by Gabby Uy, Year 10
As any bookworm knows, finding your newest escape from reality isn't always easy; you’ve read John Green more times than you can count and your copy of The Hunger Games has more dog ear than cover. Come on, put Harry Potter down already - here are five more under-the-radar books you absolutely have to read.
Patrick Ness may have won his Carnegie Medal for A Monster Calls but this book is arguably just as deserving of an award. It begins with the “death” of the protagonist, who later wakes up perfectly healthy in a post-apocalyptic world with no memory of his past. If you like existential crises, science fiction and having your brains twisted into pretzels, then this is definitely the book for you. Seriously. My copy has dents from being dropped out of shock multiple times.
2. Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs
By now, you’ve probably seen or read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, but even some of the most ardent fans of the series I know haven’t heard of the more elusive companion book released just this September. Tales of the Peculiar is a compilation of (usually gruesome) folktales about peculiars, who are sort of like the mutants in X-Men for those of you who haven’t read the series yet (shame on you). None of the stories are based off of any existing fairytales, which is what makes them so refreshing. This book is a perfect way to join the ever-growing fandom (and trust me, you want to).
3. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Centred around the life of stressed overachiever Craig Gilner, It’s Kind of A Funny Story perfectly encapsulates the pressure to “succeed": to get ‘The Right Grades,’ to get into ‘The Right College,’ to get ‘The Right Job.’ While it does have some heavier topics, it balances these out with a hilariously self-deprecating tones - to quote Teen Vogue, this is “A book about depression that’s not the least bit depressing.”
4. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör - a traditional haunted house story set in not a creaky old mansion but a furniture superstore - may be the lightest read on this list but it’s also one of the most original. Three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour night shift at the local Orsk branch, which presents the staff with broken bookshelves and smashed wardrobes every morning even though security cameras reveal nothing. As the name suggests, the novel is terrifying, despite the fact that it’s disguised as an innocent furniture catalog. Let’s just say that after reading this, you'll never want to step into Ikea at night again. It's a must-read if you like gore, dry humour, mystery and gore. Did I mention gore?
5. Asylum by Madeleine Roux
Sleep will be lost - enter at your own risk! The Asylum series follows the story of Daniel Crawford who joins a summer programme at a college which was once known as Brookline Sanatorium, an asylum for the criminally insane. Brookline is strangely reminiscent of a more macabre Hogwarts: both have colourful histories, hidden secrets and of course, the occasional serial killer. The dialogue is amazingly witty and to top it all off, the novel is full of haunting (sorry not sorry) vintage photos. This is my personal favourite on this list and I would certainly recommend it for any of you horror movie junkies out there.
Hopefully your shelves won’t seem so basic now. Happy reading!
0 comments: