Top Ten Tuesday | Books I wish I’d read as a kid!

By Birdie

For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, I’ve decided to talk about books I think I would have enjoyed more if they’d been available when I was a tween.

There are so many books others loved, but I didn’t see the shine. I believe in the importance of a target audience. I also believe that sometimes books transcend the target audience, and become beloved by all. Harry Potter is a great example of books that sparked joy outside of the Middle Grade arena they were first written for.

Books I rated as mediocre, I feel like if I were young and my soft spot wasn’t so armored, I probably would have loved them more. Here are the ones I wish I could go back in time to reread for higher enjoyment.

1. Cinder

I so badly wanted to love this book.
I think if I was 13, and reading it for the first time Cinder the cyborg would have been magical and empowering.
Alas, all I could see where the flaws in the main character, and I should have been able to feel compassion for her, and yet I couldn’t.
★★★

2. Hush Hush

Oh Lord, if I’d only read Patch as a young teenager I would have been so in love! Unfortunately, adult Birdie couldn’t get passed the TSTLness of Nora to see past the problems in this book. Young Birdie would have been too besotted to care.
★★★

3. The Iron King

A spinoff series of Queen Titania and Oberon, with a half fae girl… and a hot fae prince… and a magical cat.
I feel like this should have been a favorite, but instead I was more caught up in the best friend to care about the romance, or the heroine.
★★★

4. Between the Lines

When I was younger I didn’t care about an overload of unnecessary angst. I reveled in it. My barbie’s were full of far more angst than your usual YA romance.
I just know I would have devoured this series on repeat.
Not anymore, now all I can feel is rage that something so little could cause people so many problems!
Don’t they know they’re gonna work SO HARD to be POOR!
★★

5. Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood was decent. The cover is stunning. The idea was promising. I can’t remember a particular reason I didn’t jump up and down over this story. I think it just wasn’t scary. Who cares about ghosts in bloody dresses. My nightmares these days are far worse than anything Kendare Blake wrote about in this duology. These fears are for the youths.
★★★

6. Unearthly

A trilogy about a nephilium and angels. The binding and covers were so stunning. They shimmered like they had angel dust on them.
The story inside was bland. Pretty girl meets hot boy, and a hot bad boy. And they fight the darkness of evil.
Definitely would have worked more on me if I was still 15.
★★★★

7. Hate List

This book scared the shit out of me.
As adults, we’re far too familiar with our mortality. We fear for the lives of everyone we love, but especially our children. This book gave me nightmares, but it was because I couldn’t separate it from the teenagers I love and care about. I definitely think I would have enjoyed this darker read when I was younger, and murder didn’t feel so near.
★★★★

8. Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy, don’t hate me, felt like a ripoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even the covers seem to be ripped right off the CD Box set. Trust me, I own them.
When I was younger, and looking for a fictional story to go with my Buffy Summers marathon, this probably would have done the job. Instead, reading it as an adult, only made me want to watch Buffy, who was way cooler than Rose.
★★★★

9. The Warrior Heir

I adore Cinda Williams Chima’s Seven Realms series. It’s one of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read. When I completed it, I sought out this series, feeling like it was a sure thing.
It probably would have been a sure thing 25 years ago. I read the series backwards. I should have started with Warrior heir, in the 90’s, then read Seven Realms. I bet they both would have gotten 5 stars.
★★★

10. Strange Girl

Oh Christopher Pike. The author of my childhood. I was addicted to his books. I still have so many of them. They were my favorite horror books to read. I was so freaking excited when I heard he was writing and releasing a new story. Unfortunately his writing hasn’t grown with the times, and he should have released this back then. It definitely doesn’t work when his audience is in their late 30’s… and frankly I don’t think teenagers today would enjoy this either.
★★


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme previously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but as of 2018 is hosted by hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

About Birdie

Don’t look for her in any bar, club, crazy raging party, or anywhere there may be a large gathering of strangers. She’s more likely to be found tucked into the corner of the couch watching one of her favorite shows, or preferably under a comforter with her current novel.

36 Responses

  1. TheReadersBay

    Niceeee. I still haven’t read the Cinder series and one of the reasons being I’m afraid if I’m gonna spoil this franchise of books for myself if I read it now? Bec I hadn’t even read Harry Potter and reading it now just seems like such a tasssk

    Like

    1. Birdie

      Cinder felt geared to a young heart to me. However, I’m in the minority because it’s VERY beloved.

      Harry Potter, however, starts off very Middle Grade, but the beauty of the series is that as it’s characters grow up, so does the writing. By the end, it feels far more mature than those early books. It’s worth reading.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Beth

    Agree with this! I read Hush Hush when I was 16 and loved it, think I’d view it differently now though haha. I read Vampire Academy when I was around 20 and I didn’t like it at all. I think I gave it two stars haha

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      3. Beth

        That’s what happened with the Halo series by Alexandra Adornetto xD early teens it one of my favourite series; late teens I struggled to finish the first book 😂 I hope Hush Hush will be different if I ever do reread it xD

        Like

      5. Beth

        First one is Halo, followed by Hades and Heaven. It was about angels sent to bring good to the world xD and one of them falls in love with a human boy because it’s YA of course haha

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  5. Louise H

    I love the spin you did on this weeks theme. Even though I’ve not read all of these books your comments about how your younger self would have felt really resonated with me. I loved OTT angst and drama as a teen. Now I have teens (and older) of my own, life provides all the drama and angst I need thank you very much 😂.
    Great selection!

    Like

  7. RS

    I read Hate List at 23 and was incredibly impressed.

    Also I am…desperately curious about your Barbies’ angst and how it exceeded the levels of a YA novel.

    Like

  8. anovelglimpse

    I just read that Tammara Webber book last year. I wish I had read it sooner because I loved her Easy series. It wasn’t around when I was a teenager, but it would have been nice if it was.

    Like

  10. Lisa

    I like your take on the topic, and absolutely agree that some YA books I’ve read (including a few on this list!) probably would have been big hits for me if I actually read them as a young teen… but now, made little to no impression. I did love Cinder though, as well as the rest of the series!

    Like

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