Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved With Under 2000 Ratings on Goodreads

So when I saw the Top Ten Tuesday topic of “Books I Loved With Fewer Than 2000 Ratings on Goodreads”, I knew I probably had at least a few favorites with a low number of ratings. Somehow, I always find myself really loving things that aren’t quite as popular, and also not always understanding the hype about mega popular books or series. Some of them I totally get—Harry Potter, obviously. The Raven Cycle, yes. Others…not so much.

The TL;DR here is: sometimes I’m just not down with the trendy stuff.

 

But when I looked further into it and saw the low number of Goodreads ratings on some of these titles, I found myself thinking, am I not stanning these titles hard enough or something?! I haven’t gotten enough people to read these?!

Clearly I need to bookstagram harder, blog about them more, and recommend them to everyone I know.

 
So get ready for that.

 
Anyway, let’s get to it. Here are ten books that I loved, but that have less than 2000 ratings on good old Goodreads. These are listed in no particular order, just so you don’t think I’m playing favorites with favorites.

Zombie by J.R. Angelella

Zombie is such a good book and I recommend it constantly, but I feel like enough of you aren’t listening to me because this traffic cone orange beauty only has 457 ratings on Goodreads (some of whom I’d really like to speak to in person so they can just see the look I’m giving them as I tell them that they really missed the point).

But that doesn’t stop me from absolutely loving this book and still thinking it really deserves more attention. Zombie follows fourteen-year-old Jeremy, who lives his life by his own Zombie Survival Code, a la the familiar to many of us star studded movie, Zombieland.

While Jeremy doesn’t actually encounter any IRL literal zombies (y’all hear that?), his Zombie Survival Code gets him both into and out of trouble when he starts following his father after dear old dad begins behaving pretty suspiciously. Jeremy eventually discovers a DVD in his dad’s possession which seems to be a home movie of a man prepping for amputation or some sort of surgery, and it only leads him deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole.

 
Aside from the plot being very twisty turny and really getting your adrenaline going (and periodically your stomach turning), Zombie is extremely well written in a way that some of today’s super popular, over-hyped-to-the-point-where-I-don’t-even-want-to-see-the-cover-anymore books just aren’t. (Sorry, I’m just being honest.) To see true literary talent combine with an original idea and some really compelling characters brings me book nerd joy, and it will bring you book nerd joy, as well. So read this little Zombie. It deserves more than just 457 ratings on Goodreads!

 
I also sing the praises of Zombie here in my post about “weird” reads for when you’re looking something different. Check it out!

 
Abroad by Katie Crouch

You may know Katie Crouch from her books Girls in Trucks or Men and Dogs (both outstanding, by the way), or, if you’re a big YA fan, maybe you recognize her name from her Magnolia League series. But Abroad—which has 1,154 ratings on Goodreads—was probably her book that I was most excited about it. It’s very loosely based on the Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher situation, which most true crime buffs know and which some of you may recall I’m mildly obsessed with. It takes place before anything nefarious happens, though, and largely functions as a coming-of-age in Italy tale, full of beautiful, understated writing, tons of amazing sounding food, and lovely descriptions. Katie Crouch is another writer whose style I just love, and I really adored Abroad. If you’re looking for something really pretty that makes you think, give this one a shot.

 

Slenderman by Anonymous

You guys, Slenderman was hard to even find on Goodreads. Possibly due to the fact that the author is anonymous, or possibly since it’s buried under a whole collection of Slenderman or Slenderman related lit, I really had to hunt this one down, and it doesn’t even have a cover image. At only 9 ratings—that’s right, 9—it has the lowest number of ratings of any book on this list. But it’s so good, and I loved it! The fact that it’s tough to scrounge up on Goodreads almost lends itself well to the general Slenderman lore and creepypasta origins of everyone’s favorite woodland lurker.

Slenderman was a really fun, fast read presented in a mixed media format that’s a mixture of emails, journal entries, text messages, IMs, and even reddit posts, keeping the reader really entrenched in the online origins of Slenderman himself. I highly recommend you read this one, especially if you love spooky stuff or are an OG creepypasta fan!

 
The Final Six by Alexandra Monir

On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Final Six is the book on this list that has the most ratings. It squeaks in just under 2000 with 1,963 ratings at the time of writing this, which means that for some of you, it will have surpassed 2000 by the time you check out this post. But to be honest with you, I’m surprised this one doesn’t already have more. I would have thought this would be a huge hit in the YA community, especially a community that seems to love sci-fi and space/space travel as much as it does.

 
The Final Six takes place in a slightly futuristic version of our world where the Earth is no longer safe for humans to inhabit, leaving the government seeking other options. As in other planets/moons that we can live on. They draft the smartest and most physically fit of America’s youth to send on a mission to colonize one of Jupiter’s moons. As the finalists prepare and compete for the last six spots on the mission, some of them start to realize that there might be something happening under the surface that isn’t quite what it seems.

 
This book was so interesting and what I loved about it was that it was sci-fi that wasn’t too out of this world (pun intended). While the plot was fictional, the science portion of it was, of course, based in very real, understandable science, and the idea of Earth becoming uninhabitable and having to look elsewhere for a home is really easy to imagine happening—it doesn’t seem so far off. It makes it that much easier to imagine yourself in this situation and ratchets up the tension as you read about planet is no longer being safe and our government and world leaders not being trustworthy.

 
The Final Six has already been optioned for a movie by Sony Pictures, which is another reason I’m a bit surprised it doesn’t have more ratings online! However, as we’ve seen with recent surges of interest in books like Bird Box and You, having a novel made into a movie or TV show really skyrockets the interest rates of the otherwise apathetic, so I imagine this one will be wayyy past 2000 ratings long before we have to abandon Earth for one of Jupiter’s moons.
I also reviewed The Final Six here in this post about 5-star YA books if you want to know more!

 
Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach

While its predecessor, Penpal, has upwards of 11,000 ratings on Goodreads, Dathan’s sophomore release only has 1,026 ratings so far. Being that this one was released from Doubleday, whereas Penpal was much more of an independent undertaking, I’m a bit surprised it doesn’t have more. Penpal really had the legs of r/nosleep under it, though, which speaks volumes about the power an online community can have.

 
In Bad Man, Dathan’s writing progressed in leaps and bounds as he told the story of Ben, a young man still searching for answers regarding his three-year-old brother Eric’s disappearance. When Ben starts working at the grocery store where Eric was abducted, never to be seen again, he gets closer than ever to unraveling the mystery.

 
While Bad Man wasn’t perfect, it has twists and turns that will keep you guessing, perfectly captures the backwoods-y small town feel and dialect, and paints a pretty heartwrenching portrait of a family suffering after a loss they just can’t process. And with it being from the author of such a huge internet phenomenon like Penpal, I did expect it to have more ratings by now, as it was released back in August. If you’re a fan of spoopy, give it a try! Maybe we can get that ratings number up!

 
You can check out my full review of Bad Man in this post from back when it was first released!

 
Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom by Sylvia Plath

Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom was just released in January of this year, despite the fact that Plath passed away over half a century ago. While the fact that it was only recently released most definitely accounts for some of the reason why it only currently has 510 ratings on Goodreads, I for one was elated to see a new release from one of my favorite authors who, sadly, published so little in her time. Plath was truly a beautiful, albeit tortured, mind and soul and I really loved seeing more work from her. Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom is another example of her beautiful writing and symbolism, and it’s even a little bit darker and more fantastical than her other published work. It’s only 40 pages long, so I definitely recommend checking it out!

 
Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins

Stolen Time was only just released on February 5th, so in a little over two weeks, it’s collected 121 ratings on Goodreads. I’m certain this number will go up, but I just wanted to take another chance to rave about how amazing this book is and get on y’all about reading it because seriously I don’t know how everyone isn’t talking about it and hyping it. It’s so good. It has time travel, a really cute romance (which is almost a begrudging romance, an offshoot of my favorite type of bookish friendship, the begrudging friendship), sarcastic banter, spot on pop culture references (any book with a shoutout to How I Met Your Mother is a winner for me), some really compelling, morally gray villains, and a bunch of badass female characters (which y’all know I love to see).

 
If you want to know more about Stolen Time, I just recently published a full review of it here that you can check out!

 
The Grace That Keeps This World by Tom Bailey

 
I’m a crap fan because I don’t even have a picture of this book, and it’s a shame because the cover is beautiful. I’m definitely going to be digging it out to snap some photos soon. Keep an eye on my bookstagram, because getting some pretty pictures of this novel that do it justice is a task that’s high on my to do list for this coming weekend!

 
The Grace That Keeps This World is an absolutely gorgeously written novel about the Hazen family. The Hazens are hunters who live off the land, can their own food, and know the value of hard work. But after a tragic and shocking hunting accident, the Hazens are forced to confront some truths and discover some things about their family that they didn’t see coming.

 
This book is so emotional and just tears at the heart so much. It only has 643 ratings on Goodreads currently, but deserves a lot more!

 
Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phillipe

Field Guide to the North American Teenager is another recent release, which again, may account for why it only has 399 ratings on Goodreads at this point. I can’t see how this one isn’t going to end up with thousands of ratings, especially once more people catch on to how awesome it is. I definitely haven’t talked about it enough on here, though, so let me take this as my chance to tell you that I absolutely loved it!

 
This YA contemporary follows Norris, a black French Canadian teenager who moves from Canada to Austin, Texas, where things couldn’t be more different—or more sweaty.

 
Norris is one of those people who has a barrage of sarcastic comments to make and sometimes the filter between his brain and his mouth just does not work. This doesn’t always work out well for Norris, who finds himself in some pretty interesting situations throughout the book, but it always works out well for the reader, as his running commentary on everything from the Texas heat to the high school social hierarchy to key lime pie will keep you laughing. Having lived in Texas myself, a lot of his commentary on the people of Texas and just how different it is to move there was so relatable and hilarious. I was literally laughing out loud at some parts.
At the same time, Field Guide has its touching and uplifting moments, especially watching Norris’s relationship with his parents. I highly recommend it and would love to see it have more than just under 400 ratings!

 
Whisper of the Tide by Sarah Tolcser

While Song of the Current, the first book in this seafaring duology, has 2,601 ratings, Whisper of the Tide only has 509. I can’t tell if my fellow fans lost interest somewhere between book one and book two or if they were all just so blown away by how awesome the sequel was that they forgot to give it a rating or review!
Either way, Whisper of the Tide was another book I loved.

 

The novel rejoins Caro, who literally stole a pirate ship and made herself the captain back in book one, on her adventures with pirates, thieves, and sea goddesses, as well as her romance and her friendships with people like Kente, her magical cousin who prioritizes cheese and boys (as we all do, of course). If you read Song of the Current and haven’t picked up Whisper of the Tide yet, what are you waiting for? And if you love YA fantasy, pirates, and badass female characters, I highly recommend both books in the duology.

 
I have full reviews of both books if you’re interested in reading more about them! Check out my review of Song of the Current here and the one for Whisper of the Tide over here.

 
For more information on Top Ten Tuesday, check out this link over at That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out more information and see the whole list of topics, so you can join in on the fun if you want!

 
Have you guys read any of these books? What did you think? What favorite books of yours have less than 2000 ratings on Goodreads? Let me know in the comments! You know I’d love to talk. <3