Top Ten Tuesday: Books Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's wonderful topic highlights our favorite books that are not well known.

Ellen's Top 10 Books With Under 2000 Ratings

Seeing Lessons · Spring Hermann

I wrote my first ever book review for Seeing Lessons at age nine, and was published in Stone Soup magazine. You can read the review right HERE. (It's unintentionally hilarious.) The book is a delightful Middle Grade novel featuring a cast of disabled characters who attend the first school for the blind in the United States. I remember reading this book deep into the night as a tiny kid!

The Viper and the Urchin · Celine Jeanjean

Full disclosure: I beta read for the author, Celine Jeanjean. Despite my connections (heh) I'm genuinely a fan of this series. It's a steampunk/fantasy by an indie author who can write!  The story follows an assassin and a street urchin who form an unlikely friendship.  Beyond that, the series takes place in Damsport, a small nation with fascinating politics. Read my review HERE. Black Orchid, the sequel, is even better in my opinion, and is currently available on Amazon as well.

Without Lying Down: Screenwriter Frances Marion and the Poweful Women of Early Hollywood · Cari Beauchamp

In college, I was writing my first 20-page paper ever and the topic was "A History of Women in Hollywood." I found Without Lying Down at Hesburgh Library and could not put it away.  I read every word of the entire book. Not just the parts that would be helpful to my paper.  I had literally hours to turn in my assignment and I was still busy reading Without Lying Down. This piece of non-fiction is gripping.  It's part biography of screenwriter Frances Marion, part overall history of Hollywood and the role women played in building it.  I don't remember what grade I got on my paper, but I'm positive that I've never been so attached to my source material!

Three Terrible Trins · Dick King-Smith

Three Terrible Trins was a favorite book of mine as a young kid.  The story follows the population of mice that live in a farmhouse, in particular the mischievous triplets (or "trins") of a sweet doe mouse.  The trins terrorize the house cats, make friends with a bachelor mouse with a crush on their mom, and invent a sport using the farmer's glass eye as a ball. It's a fabulous story, a comedic counterpart to Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NYMH.

Spying on Miss Muller · Eve Bunting

It's a British boarding school mystery set during World War II.  So, in other words, PERFECTION. Me and my brother loved this book growing up. It features one of the most titillating scenes in a Middle Grade novel ever... the first scene in the book, actually. It takes place in a bomb shelter and involves a kiss in the dark!

Cat Running · Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Cat Running is another childhood favorite.  I never read the actual copy of the book. I only ever listened to the audiobook, but I checked it out from the library over and over and over again.  It's about a girl living during the Great Depression who has an incredible ability to run far distances. Dust Bowl refugees have set up a camp outside her town and Cat befriends a little girl who lives there, despite her fierce rivalry with that girl's older brother, Zane, who is a sprinter. While I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail last summer, I would frequently quote a line from Zane, in the Oklahoma accent used by the audiobook narrator — "I c'a'int GO no further!"

The Night Birds · Thomas Maltman

This is an incredible piece of historical fiction that I plucked randomly off the library shelf.  The story will move you to tears, there's no question.  I made my sensitive college roommate read this book (before I knew her well enough) and it nearly ruined her.  She was sobbing. Read my review HERE. The story follows a frontier family that has been shaped inexorably by their proximity to an increasingly desperate Dakota population.

Mr. Revere and I · Robert Lawson

One of the books that made me a reader, Mr. Revere and I tells the story of the American Revolution... from the perspective of Paul Revere's horse, Scheherazade. It's the only book I've ever read from a horse's perspective, and it's amazing, quite frankly.  Scheherazade was born on British soil and owned by a redcoat officer.  How she winds up in the hands of rebellious yokels in the colonies... well, it's an incredible story.

Salvation · Anne Osterland

This is just a really cute, underrated book. It's a romance, set in high school, involving a high-achieving, Hispanic football player and a bookish, nerdy, white girl. The book focuses on their cultural divide in a really nice way. It's like Crazy/Beautiful (a movie with a young Kirsten Dunst) in that respect. Does anyone remember Crazy/Beautiful? Talk about movies I saw too soon on cable!

Hell Week · Rosemary Clement-Moore

I can't believe Hell Week doesn't have more ratings on Goodreads! This middle book in the Maggie Quinn Girl vs. Evil novels is my favorite of the discontinued series.  It's about Irish-heritage girl with extrasensory perception. In this book, Maggie goes up against a sorority of succubi. Every last page is wonderful! I've read this book SO many times and it never gets old.

Sierra's Top 10 Books With Under 2000 Ratings

In no particular order...

Legend of Lady Ilena · Patricia Malone

I adored this book as a child. I found it in my school library and sort of never gave it back... whoops. It was my first foray into historical fiction and I haven't looked back since. I re-read it last year and it remained just as charming and interesting. It's about a girl's quest to find her true identity after her parents unexpectedly pass away. It's set in the early 6th century, during the Dark Ages (or Early Middle Ages, depending on who you ask). I still haven't read much historical fiction set in that time period, but I loved what I read of it.

Charming Cadavers · Liz Wilson

It's quite rare that I find myself genuinely enjoying a book assigned in class. I read this for my Buddhism class in college. And while I actually don't recall much of it, I remember appreciating its gory realism. It was extremely informative but entertaining to read.

Death at Seaworld · David Kirby

The beginning of the book focuses on the history of some famous activists and some former orca trainers. It then turns to the history of the orca captivity industry, which is sad yet interesting. It paints an irrefutable picture of the horror that is captivity. My favorite piece of evidence that it brings up (which I often use against Pro-Seaworld folks) is that Britain has no captive aquariums and yet are rated very highly when it comes to ocean preservation. It goes against the argument that places like Seaworld NEED to exist so that children can understand the importance of the ocean and its sea creatures. For anyone who's already watched Blackfish and would like more in-depth information, this book is for you.

Trouble Is a Friend of Mine · Stephanie Tromly

This was marketed as Sherlock meets Veronica Mars. With that sort of intro, I had to get my hands on it right away. I didn't think it merited that comparison, but I still really enjoyed the characters and the mystery. Its sequel will release late this year, and I'm excited to be able to read the next installment.

Priya's Shakti · Ram Devineni

This is a graphic novel written in response to the wide-spread horror stories of rapes occurring everyday in India. It focuses on a woman named Priya, who is illustrated as a dark-skinned woman. I appreciate her skin color, because it is finally representative of the Indian population. The gods come to her aid, in her fight against sexual assault. I hope stories like this and other activist efforts alongside education will help reduce the severity and number of sexual assaults in India and the rest of the world.

The Last Dragonlord · Joanne Bertin

This also happened to be a school library find! I didn't actually steal this one though... I bought it with my allowance like a good girl. I loved the concept of dragonlords, and the love story still gives me the butterflies. I haven't read this book in years, and now I feel the need to pick it up and get right back into it again.

And I Darken · Kiersten White

I read this a few days ago, and I really enjoyed! It's a historical fiction novel featuring a female Vlad the Impaler. I wrote up a full review (HERE) if you'd like to know more. I'm surprised it doesn't have more ratings! Hopefully more people will pick this one up soon.

Daughter of Venice · Donna Jo Napoli

Another childhood favorite of mine! This is about a high-class noblegirl named Donata who lived in Venice. She wanted to learn, but was prevented from doing so. She couldn't even marry because it was determined that only one boy and one girl in the family could marry and produce children so that the property wouldn't be split up amongst the children. She dresses as a boy in order to gain access to proper education, and I really appreciated her strength of character.

How to Lead a Life of Crime · Kirsten Miller

I loved this book because of the strong family bonds that existed with the main character, Flick. His relationship with Jude (his littler brother) made it a 5 star read. This is a story about Flick who is invited to attend an exclusive boarding school that trains criminals. There are some flimsy scientific elements to it, but as I recall, it didn't take away too much from the overall character relationships.

Black Iris · Leah Raeder

This is my most recently read book of the list, and I found it raw and powerful. Ellen can't stand Leah Raeder. It is one of the very few book topics we disagree on (which we find quite remarkable). Laney is a fucked up character but she spoke truths that I couldn't deny and I felt an undeniable connection to her.

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Thank you for reading! What are your Top Ten Books?