Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Polarizing Books

Hi there!
I decided to join the current trend of making "Top 5 Wednesday" posts or videos: I think they're quite interesting. I'll try to stick to the dates and their assigned topics, but if there is nothing I can say about a certain topic, I might go back to a different topic that was previously talked about. ^^

This week's topic is "Favorite Polarizing Books: Books that you like and are either really loved or really hated". I had a hard time thinking about this, because I'm mostly on the other side of this spectrum: I don't like books that most people love a lot. I was still able to pick five books/series which polarize a lot of opinions.

1. The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer 
I know this one is hated by a lot of people. Seriously, a lot! But I read this series when I was about 13 and back then, I loved it. It got me more into romantic fantasy and it kind of got me to grow up a bit, at least reading-wise. For the first time I was reading about teenagers instead of middlegrade pupils. The Twilight series was also the first thing I've read fanfiction about, and for a long time I was in the fandom.
So for me, the Twilight series is kind of nostalgic and I always will have a special place for it in my heart.


2. The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
Surprisingly, I have read and heard from a lot of people that they think this series is cheesy and just not really good - I cannot at all agree. I love this series and have been a fan from the moment I started the first book. I have also re-read the series a couple of times and will do so again this year. I love the characters, I think the plot and it's twist are so good and I just love how funny and dramatic and romantic it is. It's got a little of everything.




3. The Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkins
This one was also a surprise to me, when I noticed that many found this series to not be good. I loved it a lot. It had it's amazing thriller elements and was able to keep up the suspense until the end. The characters made me fall in love again and I don't have much negative to say. I know especially the last book is hated a lot and I can agree a little bit that it was not the most perfect ending this series could have gotten, but I still thought it was good.





4. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
I have read this book a long time, before it was made in to a movie. Back then I really liked the story and my memory of it is still positive. Many people read the book after the movie announcement.  After that I saw a lot of hate for this book, which I do not really get. I know the aspect of judging somebody as a "DUFF" is very problematic, but that is what the book portrays. The love story is also a big point of criticism because it's s cliché and
I really liked the movie as well, so I cannot understand all the hate this book and the movie get.



And, the last one...
5. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Liking John Green is, in general, a very polarizing opinion. I do like John Green, I've read every single one of his books and enjoyed them all. The one book which I think gets the most hate is An Abundance of Katherines. The story itself has a rather weird concept and a lot of people think the representation of John Green's classic boy/girl configuration shows problematically in this book, but I don't really understand the stigmata that John Green's books are put under. They're all very enjoyable reads, some more and some less. They're not supposed to be the best thing you've ever read or a perfect representation of every teenager - his stories are just stories in the end.
But I guess that's it: opinions can vary so greatly and book opinions are perfect to show just that.


So that's it from me this week, hope you enjoyed my thoughts on these books. Maybe you agree or totally disagree? Let me know in the comments! :)

- xoxo Lisa