Most Underrated Books in YA | Newbie Blogger Spotlight

Newbie Blogger Spotlight No.5

Hello friends! Today I bring you the next instalment of the Newbie Blogger Spotlight! A while ago I announced that I was doing this Newbie Blogger Spotlight. This is going to be a feature I will have on my blog weekly (as much as possible) where I will share a guest post from a lovely newbie blogger. They will be talking about why they got into blogging, what they enjoy about it and whatever else they’d like to share. I hope you’re all lovely to these bloggers and go and check them out, let’s spread the blogging love! Remember how you felt when you were first starting out.

This week’s post is Most Underrated Books in YA by @snailycanflyy, who blogs at snailycanflyy.wordpress.com. I hope you enjoy!

Most Underrated Books in YA – according to @snailycanflyy

Hello! I’m Kayleigh from snailycanflyy.wordpress.com and I’m very excited to be here today to share with you what I believe to be some of the most underrated books in YA fiction. From being a booklover to being a bookseller to being a book blogger, there are certain titles that I have never seen get the recognition and love that they deserve in comparison to more “popular” books…so I’d love to share some of these with you!

First up, is one that, despite being a Carnegie shortlisted book back in 2005, just doesn’t seem to get the hype that it deserves. It’s one that’s very much loved by people who’ve read it, and one that appeals to people who you recommend it to, but it’s still not one of those books that people automatically will go to! Looking for JJ truly is one of my favourite books of all time; Anne Cassidy is my personal Queen of Teen Crime, and this book is testament to that. The story makes you question rapidly judging people and whether we should give people second chances. The writing is exquisite, grips you from the get-go and draws you into the lives of the characters in such a way that it really does feel as though you know them – I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Going for something a lot fluffier next, one of my favourite authors growing up was Cathy Hopkins. Both of her main series, Mates Dates and Truth Dare Kiss Promise, are perfect “tween” books that focus on the trials and tribulations of being a teenager in the UK and all the changes that go on! Despite being good fun to read, they touch upon so many issues that young girls face growing up. Even as a young adult, I still really enjoy these books and think that so many more young girls would love them!

Another favourite author of mine during my teen years was Robert Swindells, and his book Nightmare Stairs is a short but sweet thriller that’ll keep you hooked! I remember being obsessed with his books (my school library had loads of them) and I always have felt that he’s a very underrated author.

Next up is one of the first books that made me truly cry! If you love a good tearjerker, then Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers is an absolute must! Told through post it notes left on the fridge, this book is set over a year that is full of ups and downs for a mother and her daughter. It’s such a unique and heartfelt book that I would recommend very highly.

Finally, I’m going to go for a newer title – Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton. This beautiful book came out earlier this year and it was one that I really did love; whilst being on the topic of death, it is full of warmth and humour that keeps you turning each page. The way that Phyllida writes is so engaging, and made this one that I really want to see on more people’s bookshelves!

I could go on and on about books I LOVE that don’t seem to get shouted about on social media as much as they should, so I’ll just leave a few more titles here, which are ones that are newer but I don’t see too often coming up on any of my feeds! If you haven’t read them yet, you definitely should check them out:

Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos
All About Mia by Lisa Williamson
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
And I Darken by Kiersten White
Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper
The Foreshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick
Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson

Thank you so much to Jenn for having me on here today, and allowing me to witter on about some of the books that I love and want to share with you all!

Thank you so much Kayleigh!

What do you guys think are some of the most underrated YA books?

As always, if you’d like to be a part of my Newbie Blogger Spotlight series, send me a message!

Written by Jenniely - September 26, 2018 - 864 Views

Tags | blogging, jenniely, new bloggers, newbie blogger spotlight, underrated books in YA

11 Comments

devouringbooks2017 September 26, 2018 at 5:19 pm

Looking for JJ sounds amazing. Love the topic of underrated books!

Jenn @ Bound to Writing September 26, 2018 at 5:43 pm

Looking for JJ sounds really interesting! Definitely going to go check it out! Nice to meet you Kayleigh! 🙂

snailycanflyy September 26, 2018 at 6:13 pm
Hello Jenn! Lovely to meet you too, and, unsurprisingly, I’d definitely encourage you to check it out – I hope you love it as much as I do! 💕

Jen Dollente September 26, 2018 at 6:38 pm

Here are some of the underrated YA books for me: The Color Project by Sierra Abrams, Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton and The Romantics by Leah Konen! 😉

nicolinesimone September 26, 2018 at 7:38 pm

I looove Life On The Refrigerator Door. I remember reading it together with my sister years ago. And that last letter/note made me weep like a baby. 😢😂

cupofbooksblog September 26, 2018 at 8:38 pm

All of these sound really interesting and I look forward to checking them out!

I knew one of the books from above which was from the Mates, Dates … series which I simply adored as a teenager and have been thinking about this series recently wanting to re-read them, maybe this is a sign!

Thank you for a great post!

🙂