This week's Top Ten Tuesday on The Broke and the Bookish is: Top Ten Books That Weren't What I Expected. This week was a freebie - meaning I can choose any topic I want. And because I've read a few books in the past year that really surprised me, I thought this would be a good chance to look back over some of them.
For the Better:
Station Eleven - Emily St. John MandelThe Martian - Andy WeirGone Girl - Gillian Flynn
The Girl On the Train - Paula HawkinsReality Boy - A.S. KingThese books weren't what I expected for a few different reasons. Either the story went in an entirely different direction than I anticipated (Gone Girl), they were much more amusing (The Martian), the writing was more beautiful than the genre usually delivers (Station Eleven and The Girl On the Train) or the story just wasn't what the jacket blurb led me to expect (Reality Boy). But these all have one thing in common: in spite of (or because of) these surprising turns, they were all excellent.
For the Worse:
Roomies - Sara Zarr and Tara AltebrandoThese Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman and Meagan SpoonerGoing Bovine - Libba Bray
Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie PerkinsThe Vacationers - Emma Straub
Now for the books that underwhelmed me. These ones were seriously over-hyped (These Broken Stars), had good concepts with poor execution (Going Bovine), had plots that didn't impress me, or characters whose personalities or behavior turned me off (Anna and the French Kiss and Roomies). Again, there's one common thread: These all had so much potential. In all of them there was a great idea, a truly fantastic character or a whimsical setting I wanted to lose myself in. Which, I think, contributed to them standing out as being disappointing - books that universally suck I quickly forget about!
What about you guys? Do any books stand out to you as having completely turned your expectations upside down? Did you experience any of my surprise while reading these books? Share in the comments! <div class="statcounter"><a title="blogger counters" href="http://statcounter.com/blogger/" class="statcounter"><img class="statcounter" src="http://c.statcounter.com/10144299/0/82f610c9/1/" alt="blogger counters" /></a></div>