Top 5 Wednesday Catch Up

Happy Wednesday Guys!

It's time for another Top 5 Wednesday Post! For anyone unfamiliar with Top 5 Wednesday, it's a weekly meme that was started by Gingerreadslainey on youtube, and is now being hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. Here is the link to the goodreads page for anyone who's interested in joining, or just finding out more about it:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/118368-top-5-wednesday




I've gotten so behind on the Top 5 Wednesday posts, with being at RT BookLovers for a week, I ended up missing two of the topics, and I still really wanted to take part in them. So for this week's Top 5 Wednesday, I will be doing the current topic: Favorite Mothers, or Maternal Figures. And catching up on the previous two topics, Books with Hard Topics, and Books You're Intimidated By.

So here goes my attempt at doing all three topics in one post! :)



First, here's my 5 Favorite Books With Hard Topics:

1)

First up, is Crash Into You by Katie McGarry. I absolutely loved this book period, but especially I love how Katie touches on the foster care system, and the abuse that happens within it, and also the issue of panic attacks, and how mistreatment of things can make it worse. This is a much recommended read from me, for anyone who has yet to pick it up.

2)                                                                                                                                                                

      Next is Easy by Tammara Webber. This is such a powerful novel that touches on the issue of rape, and attempted rape, among other horrific things, that I'm not going to discuss, as I don't want to ruin it for anyone. It shows the depth that these horrors can have on someone's life, and is a novel that, in my opinion, will influence anyone's life who reads it.

3)

  Next is Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places.

I had done a full review of this book a couple of months ago, and it still remains on my mind. The horrors facing the characters suffering from mental illness, made worse by parental inattention, is so real in our world today, and I think this book will leave a huge impact on our world.

4) 

The Revenge Playbook by Rachel Allen:

This may seem like an odd choice, but I loved how this book touches on the bullying, and stereotypes faced by girls in society today. And also, as seeing first hand when male athletes are favored in academic settings, I also loved how Rachel Allen brings this situation to light, and the consequences it can cause. I really enjoyed this book.

5)  

                                                                                                                                               

My last pick for this topic is Wait For You by J.Lynn, or Jennifer L. Armentrout. This book also approaches the topic of rape, and the horrific aftermath it causes, and I also think this book brilliantly highlights what an amazing author Jennifer L. Armentrout is. This book honestly had me in tears, and it definitely is written in a way that makes the reader feel every emotion that Avery is feeling. 

Next is the Books That Intimidate You Topic:

1)                                                                                                                                                         

First, I'm going with Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've owned the box set of the first four novels in this series for over a year, but I have yet to pick them up. I honestly cannot get over the size of these books, and although I have definitely read books that were that long or longer before, I think it's also the fact that there's already so many books in this series, and each one is that long, that has me completely intimidated over starting this series.

2)                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                 

                                      The next book on my list is The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. I've been wanting to read this series for quite sometime, even though I wasn't a huge fan of the movies, but honestly just the sight of these books has me extrememly intimidated. On top of how long they are, there's so many complicated character and place names that I have a feeling it would be a book that I would only be able to handle a little bit of a at a time. However, I will read these someday, and that's a promise I'm making myself.

3)                                                                                                                                                         

                                                   Jane Eyre is definitely on the list of books that intimidates me, and to be perfectly honest, I can't even pinpoint why. I've really loved the classics I've read in the past, and some of them are even my favorite books, so I'm not quite sure why I'm so intimidated by this one. I think it's partly the language in it that has me hesitant to pick it up, but I've been wanting to read it for a very long time, and since one of my 2016 reading goals was to read more classics, I'm hoping to get to this one this year.

4)    

              I have heard so much about Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and I've owned a copy of it for quite a while, but I have yet to work up the courage to read it. I've heard so much about it, and it's honestly the classic that has intrigued me the most for years, but there's just something so intimidating about it, that I end up continuously passing it over. That will stop this year, and I will finally read this book!     

5)

   Lastly, I have to include The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.
This has been my mom's favorite book, and mini series for as long as I can remember. I watched the series with her a long time ago, and actually really enjoyed it, but I have yet to work up the courage to pick up this book. Aside from the fact that it's huge, it's also been so hyped up to me by my mom that I'm worried I might end up not thinking it lived up to it. Eventually, however, I will go ahead and read this book, and hopefully sooner rather than later.


Finally we are on to this week's actual topic after all that catch up, and that topic is:

Favorite Mothers or Maternal Figures:

I can honestly say that this is one of the hardest topics I've done since I first started taking part in Top 5 Wednesday. I literally went through my bookshelves, and my goodreads read shelf so many times before I picked five that I was happy with, but I am pretty happy with the five I ended up going with. :)

1)

  The first mother that popped into my head when I saw this category was definitely Mrs. Whittman from one of my all time favourite series, The Kingdom Keepers. I love how she's so protective of her son, and to begin with, doesn't approve of their mission at all. However, in the later books, she becomes one of their greatest allies, and her love for her children definitely shines through.

2)

     Next would definitely have to be Rachel Morgan from the Gallagher Girls Series by Ally Carter. I love how Rachel is a total kick butt character, and yet is still often the nurturning type of mother that Cammie needs. I also love how she generally knows everything that's going on with the girls at her school, much to the dismay of her daughter and their friends.

3)

I definitely have to include Susannah from Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty Series. I love her carefree, and free spirit personality, and how she means so much to not just her own boys, but also to Steven and Belly. One of my favorite scenes from this series is the flashback when Susannah is giving Belly a smokey eye, and I think Susannah's character just added so much depth to this series for me.

4)                                                                                                                                                            

I could definitely not complete a list of my favorite mothers without including Marmee from Little Women. Marmee has to be one of the most beloved fictional mothers of all time, and I always loved her character, and how she encourages, and knows how to handle, each one of her drastically different daughters.

5)                                                                                                                                                                    

My last pick may be a bit strange, but as a maternal figure I really wanted to include Charlotte Branwell from The Infernal Devices. I personally thought it was awesome to see a female character as the head of the Shadowhunter Institute, and while Charlotte definitely cares about all the charges placed in her care, she also isn't afraid to show that she's just as strong as any of her male counterparts, and she's honestly one of my favorite characters from this series.

Thanks for reading everyone! It feels so good to be back doing Top 5 Wednesday, and hopefully I'll stay caught up from here on! I'll see you all back on Friday for another recap post from RT BookLovers. :)

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. The photos were not taken by me, nor do they belong to me. All rights to the respective owners.