Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Books I Wish Had An Epilogue!
Hello Readers! I hope you’re all well and safe. This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for my family. Today is my anniversary, tomorrow is my youngest child’s birthday, and Sunday is Father’s Day. Lots to pack into the week and weekend! Hopefully I can squeeze in some reading! 😉
I had to twist today’s topic a bit because I could only come up with five books I wish DID have an epilogue, so it was an easy fix to list five books I wish DIDN’T have an epilogue. Easy in theory. This topic took some searching and perusing, prompting me to pull books off my shelf and flip to the back or re-download them onto my kindle, searching for that table of contents.
Let’s see what I chose! And don’t worry, NO SPOILERS HERE!
(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title.)
Books I Wish DID Have an Epilogue
- Normal People by Sally Rooney – I just wanted a little more. Just a little.
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – Torture. Pure torture. I’m still waiting for a sequel. But I do love this book.
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandell – I think an epilogue might have helped me process this one more and left me more satisfied.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – Same as above. I needed a little more closure or time to process.
- Requiem (Delirium, #3) by Lauren Oliver – The ending of this one was so ambiguous that it kind of ruined the whole series for me. I didn’t need everything wrapped up, but I needed something. Anything.
Books I Wish DIDN’T Have an Epilogue
- Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3) by Cassandra Clare – The only book I’ve read so far that I’ve hated the epilogue. In fact, I’ve reread this series multiple times (no, it didn’t ruin the whole series for me) and I’ve never read the epilogue again. If you’re a fan, you know what I’m talking about. 😉
- Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren – I adored this romance by the talented writing duo, but I didn’t love the epilogue. It was way too cheesy for me and seemed unnecessary.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) by J.K. Rowling – I’m always torn on this epilogue. I think it would have been more cohesive not to wrap everything up so definitively, but I can understand why the author would. The fans might have rioted if she didn’t.
- Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth – Ugh, this series. I was a fan until the ending. And then the epilogue just made it even worse.
- Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins – I didn’t mind the way Mockingjay ended, but I do think the epilogue was unnecessary.
How do you feel about epilogues? Do we agree on any of these? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Normal People is a good choice… what happens after Conal moves away, how do they keep their relationship going..
And I love the second list too – unwanted epilogues!
This is my list of books that could have an epilogue.
Yes! I’m still holding out hope we get something more about Connell and Marianne. Even if it were just a glimpse of them in another book about different characters. 🙂
You did great with this list! I couldn’t come up with any titles (and was too busy to have a proper sit down for it) so I decided to go with last week’s topic since I missed that TTT. I agree that Normal People deserved an epilogue! I would’ve loved to know more for sure. More more more! 😂
This was a tough one! It definitely took some time that I probably should have spent on other things. 🤣
I 100% agree with Station Eleven. I think an epilogue could have really helped everyone process that book. It would have been nice to see the world maybe healing a little, moving forward, etc.
Yes! Especially reading it after the pandemic, I needed some optimism. 🙂
How did I forget Eleanor & Park?! YES!!! We desperately need an epilogue for that one!
Haha! Glad I wasn’t alone with that one. I was kind of hoping she would for the tenth anniversary, but that just passed in April. Maybe someday!
Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday to your kiddo, and Father’s day!! busy week! So, I’m so glad I’m not the only one that felt that way about Mockingjay. It was not needed and I disliked it a bit. lol. I hope you have a great week!!
My Top Ten!
Thank you! Yep, it was busy which is why I’m just finally getting to respond to comments from TTT last week. 😂 I WAS team Peeta, but I didn’t need it wrapped up with quite so much finality. Ha!
This girl loves cheese, and Josh & Hazel’s epilogue is one I loved. I actually liked the epilogue in Allegiant though the whole series was ruined by that book. One of the first books that popped into my head needing an epilogue was Eleanor & Park
Haha! I’m more of a light sprinkling of cheese kind of girl. 😂 Maybe we’ll get that epilogue for Eleanor & Park someday…
Great point. Some books do need an epilogue and a lot of books don’t need one.
I think so, but I’m sure a lot of authors (and readers) might disagree with me. Haha!
I was also a fan of the Divergent series until book 3. (I saw what was coming early on, though, due to her narrative choice, and so I DNFed in annoyance.) But I agree about the Harry Potter and Hunger Games epilogues. I could have done without them.
I guess one thing is for sure, Divergent is a series no one forgets because of that ending. Ha!
Well, that’s true!