books that deserve more appreciation

Hello, friends!

For today’s post, I decided to finally shed light in some of my favorite books that no one seems to talk that much about. Basically: let’s have me hyping up some underrated books for 5 minutes.

And, please feel free to add to this list & recommend me some of your favorite underrated reads in the comments too!

Where She Went, by Gayle Forman is the following novel in the If I Stay duology, and I don’t think enough people have read it. Or even know about it! If I Stay is a very popular book – one that I didn’t enjoy, actually. For some reason, that book gave me zero feels (I’m soulless, I know), so Where She Went was a complete surprise! I love this book a lot and should probably re-read it soon. It’s from Adam’s perspective, during a 24-hour period, in New York City. Not only the city’s scenerios are on point, but also Adam is a very conflicted character, whose perspective is very likely to break your heart. Also, did I mention he’s a rockstar? His band is called Shooting Star – which is a terrible band name, let me add -, and there’s nothing better in this world than a decadent rockstar crying out his feelings for 200 pages.

The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland was one of my favorite reads of last year. Not without his faults – this book does have a few problems – I still love it & think deserves more than it gets. This book follows our main character, Zander, who’s sent to this camp for teenagers with mental health issues. There’s a very interesting and diverse cast of characters, dealing with eating disorders, schizophrenia, depression. On top of that, the friendships are beautiful and very likely to break your heart. My favorite thing about this book, though, and the reason why I feel like more people need to read it, is because The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland does not erase these characters identities. They’re definitely more than what makes them different. Even though they are struggling mentally, they’re still teenagers: eating too much candy, falling in love under The Breakfast Club references. It warms my heart and breaks a lot of stereotypes.

David Levithan is a popular author, but I don’t think Two Boys Kissing gets the same love as some of his other novels. This one is actually my favorite by him – along with Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List. It’s a book with a very unique perspective, one that I can’t say much about without giving a lot of the book away. It follows multiple gay characters, going through literally everything. You have relationships just getting started, others which are falling apart. You have characters who are out been forever, and others who are still coming on terms with their sexualities. The main storyline is quite hilarious: Harry and Craig are now exes, but are still determined to be the first gay couple to beat the Guiness’ World Record of the longest kiss ever. It’s a beautiful book that more and more people need to know about!

Of course, it’s not a list by Lais if I’m not here hyping the hell out of Rebel of the Sands. Because this is literally one of my favorite fantasy trilogies and no one else seems to even know about it, which is a crime, truly. Rebel of the Sands is a phenomenal fantasy series, with a desert-based mythology, a bad-ass female protagonist and a beautiful & angsty romantic relationship. Amani is our protagonist, who’s determined not to give in to the traditions of the small village set in the middle of the desert in which she lives in. At the same time that Amani is desperate to run away, so is Jin, a foreigner with a troubled past. Together, they get caught up on a rebellion, which moves to this breath-taking action-packed adventure. For fans of fantasy, this is a must-check! Please go read it so I can cry about it with others!

Lastly, I have The Wicker King. My broken babies had to be on the list, ofc. I feel like not enough people know about this book, as it would appeal even for non-contemporary fans. The Wicker King follows two best friends, Jack & August, as one of them starts having hallucinations. As these hallucinations get more and more vivid, the story also gets darker and darker. These protagonists are clearly just trying to do what they can to survive; they may not take the best decisions, most of the time, but they’re trying their bests. I don’t think everyone will love this, though, as the dom-sub dynamics may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved it a lot. It’s heartbreaking and not easy to read. Most of the time, I just wanted to cuddle these characters and tell them that everything was going to be okay.

Sooooo, that’s my list for today. Let me know in the comments which underrated reads you think I should pick up next!