or, Here are all the books I own that I haven't read yet because I fail at reading books that I know/people tell me I will really like)

I don't normally participate in Top Ten Tuesday but this week's topic came right at the same time as I had Ciara and Jess, two of my awesome blogger friends, over at my house this past weekend. While looking at my bookshelves, because that's what book friends do, they started telling me which books I owned that I had to read. So here are 10 of the books they pointed out.

1 & 2 - Jellicoe Road and Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta - This is the part where I tell the world that I haven't read a single Melina Marchetta book. Ever. *Goes to hide in a corner* Now that that's out of the way, I have been yelled at plenty by Ciara for not having read either of these books despite owning them (this will be a recurring theme for this list).

3 - We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han - I fail at finishing series. Like, this is a MAJOR problem for me. I can't even begin to count how many series I've started but haven't finished. In this case, I loved the first two books in Jenny Han's Summer trilogy I just can't bring myself to read the last one. Maybe it's because I was quite happy with the ending of the second book love triangle-wise so I'm afraid of what might happen.

4 - Where She Went by Gayle Forman - Yeah, so I haven't read Where She Went yet. I've read If I Stay and I loved it. I've been told by so many people that Where She Went is even better and even more emotional. Seeing the If I Stay movie this week may just be the motivation I need to finally read Where She Went.

5 - Looking for Alaska by John Green - I've only read two John Green books: Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars. But Looking for Alaska is the one that everyone (aka Ciara) has been telling me that I need to read. But I'm afraid of all the feelings that could possibly come from reading this book. 

6 - The rest of the Soul Screamers series (Specifically books 4, 5, 6 and 7) by Rachel Vincent - A year or two ago I started reading the Soul Screamers series, but I only got as far as book 3. According to some people, I need to remedy that fact. 

7 - Starling by Fiona Paul - This is another case of my inability to finish series in a timely manner. Though admittedly, Starling came out this year, so this isn't too outstanding. But I loved the first two books. And Jess has been telling me that I will love the conclusion. So I really need to get on that.

8 - Midnight Frost (and by extension, Killer Frost) by Jennifer Estep - In my opinion, the Mythos Academy series is one of the most underrated YA series out there. I've loved every book I've read in this series but I can't bring myself to read the last two books in the series. That and, as I've already established, I suck at finishing series.

9 - The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater - It took me a while to get around to reading The Raven Boys so I'm not entirely surprised that I haven't read The Dream Thieves yet. And Ciara (anyone seeing a trend yet?) has borderline yelled at me for not having read it yet. 

10 - Origin (and by extension, Opposition) by Jennifer L. Armentrout - You would think that after the end of Opal I would have been dying to read Origin. And I was. But then life got in the way. And so for the past year Ciara and Katie have been asking me if I've read it yet. And now that Opposition is out, they're nagging me even more. But in a good way.

So these are ten of the books people have been telling me I need to read. Believe me when I say that there are A LOT more sitting on my bookshelves. For now, let me know in the comments which one form this list you think I should read first!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton

Release Date: January 12, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Before reading The Fault in Our Stars, the only other book by John Green I had read was Paper Towns, which I had really enjoyed. I don't know why I didn't pick up on of his other books sooner. And then everyone was talking about The Fault in Our Stars and I picked up a copy. I started reading it right away and pretty much didn't put it down until I was finished reading it.

Hazel has cancer and everyone thought she was going to die. But then a medical miracle bought her more time. Now Hazel spends that time either at home watching America's Next Top Model or attending Cancer Kid Support Group. And that's where she meets Augustus Waters. That's when Hazel's life becomes more than just support group and ANTM. Now she spends her time with Gus, and before long she finds herself falling in love with him. For both Hazel and Augustus, life becomes about more than just cancer. But something like cancer can be hard to escape.

Oh how I loved this book. I'm not really sure how to explain all the feelings I have for The Fault in Our Stars, but I'll try. I knew going in to this book that I would be feeling all kinds of different emotions, not because it's about kids who have cancer but because John Green wrote it. The only other book of his I had read was Paper Towns and that one had left me with all these crazy emotions. The Fault in Our Stars was no different, and before I knew it I found myself tearing up almost every other page. The story itself wasn't necessarily sad, but there were often moments where I just couldn't help but feel for the characters. And those characters are most definitely what made the story for me. 

I absolutely loved Hazel. Despite the fact that she had cancer, a lot of the time I almost forgot about her personality. Sure, she had cancer, but she didn't necessarily let that guide all the decisions she made, especially once she met Augustus Waters. But regardless of all that, Hazel was someone for who I wanted nothing but the best because she more than deserved it. And she definitely deserved someone like Augustus Waters. Because Augustus Waters was exactly what Hazel needed. I'll admit that even I fell for him. He just had this quality about him and I just couldn't help but smile any time he showed up. But he was also the cause of a lot of heartbreak brought on by this book, though that didn't make me love him any less. 

I have to say I absolutely loved The Fault in Our Stars. It was a fantastic read despite the fact that it broke my heart just a little. I think I have also finally been convinced to go back and read all those John Green books that have been sitting in my bookshelf for all this time. 

Paper Towns by John Green

Title: Paper Towns

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: October 16, 2008

Source: Puchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

I picked up Paper Towns by John Green following the recommendation of a friend. I had been told it was an excellent book, which turned out to be quite true. From the first page I was drawn in, and didn’t leave the world Green created until the very last page, and even then I wanted more. I’m glad I decided to follow my friend’s recommendation and pick up this book.

Quentin Jacobsen has been in love with his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman for as long as he could remember. They had been friends as kids until they found the dead body of a man in a park near their houses, after that things change. Then one night Margo shows up in his room asking him for help with an elaborate revenge plot. When the night is over and they go their separate ways, Quentin wakes up the next morning to find Margo gone. Discoveries are made, new friendships are forged and unlikely relationships happen all the while trying to figure out what happened to Margo.

I loved Quentin. He was just so easy to like and from the start of the book you just felt for him. Also he was the narrator and a great one at that. Most of the books I read either have a third person narrator or a female first person narrator so it was really refreshing to to read something narrated by a boy. Throughout the book I was always rooting for him no matter what he was doing. I was reading and just hoping he would figure out the clues Margo left behind and eventually find her. I mean the guy had waited for Margo his whole life and when she finally goes to him she just ups and leaves the next day. I just couldn’t help but feel for him.

Quentin’s friends were awesome, I always found myself laughing at whatever went down with Ben and Radar. Even though some of their comments were really cliché most of the time I couldn’t do anything but just sit there a giggle. And when Ben finally got a girlfriend it just made things that much more funny. The other characters were also great; Lacey wasn’t all she seemed to be and the other characters just added to the story. And Margo, well there aren’t really any words to describe Margo because you don’t really know who she is until the last few pages of the book, so you can read it and see it for yourself.

The plot wasn’t what I was expecting it to be, not that this is a bad thing. I had read the summary on the back of the book and had a vague idea of what the story would be like but it was so much better than what I had originally thought. I don’t want to describe it as a mystery because, while there is a mystery in the story, I don’t really feel like that was the point of the story. And the writing was amazing, just like everything else in the book, the writing just made me want to read more.

Overall, Paper Towns was a great read that I would recommend to anyone looking for humor and mystery or even someone looking to learn something about how we see ourselves and each other. I had never read anything by John Green before but I will be sure to pick up some of his other books the next time I come across them.