Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish but is now managed by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic:
Top Ten Books that Surprised Me
For this, I’ve decided to focus on books with plot twists I either didn’t see coming or suspected but was surprised by it anyway.
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
A post-apocalyptic horror novel about a sweet, intelligent little girl whom everyone treats with extreme caution.
That’s all I can say without giving the story away. I recently completed an audio version of this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator, Finty Williams, did an awesome job. Carey’s storytelling sucked me in and kept me hooked. There are some plot twists that I didn’t expect and that put me on edge, like what Mellony observed in the theater when she went exploring. I also didn’t expect how it ended either, but I enjoyed it so much that I want to read it again using the physical copy.
The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb
The is the second novel in the Tawney Man trilogy, which focuses on Fitz and the Fool. This trilogy is part of Hobb’s larger epic fantasy series called Realm of the Elderlings.
I’m currently reading this and am halfway through it and am already on the edge of my seat because of unexpected characters who pop up and how their appearance in this story affect the protagonist and other characters we’d met in the Farseer trilogy. It all makes me so excited. I can’t wait to see how it will play out and how the story will wrap up. I just want to know what happens right now!!! (But don’t want to be spoiled.)
The Shining by Stephen King
A horror novel about a clairvoyant boy who spends the winter season at a secluded sinister hotel with only his parents.
Oh, yes! This was a surprising one. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did or to get so much out of it. But the plot twist at the very end was so damn unexpected that I was a little scared to go in my bathroom. It made me want to immediately start reading Doctor Sleep.
Normal by Warren Ellis
A techno-thriller about a futurist, a scientist/social scientist who think professionally about the future, who is committed to a mental institution in Oregon called Normal Head.
Umm… this entire novella is surprising because I expected not one thing that occurred in it. It blew my friggin mind. But I enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it if you’re interested.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
A…thriller/mystery about a guy who’s accused of murdering his wife on their anniversary.
I actually watched the movie before reading the book, so I knew what the major twist was going in; but despite that I was still hooked and surprised and all those emotions as I read. It was as if I hadn’t seen the movie.
The Sculptor by Scott McCloud (illus.)
A magical realism graphic novel about a man who makes a deal with Death to have the ability to sculpt anything he imagines.
I didn’t like this story as much as I thought I would, but it was an interesting read and the end was pretty surprising. The twist involving the girl was unexpected.
Wytches, Vol. 1 by Scott Snyder, illus. by Jock
A horror comic book about a girl who has nightmares that might be real about sinister beings in the woods.
The story is good and the art is decent. I would recommend it. The twist about who set all the craziness in motion was a surprise to me.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
A classic mystery novel about a murder on….the Orient Express.
I read this one with high expectations and so was let down by it, but the story is interesting and who the murderer is was quite surprising as well; though I did figure it out before it was revealed. But since I didn’t totally believe myself when I thought the thought, I was still surprised when the murderer was revealed.
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa (illus.)
A sci-fi/fantasy manga about the Elric brothers, who are trying to regain their original bodies after a failed experiment caused one brother to lose his entire body and another to lose an arm and a leg.
I LOVE THIS STORY!!! 😀 I don’t know if this is in the manga too (I’ve only watched the anime in full), but I was totally surprised when I learned how homunculi are created.
Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar, illus. by Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett
A comic book story that reimagines the superhero as a communist leader.
This is one of my absolute favorite comic books. The huge plot twist at the end made me immediately start rereading the story with the end in mind.
Zezee with Books 
Great list! Golden Fool was a great choice! Yeah I also watched Gone Girl before reading it, but it surprised me how much I liked it. Shame you were letdown by Murder on Orient Express, but it makes sense if your expectations were high, but I was also surprised by who the murderer was. I like the sound of Wytches 🙂
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Golden Fool has me on edge. Can’t wait to see how this trilogy wraps up.
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The Shinning was great!! much better than I was expecting that’s for sure. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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That’s how I felt about it too. It was so good. Didn’t expect to be hooked on it.
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REDRUM!
The Shining freaked me out big time. :’)
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Yes!!! That Redrum chapter had me on edge. Once the story got going, I couldn’t wait to get to it.
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The Shining is a great example for this topic because the ending really was a surprise, a huge surprise. Probably because I’d seen the film a few times and so wasn’t really expecting any surprises. I was shocked at the difference and have to say I prefer the book – although I do love the film regardless.
Lynn 😀
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I still need to see the movie. But I’ll probably like the book more too.
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Loads of great picks, and I was so relieved you said you felt down by Murder on the Orient Express. I felt a bit disappointed with it too.
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Yea, I guess people hyped it up too much. Didn’t think it was so awesome.
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That’s usually how it goes, which is a shame because if wasn’t such a bad story
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I have so many Hobb books to catch up with! 😀 I love how many twists and turns she manages to weave into her narratives and I always get the feeling that anything could happen and no one is really safe!
Normal sounds like a really cool novella! I’ll have to check it out 😀
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Lol that’s so true. I’m buddy-reading it and right now me n my buddy-reading are wondering what huge horrible thing is going to happen to the characters.
Oh yes! Normal was very interested. I really want to try more stuff by the author.
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