Many a book reader has gone to the library, card in hand, glanced around and thought, “What now?” When you’re an avid reader and have read most of the popular and common books at the library, finding new gems can be hard to do. Here’s a list of ten books that you may have never heard of, but are worth your time.
First up is “Muchacho” by JouAnne Johnson. This book is about a kid living in the bad parts of New Mexico, Eddie Corazon. Upon meeting Lupe, a new arrival in the alternative school he attends, Eddie makes a decision that will change his life. Why is this book so good? This book is told from a startling honest point of view, and opens up what life in a different kind of area that you might have never experienced before. Pretty eye-opening.
“Sometimes you never really think about what kind of lives people lead who don’t live in a richer part of town. Unless you see it from someone else’s point of view, it can be even hard to imagine,” freshman Hannah Vanhorn said.
Next up on our beautiful list of ten is “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See. This book depicts two sister’s hardships as they struggle to escape from China in 1937. This book is beautiful. See did a splendid job of truth telling from that time period while making two polar opposite sister’s work together, to explaining ancient Chinese ways and customs all throughout the book. While it makes you cry, it will also make you laugh.
“The book shows you what the Chinese people went through, instead of what the Americans went through which is most of what you hear today,” Korean War Veteran Warren Bingman said.
“Elsewhere” by Gabrielle Zevin. (“Elsewhere” Full Book Summary) This book is great enough to give thousands existential crisis, and yet widely underappreciated. This book is more than a ten out of ten, and if my review has left you still unsure of you should read it or not, just know that there’s romance in the afterlife, but not quite the kind you’d be lead to believe.
“The Art of Hearing Heartbeats” by Jan-Phillip Sendker is a romance novel in every sense of the way. The books tells the story of a blind man and a woman without use of her legs who fall in love in Taiwan, told through the eyes of his child. A love story to move mountains, it tells of love for someone beyond what you see, and the difference between lust and loving.
“The book really makes you think about how you define love, which is why it’s one of my favorite books too” freshman Amira Bajracharya said.
Here we have “Unwind” by Neal Shusterman. Now, I know how everyone these days love dystopian novels, and here’s one to rival “Fahrenheit 451”, except a lot more teen friendly. While there is no book burning, this book shows a society in which parents can acceptably and will commonly get rid of their children by transplanting their organs to various recipients. This is a story of teens on lam from being unwound. Ten out ten, and action packed, one that will stick with you.
Halfway through our lovely list is “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher. This book is about a girl who sends out tapes of her recorded messages to the people who as Hannah says, all led her to commit suicide. We see all of these events through the main character Clay’s eyes, who had a massive crush on her. This story is an extremely sad one for sure, but a story people need to hear. This is a pretty widely known controversial novel, but it’s on the list because while most people have heard of it, they are wary of the controversial issues.
“The Kneebone Boy” by Ellen Potter is a bit of a break from all the deep book recommendations that have been given out before. This book is quirky one for sure, but the odd characters enhance the writing. This book is a standalone, as things are now, but it is a book that stands out from the rest. This is a tale of three strange children on the mystery to find out the truth of their parents, getting lost in London, secrets are revealed, and large forbidden castles with disfigured children inside are explored.
“13 Little Blue Envelopes” by Maureen Johnson is a book you’ve seen before, but never grabbed – here I am telling you to grab it. In this novel, a girl of high school age is literally pushed into an adventure. She goes gallivanting around the world looking for answers to questions she’s not sure she wants answered. This book is a light, travelling story, and while there is some mystery it’s not anything of the dark kind. This books leaves you with a strong pang to leave behind the state of Kansas and anything associated with safe, and travel the world.
“13 Little Blue Envelopes is wonderful book for any teenager who just wants to get out of their hometown and see the world. A very refreshing book I recommend to anyone excited about their full life potential,” former French student Nancy Lucas said.
“Thieves Like Us” by Stephan Cole is basically a video game of hot rod chasings lock picking, and lives of unadulterated crime put into words. In this book there is an elite group of teen outlaws employed by a mysterious benefiter, and this book is so unheard of it’s sad. This is by no means a deep book, but if you ever are thinking of how cool would it be to experience something like breaking into top secret facilities with a kid with a glass eye, well here you have it. Makes you want to go on a high speed car chase, or something.
Last, but certainly not least, is “Heir Apparent” by Vivian Vande Velde. This book was published in 2002, and can be found it for exactly $1 in the clearance isle of Half Price Books, so you’ve got to be thinking, “Are you serious?” “Heir Apparent” is about a girl named Giannine who lives in a pretty stellar high tech future world I might add, who under some wacky circumstances, ends up getting trapped in a full mind and body immersion RPG. The only way through is to beat the game, and if she dies, she gets sent all the way back to the start to try again, no matter how far she got in the game. Anyone who likes RP Games will like this book, and the narrative is hilarious no matter how many times you read it.
That’s all there is for today, folks! Even if none of these books here seemed your type, always remember there’s always someone out there who has their own top ten, and they might have one perfect for you. Keep reading, Book Mania fans, and remember no matter who you are, there’s a perfect book for you, even if you haven’t found it quite yet.

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