Underrated Books Part 5

 I am back with another installment of the underrated books series. I love making these.

Here are 4 more books that I love that I barely see anyone talking about online. Hopefully you might read these too!

1. Jane of Lantern Hill by LM Montgomery-Jane Stuart lives with her kindly mother and harsh grandmother in a giant mansion in Toronto. Jane obviously does not get along well with her grandmother, and unfortunately doesn't get along well with the the other members of her mother's extended family, either. She also is unpopular at her school. The only friend she has is her next door neighbor, a girl around her age named Jody. One day, Jane receives news that her father who she thought was dead is actually alive--and she gets a letter in the mail from him asking her to visit him on Prince Edward Island for the summer. She's reluctant at first, but Jane goes to PEI and ends up having a wonderful summer with her dad and new friends. Jane also finds out more reasons on why her parents divorced, and she wishes one day her parents could remarry and they could all live happily together. Really sweet and heartwarming book with a lot of cottagecore vibes. Read the full review here!

2. The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill. Ned is the son of a witch in a small village. He lost his twin brother Tam a long time ago from drowning, and everyone in the village outside of his family think he (Ned) is the "wrong boy" and shouldn't have survived. So Ned has been living with this guilt for a long time. Ned's mother, Sister Witch, is also the protector of some ancient and powerful magic that a group of bandits want to steal for themselves. Aine is the daughter of the leader of the bandits, and Aine doesn't like her dad's thieving ways. She wonders if maybe he acts up due to the magical pendant around his neck. A little before Aine's mother died, she told Aine that "The wrong boy will save your life. You will save his. And the wolf--" Aine wonders what it all means. Eventually Aine and Ned meet each other and team up to stop a war between Aine's home country and Ned's home country. Some magical stones get involved in the plot, too. Very magical and emotional story! Felt like a Studio Ghibli film, in my opinion. Read full review here. 

3. Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla. Sarah Ida is 10 years old and does not get along well with her parents and has been having trouble at school. Her parents decide to send her to stay with her aunt Claudia over the summer. Sarah Ida gets bored as she has no money to spend on fun things, and her aunt won't give her an allowance, so she goes into town to try to find a job. A kind, elderly man named Al lets her work part time in his shoe shining store. Sarah Ida learns to shine and polish people's shoes and learns more about considering other people's feelings. It's a super short book but very uplifting. I read it a few years ago before starting my book blog!

4. My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up by Tristan Bancks. This is a very funny slice-of-life series where every chapter is a different story. Tom Weekly is a preteen boy who tells us about significant things that happen in his life--although he won't tell you which parts of it are made up. Some stories you will find in this book include: a hot dog eating contest gone wrong, two grandmas fighting, a denture delivery service also gone wrong, magpie troubles, and (my favorite chapter) a day where everything is miraculously hovering in the sky. While there is some gross-out humor, every chapter is hilarious, too. I think it's perfect for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid! I also read it years ago before starting this book blog.