5 Diverse Books That Deserve More Praise

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. How it works is that each Tuesday the host assigns a topic and then posts their top ten list that fits the topic. Every blogger can create their own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well and link to the host’s. The topic for February 19th, 2019 is: Books I LOVED with Fewer than 2,000 Ratings on Goodreads.

1. A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

Genre: Science fiction and fantasy

Age range: 13+

My rating: 5 stars

This book made it to my top ten favourites of 2018 list and it makes me really sad to see that it has fewer than 300 Goodreads rating until date. I really wish more people would pick it up, especially fans of mythological retellings, because it is a sci-fi based on the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, and does full justice to this revered work of literature.

2. Fierce Fairytales & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Genre: Fantasy

Age range: 13+

My rating: 4 stars

This is a poetry collection and I don’t read poetry often but I quite enjoyed this one. It addressed gender stereotypes, mental health, ableism and so much more. The one caveat is that you need to be familiar with the fairytales mentioned to understand the unique spin the author has put on it, but it is still a worthwhile read.

3. The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

Genre: Fantasy

Age range: 13+

My rating: 4 stars

This is an immersive and wonderfully imaginative fantasy with one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen on a young adult book!  The world is based on ancient Kashmir and draws from Indian myths and legends, which gave it a very distinct feel. If you’re looking for a unique, diverse and lush fantasy book, I’d highly recommend this.

4. Malgudi Schooldays: The Adventures of Swami and His Friends by R. K. Narayan

Genre: Contemporary

Age range: 11+

My rating: 5 stars

This is a charming, quiet sort of book that slowly steals your heart. It captures the essence of the laid-back sleepy town life of South India very well. If you’re interested in a slice-of-life kind of story with a lovable cast of characters, this fits the bill perfectly.

5. The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta

Genre: Fantasy

Age range: 11+

My rating: 5 stars

This book was recommended by Roshani Chokshi and by Dany @ Ambivert Words in the YARC recommendations post. While I’m glad I’m not the only one who has read loved it, this clever and compelling middle-grade novel based on Bengali mythology will certainly teach the reader a thing or two while managing to be thoroughly entertaining. Fans of Rick Riordan will devour this book but it also manages to stand on its own.

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What are some books that you think deserve more hype? Do you pay attention to the number of ratings or the average rating on Goodreads before picking up a book? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.

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