Top 5 Tuesday || Authors From U to Z

What’s T5T without the occasional T6T?

Since the alphabet so unfortunately does not divide into fives neatly, today, we’ve got six favorite authors from U to Z! That said, some letters gave me more trouble than others, so maybe we’re back down to five?

Anyhow, before we get into it, a big thanks to Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm Blog for putting together another excellent month of T5T prompts!

U is for…You!

Okay, so I’ll admit this one feels a little like cheating. HOWEVER. I do mean this with all sincerity. There’s a lot of folks out there who haven’t yet been published, but have a great deal of enthusiasm and talent. You guys are brilliant, and I admire so much the snippets I see you posting on Twitter and mentioning in blog posts. 💛

V is for Nina Varela

Last year, Nina Varela captured my heart with Crier’s War, the f/f enemies to lovers slowburn I’ve been craving all my life, and I can’t wait to see what she does next! I found that her sense of characterization was absolutely brilliant, and her ability to pitch characters headlong into conflict was sharp and superb. Plus, the vague hints of her next book that she’s teased on Twitter have my full attention. As does her cute little dog on Insta.

W is for Abigail Hing Wen

I really, truly loved reading Loveboat, Taipei last month (holy smokes, how was that only last month), and I’m eager to see what else Abigail does! She did an excellent job of crafting flawed teenage characters who sometimes do ill-advised things, and I loved that aspect of Loveboat, Taipei. Plus, it’s exciting to see an author handle standalones so deftly. Every thread was addressed and contained smoothly. It’s just what I like to see!

X is for…absolutely no one at all…

I feel like the day I find an X on my shelves is the day pigs fly. Extraordinarily uncommon letter, this one is.

Y is for Mimi Yu

Though The Girl King had some elements I found to be problematic, I liked the way Yu pit sisters against one another in a high stakes conflict. Better yet, I liked that her protagonist had to confront her own privilege as a princess to a land built on conquest. It’s setting up for a character arc that could show genuine growth, and that excites me. I can never say no to solid character changes, especially over the course of a series!

Z is for Markus Zusak

A long, long time ago, I fell completely in love with The Book Thief. It’s a brick of a book, both in terms of size and emotional impact. I can’t remember when I first read it, but I can remember exactly which scenes knocked the wind out of me the first time, and which ones hurt more and more with every reread. It’s not a lighthearted book by any means, nor is it a comfort read. But Zusak earned his place here by being one of the few authors to make me cry while reading a book. He told a story that haunts me on and off to this day, and I remain deeply impressed. And though his other work hasn’t captured me the same way, I can’t forget The Book Thief.

And I suppose I’ll also admit that Z is another difficult letter to find on my shelves. So there’s that too.

There you have it! Somehow, we’re at the end of March, despite it taking three billion years to get here. And in the same stroke, we’re at the end of the alphabet. Finding authors from U to Z wasn’t easy, but there’s certainly satisfaction in seeing it complete.

Now, tell me! Who am I missing on my list? Do we share any favorites? Let’s chat!