Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels.

This is a tough one.  Usually, when I really like a book, it's because it's self-contained and there's no need for a sequel.  But there are definitely some characters and settings that I would like to visit with again:

10. Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival by Arthur Slade - This was a book that I thought was tailor-made for a sequel.  Its setting, characters, and situations had me wanting more.  I'm not sure why this book is a stand-alone title, when it could so easily have been made into a middle-grade series.

9. Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis - This book wrapped everything up pretty well, and I don't know if a sequel would even be possible (or necessary).  But I grew to love the characters and setting while I was reading it.  Maybe I just wish this one had been a little bit longer...

8. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares - I really enjoyed this book, and the ending certainly left the door open for a sequel.  But I've read that, because the first book wasn't a huge bestseller, there probably won't be a sequel.  How disappointing!

7. The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb - There are a lot of storytelling possibilities with the premise that the author brought forward in this book.  I wouldn't mind reading another book about Calder, either continuing the story that was begun here, or with an entirely new set of characters.

6. Draw the Dark by Ilsa J. Bick - The way the ending of this one was written, I thought there was going to be a sequel.  The fact that there isn't makes the ending all the more unsatisfying.

5. Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary - The last of the Ramona books was published in 1999, so it's probably safe to say that there won't be any more.  It's a shame, too, because there were so many more possible stories to explore with this fun cast of characters.

4. The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee - I read this book years ago, and thought the story was both heartbreaking and memorable.  I really wanted a sequel!  Twenty-four years after the first book, the author did publish a sort of quasi-sequel (a book which made reference to the earlier characters), but as far as I know, it wasn't that well received.  According to Wikipedia, there may be a third book which would return to the original characters.  We can hope.

3. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman - A sequel to this book would probably push the age level into another bracket, so it's probably not going to happen.  Still, I would have liked to see how Birdy dealt with the aftermath of the events of the first book.

2. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - The sequel is coming (yay!) for those of us who couldn't get enough in the first book.  There's also a prequel novella, but I haven't been able to get access to it.

1. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner - Yes, I know this book has a sequel.  Three, actually.  But I just couldn't get into the second book in the series.  I loved Gen in the first book, and I think part of that was the first-person narration.  The other books didn't have his witty voice.  I would've much preferred a sequel that followed the same format as the first book.

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggled! There are too many series out there already!

    I haven't read any of these, though I have been curious about Warm Bodies. (I saw the movie without reading the book, I'm a rebel.) Less excited too if there's a sequel though. I'm sort of burned out on them :/

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