Top 10 Underrated Books/Authors

I found this on ReadWriteLove28's blog. Check his blog out, she's pretty cool! I liked the idea so much that I borrowed it. It's the top 10 underrated and lesser known author's/books in YA fiction, Cindy's version. Enjoy!

Authors

#1 - Susan Cooper
      
She writes about ancient Celtic mythologies and has kid heroes and a heroines. So, well written that it's a shame that more people don't know more about the Dark is Rising Sequence. A series of 5  books and Will Stanton and the Drew Children (Simon, Jane, and Barney) battle's with the Dark. A really HORRIBLE movie adaptation was made in 2007. The books are Over Sea, Under Stone (read first), The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, Silver on the Tree.


#2 - Garth Nix

The Abhorsen Trilogy (The Old Kingdom Series is Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen) is a stellar series about the Abhorsen, the guardian and protector of life and the Old Kingdom, sending the Dead back into Death if they try to reach back into Life. I thought this concept was a fantastic theory and loved how Nix has two world at polar opposites, The Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre. There is a forth book due out in October, Clariel: the Lost Abhorsen and Across the Wall, an anthology of short stories about the Old Kingdom.

#3 - L. Frank Baum

He wrote the books about Oz. He dreamed a whole world into life. Once I realized there was more to Oz than what is featured in the books/movies, The Wizard of Oz and the sequel, Return to Oz (which encompassed the second and third novels, I had to read them all.







#4 - Tamora Pierce
      
 Discovered her in 8th grade, when I read the second and third books of her Alanna series. A series about a female knight that kick arse. I found the whole four book series in one volume (Alanna: the First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman who Rides like a Man, Lioness Rampant) and read it. It affirmed my love for Tamora's work and her Lady Kick Assery. She has a slew of other books, including a series about Alanna's daughter that are on my to read list.

#5 - Anne McCaffrey's Dinosaur Planet/Planet Pirates Series

I have been an Anne McCaffrey buff for years, mostly reading the Pern novels. Late into High School or maybe College, I started to read  her other series. Each one was as addicting as the last, but there was something about the Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors, they connected with the Planet Pirate series (Sassinak, The Death of Sleep, Generation Warriors). I won't spoil it, but not only were they are fascinating read, but something different.

Books

#1 - Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica - James A. Owen
      
These books are guess effing awesome! Seven novels full of fantasy (Here, There be Dragons, Search for the Read Dragon, The Indigo King, The Shadow Dragons, The Dragon's Apprentice, Dragons of Winter, The First Dragon), adventure, literature, and art. Written by a brilliant man and friend. I am helping to spread the Awesome in the new Awesome Revolution featuring James' own Meditations Trilogy. He's a brilliant writer, artist, speaker, Time Lord, etc. It's also where I derived the name for this blog.



#2 - Lavender - Green Magic by Andre Norton
      
A rare find, at a used book store. Had read a number of Andre Norton books and was curious. A story about history, time travel, magic, and family.

#3 - Firebird by Charles L. Harness
      
A VERY little known book, also a used bookstore find. It's about a traveling ship and two lovers living in time. Different. Unique.

#4 - A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
     
I had read a "Wrinkle in Time" in Middle School, and again throughout High School,
on my own. I set about to read the whole series. Well that opened up other stories, that I later figured out were connected back to the original Time Quartet. This was is less magical based, but just as touching.

#5 - Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
    
 I found this one at FaerieCon East last year. I even got to meet her and have her sign my book. It's a very different type of Fairy Tale, darker, but no less poignant. About faeries and human existing in the same world, the real world. And there a other books in the series.

Go check them out, Dear Readers. I promise you won't regret it. :-)