Top Ten Tuesday #99

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had good week since I last did one of these, I had a pretty fun bookish Saturday exploring the literary sights of Edinburgh for an article I had to write for my Journalism module, it’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever got to do in the name of work! Anyway, I’m back and courtesy of the lovely ladies over at The Broke and The Bookish, I have a new Top Ten Tuesday for you. This week’s topic is a Read In One Sitting Theme. Now I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book wholly in one sitting, I’m just not that fast of a reader! So I’m going to twist the topic into Top Ten Shortest Books I’ve Enjoyed (and those of you who are faster readers than me could probably read these in a day). For short, I’ll define it as anything from 100-400 pages. Also this is not in order of preference, simply in order of length.

1. Black Beauty-183 pages-Anna Sewell

Goodreads lists this as having 245 pages but the copy I have at home is 183 pages. This is my favourite classic (actually one of the few that I like!) and is one of the most beautiful and heartrending horse tales I have ever read.

2. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone-223 pages-JK Rowling

I mean I highly doubt that there are many people left out there who haven’t read Harry Potter, but if you haven’t then you will regret it if you don’t dive right into this first instalment of the series and join the famous boy wizard in his adventures at Hogwarts.

3.  Matilda-232 pages-Roald Dahl

One of my favourite books from childhood, and would probably make my all time list too. I mean Matilda is basically a love letter to all bookworms out there, so I’m sure I’m not the only bookworm who would list it among my favourite books. If you haven’t read it, then what are you waiting for?

4. Ballet Shoes-240 pages-Noel Streatfeild

Another one of my favourite books from my youth, this heartwarming story about three adopted sisters and their adventures at stage school is one that will stay with you for years after you read it. I loved the bond between the three Fossil sisters and Ballet Shoes is so much more than a story about learning to dance, it’s a story about growing up and finding who your family is.

5. Thirteen Reasons Why-288 pages-Jay Asher

It’s the perfect time to read this book about Hannah Baker, who leaves tapes after committing suicide for the people who contributed to her decision to tell them why she did what she did and how they played a part in it, as it’s going to be a Netflix series released at the end of the month. The use of the tapes makes for a very interesting format and I loved how Asher showed how the little things that people do can all add up, that bullying doesn’t always have to be big acts. It’s such a thought provoking little book and well worth the read.

6. Heist Society-291 pages-Ally Carter

This fun book about teenage thieves is engaging, high spirited and tons of fun up until the very last page. It will be very easy to get carried away in the adventures of Kat and her crew and fly through this in one afternoon.

7. Percy Jackson Series-265-400 pages-Rick Riordan

This five book series about the son of Poseidon will fly by easily, the longest book being only 400 pages. I dare you not to get sucked into the adventures of Percy and his friends. With a modern twist on Greek mythology, tons of sass, great friendships and thrilling adventures, this is definitely one of my favourite series.

8. Unwind-335 pages-Neal Shusterman

This is one of my absolute favourite books. Eerily creepy, it’s set in a world where abortion was outlawed after a messy war between pro-lifers and pro-choicers, but a new solution, Unwinding where parents can retroactively have their children taken apart and their organs harvested for donation…..whilst still alive. It’s such a unique dystopian world, I’ve never read anything like it and it was so riveting, I read much of it in the one afternoon.

9. The Truth About Celia Frost-335 pages-Paula Rawsthorne

This is a riveting mystery about a girl who could supposedly bleed out from a single cut….until she gets hurt and finds out that her mother has been lying to her about her illness the entire time. The rest of the story is a twisty, turny mystery as we, along with Celia discover the truth.

10. Between Shades of Grey-344 pages-Ruta Sepetys

This WWII novel about Lithuanian deportees, is beautiful and heartbreaking, but most of all hopeful. The main protagonist, Lina Vilkas is probably one of the strongest characters I’ve ever read about, she goes through some terrible, terrible things and through it all she never gives up hope. Have some tissues handy, because this book will make you cry.

11. Rebel of The Sands-358 pages-Alwyn Hamilton

This fantastic desert romp about female sharpshooter Amani Al’Hiza, has a wonderful setting, amazing characters, and a heart pounding plot, it would definitely be very easy to fly through this one in a day.

12. Split Second-368 pages-Sophie McKenzie

I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book, I never wanted to put it down, it’s a gripping, engaging thriller that barely lets you pause for breath as you worry about what is going to happen to the main characters Charlie and Nat.

13. Blind Beauty-368 pages-KM Peyton

One of my absolute favourite books, this is a heartwarming story about a reckless girl and an ugly racehorse, both outcasts who find solace in each other and together fight against all the odds stacked against them. KM Peyton is honestly one of the best horse authors out there and this is my favourite book of hers. I read this one over the space of one coach trip (albeit quite a long one!).

14. Skulduggery Pleasant-371 pages-Derek Landy

Magical skeleton detective. Who talks. And solves crimes. And it’s set in Ireland. Plus there’s lots of sass. I mean sass, skeletons, magic, crimes and Ireland? What more could you want?

15. A Darker Shade of Magic-384 pages-VE Schwab

OMG! THIS BOOK! Victoria Schwab is an actual genius I swear. You have multiple parallel Londons, magicians, a sassy thief and a wonderful adventure. Please, please read this book, you will become addicted and you won’t regret it. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy is one of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read.

16. Cross My Heart-388 pages-Carmen Reid

An incredible tale about a young girl’s bravery during WWII, we follow Nicole as she acts as a spy for the Belgian Resistance. It has a fast paced plot, awesome characters and allows you to learn about a lesser known part of WWII history.

17. Dangerous Girls-388 pages-Abigail Haas

This is one of the most twisted mind fucks of YA thriller I have ever read and if you like YA thrillers then I urge you all to read it, because honestly after reading this no other YA thriller has ever stacked up. I read it three years ago and I’m still thinking about THAT ending.

Okay I’m going to stop there before I go completely overboard but we were talking about short books this week so it makes sense I would offer you almost twice as many! I will be back with a new Top Ten Tuesday next week, it’s a meeting authors based freebie, so it should be pretty fun. I’m not sure what I’m going to have for you guys next, but I will probably have my second discussion post for March up pretty soon. In the meantime, I just did my latest Quarterly Rewind post, so you guys should check that out!