Top Ten Series That Should Have Ended Earlier

What an exciting week! That Artsy Reader Girl has given us a super fun topic for our Top Ten Tuesday - it's whatever we want! This was at first exciting, then daunting, and then a delight. I had several ideas swimming through my head, so it took a bit before I settled on this one, however as it was a post I had been wanting to do for some time, I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Heads up, this post will definitely contain mild spoilers for the books mentioned. So, here are ten series that I think would have been more more effective if they had ended earlier:

1) Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
Where and Why: It should have ended at book three. Book one was fantastic, enjoyed books two and three as well, but book four to me felt like we had lost the essence of all of our characters. Everyone needed a boyfriend, or to have sex, and instead of the girls deciding that they didn't need the pants anymore and packing them away, they actually lose them? I thought that was a horrible ending.

2) The Giver by Lois Lowry
Where and Why: Book two. I can accept Messenger, it's technically fine, but it doesn't have the same magic or depth to me as The Giver and Gathering Blue, and I sort of dislike that the ambiguous ending (of a sort) from The Giver is taken away because everything feels explained and resolved in Messenger. The fourth book Son, however, I can't stand. I thought the writing felt childish and the story was too far from anything that made sense in these worlds to me. I would have enjoyed the overall concept much more if it was original and not tied in Jonas and Kira's stories.

3) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Where and Why: Book three. I loved the first book, Outlander, because it took place in Scotland during a fascinating time period, and had so many things going for it. Book two took a downturn because we moved to France (nothing wrong with France, but I picked up the series because of Scotland), however we go back to Scotland again later. Book three takes place in Scotland and Jamaica, but it's still a cool storyline. Then we get to book four, Drums of Autumn, which I feel like I have been reading for a decade because it is so slow. It takes place in America, and honestly I could hardly care less about it.

4) The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
Where and Why: Book four. Gasps and ahs I'm sure from you all, but I think the series would have been much more effective if it was about four books long. I think the last two books, although the content was overall interesting, didn't need to be anywhere near as long as they were. I drastically slowed down at this point and nearly stopped reading them (except that I wanted to know how they concluded). I really feel that these last two books could either have been combined together, or that the last three books could have been smushed into two. Each had some good points, but the whole thing felt like a stretch.

5) Divergent by Veronica Roth
Where and Why: Book two. In all honesty, this probably should have ended at book one, but I'm trying to be generous. Book one was a cool concept and well-done, book two was okay, and book three was a struggle to get through. I actually knew the major plot spoiler ending from page one. I'm not exaggerating, the actual first page. The rest of the book just didn't capture my interest like the first two, and I really just finished it because I figured I should.



6) Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Where and Why: Book one. Love, Stargirl is the sequel to this book and I don't really know why it exists. I felt like Stargirl was very complete and lovely and impactful on its own, and the sequel took away a lot of that. Since it was written from the perspective of a female, while the first was written in the perspective of a male, it had a completely different feel and just didn't seem like the two books fit together. Stargirl's personality just didn't quite match up.

7) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Where and Why: Book two. The Hunger  Games and Catching Fire were both good overall, but when we got to Mockingjay it just felt like an overly long book for no reason that had lots of padding in it and a whiny main character. Do I think Katniss had the right to feel sorry for herself? Absolutely, but it felt like it went on for 90% of the book. Even the romance didn't have a resolution that I could accept - it felt like Katniss never had to make a choice based on her true feelings, and only that her decision was made for her because she couldn't pick the other guy. Flattering.

8) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Where and Why: Book one. I mean, I'm a little hesitant to put this one on here, but I really think that there shouldn't have been more books. I sometimes feel a bit strange about the ending of Little Women in the first place, but in my opinion it's important to realize that in fiction, just like life, things don't always turn out the way that you expect them to, but you accept that and move on. However with Little Men it seems like the feelings, hopes, and dreams that you have for these characters just...die (a rather painful death) and that the feeling of the characters is completely different. With full disclosure, I have never actually finished Little Men, so if it improves by the end, then great. (Also, when I say "Little Women" I technically mean both Little Women and Good Wives, as they are usually published together under this unified title).

9) If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Where and Why: Book one. I thought If I Stay was good, not incredible, but definitely an enjoyable read. The sequel, Where She Went, is from the perspective of Adam, the boyfriend of the main character from If I Stay. Once again (see number 6 on this list) we have a situation where the author changes the gender of the main character between books...and it just doesn't quite work. There are some strong points, but overall the writing just doesn't feel believable, and the ending is far too predictable that it doesn't feel satisfying.

10) Maximum Ride by James Patterson
Where and Why: Book three? Part of me wants to say that none of this series was necessary, but I suppose that isn't fair. I liked the plot of the first book (but hated the writing style), and continued on out of boredom and some interest to...three quarters of the way through book three. I couldn't even get through the repetition of that...but the series keeps going for six. more. novels.