Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Bridget's Top Ten WOW Endings


 For the future Top Ten schedule & how to participate go HERE!

Looking back through the past Top Ten Tuesday topics, I found it pretty hard to choose just one. But I when I came across "Top Ten Endings That Left Me With My Mouth Hanging Open" I had to choose it, because I was just recently discussing this very topic with a friend! So without further ado, here are my Top Ten WOW Endings:

1. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn. This one really left me scraping my jaw off the floor. Really the whole second half of the book. For those of you who have read it, you know why, and for those of you who haven't...you should read it. (My review)

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling. Okay, so yeah, I was like 11 when I first read this, but who wasn't all OMG when Lupin hugs Sirius in the Shrieking Shack? Blew my eleven-year-old mind.

3. Needful Things - Stephen King. Still need to review this one (I just recently re-read it), but this is less of a sudden jaw-dropping moment and more of a "I can't believe this is happening, what the hell is going on" kinda thing for the last 150 pages or so. The ending does resolve rather well, but everything that happens right up until the end is very much WTF IS GOING ON.

4. Cell - Stephen King. Another one I still have to review, and probably re-read before I do so, but I've been avoiding it precisely because the ending made my jaw drop. Not in a good way, though; in a "Seriously, that's the END?!?" way.

5. Insurgent - Veronica Roth. Still not entirely sure what the ending of Insurgent will turn out to mean, but the cliffhanger gave me another "nooooo how could it end THERE?" moment. (My review)

6. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde. I just love the last scene in this book. Absolute jaw-dropping genius. (My review)

7. The Road - Cormac McCarthy. This is another bad "wow" moment, mostly because I just really didn't like the book in general and when it just ended I was like, "Wow, okay...guess I'm done..."(My review)

8. House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski. This whole book is just mind-blowing, but the ending is pretty amazing too. (My review)

9. The Dead Zone - Stephen King. This ending was actually really sad, but there's a really good "Ohhhhh" moment at the end. Stephen King always manages to wow me with his genius. (My review)

10. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card. This ending left me speechless for DAYS. (Okay, not entirely speechless, but I couldn't talk about the book for a few days until I had processed it completely.) I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't read it, but it's AMAZING. (My review)

What endings have totally blown you away?



68 comments:

  1. I've done literary characters I'd name my kids after because FUN. I love Azkaban's ending because yes. not to mention Half Blood Prince, with Dumbledore... I've yet to read Insurgent but it's high on my list and I am now appropriately wary!

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  2. The ending that shocked me - 'Loving Frank' by Nancy Horan and more recently, The Other Typist' by Suzanne Rindell.

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  3. I know what you mean about Gone Girl. Interesting that a lot of books with "wow" endings weren't necessarily favorites - but they sure leave an impression! What a great choice, I will have to pick that for the next rewind.

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  4. Fun topic! I recently read Unremembered by Jessica Brody and I loved the ending! :) I chose Top Ten Favorite Quotes from Books: http://aliceinreaderland.com/2013/04/15/quotes/

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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  5. The ending of Gone Girl threw me through a loop and while it was a "wow" ending I was a little bummed out by it.

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  6. oooh love the topic and I'm totally with you on the endings of Insurgent, Ender's Game and Prisoner of Azkaban!

    My TTT

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  7. That ending for Gone Girl was pretty jaw-dropping, as was the ending for House of Leaves. (Gah! That book. lol) Great picks!
    My Top Ten Tuesday!

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  8. I have to say that Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen had floored me. It was really hard finishing this story in bed while DH was sleeping. I am surprised that my blubbering didn't wake him up!

    My Top Austenesque Reads

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  9. I agree that the ending for Gone Girl was pretty amazing! Fantastic list.

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  10. I , apparently can't use a computer and posted multiple times when I couldn't find my name. Oops, sorry. But I love you guys and this meme.AND your post this week! I feel my TBR shelf growing, the only one I've read is Harry Potter.

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  11. The Gone Girl ending infuriated me! I flung the book across the room. This is most definitely one I love to hate :)

    BookishTrish @ Between the Lines

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  12. I've just finished reading Cell and I was exactly the same - 'Wait... that's the end? That can't be the end!'

    I still really enjoyed reading it though.

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  13. So difficult to choose a subject though! :o

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  14. I skimmed these because I haven't read them all, but AHHH, the end of Insurgent; SO GOOD but so crazy! Can't we just have book three already?

    Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf

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  15. I love the topic you picked for Rewind! I have Gone Girl sitting on my book shelves with every intention of reading it in the month of April... Although thinking I would have to push it back to May. Now that I've seen it on your list, I'm like, I MUST READ!
    I'm with you on The Picture of Dorian Gray too!

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  16. Do you know what's funny? I chose this rewind too. I haven't read a lot of these books (so now I'm a little wary of the endings, since most are on my TBR), but I also had a Harry Potter book on my list (Order of the Phoenix) and I probably should have put Dorian Gray or Ender's Game on it because those endings surprised me as well. Great list!

    Aimee @ Penmanship Smitten | My TTT

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  17. YES re: ending to Gone Girl! I just couldn't believe it! It's one reason why I want to reread it just to see I'm shocked all over again (even though some of the magic is lost by knowing what happens).

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  18. I read Gone Girl recently and totally agree - there were a few moments when I was completely blindsided by what happened. I'd forgotten about that moment in Prisoner of Azkaban (or rather, it's weird to think of a point when I didn't know the whole story), but you're right, that was pretty surprising at the time!

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  19. Ooh, Needful Things. I read this on holiday in 2001, and all I remember about it was being scared out of my wits, but being compelled to read to the end to be sure that it did all end properly. My favourite shock ending was in My Sisters Keeper. I thought I had it all figured out and mostly I was right, but then BAM!

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  20. I agree with the Prisoner of Askaban. It blew my childhood mind!

    And I haven't read all of the Stephen Kings on your list but the endings of his books generally surprise me again and again.

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  21. Omg! I know about Insurgent. That was a totally "nooooo how could it end THERE?" ending!
    But I love the stories. They are so beautiful.

    And thanks for hosting this meme.
    First time I am participating.

    Mariska
    My TTT

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  22. I liked but didn't love Divergent, and was just OK with Insurgent, but then that end definitely propelled me forward to be excited about the third book.

    I actually just finished Ender's Game recently. The second to last chapter made my jaw drop. The last chapter intrigued me and wowed me some, but the very end I wasn't wild about... it felt like it just kind of fizzled.

    Great topic choice for today! I did top book covers.
    http://odetojoandkatniss.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/my-top-10-favorite-book-covers/

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  23. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book ever - I loved the ending!

    Alex @ Like, Words and Stuff
    xo

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  24. I love jaw dropping endings! I haven't read most of these, so I will definitely have to. Will be adding these to my TBR!

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  25. Great choices! Love shocking endings :)

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  26. The Insurgent had the coolest ending!!! Great list! :)

    My TTT

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  27. Oh, GONE GIRL. I read it before a lot of other people did, so I didn't know about the crazy surprise ending. My husband said he TOTALLY saw it coming. Maybe he did, but I sure didn't!

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  28. Totally agree with Insurgent and Prisoner of Azkaban! Great list!

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  29. Your list is spot-on! I totally agree about the ending for Ender's Game--I read it when I was a bit younger than I am now and it blew me away.

    I chose to list the top ten books I recommend the most (and many of them will probably look familiar to you)! You can find it on Bookwanderer!

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  30. The ending of Insurgent caught me completely off guard because I was reading it on a Kindle, and didn't realize at first that the last page...was the last page. And then I was mad. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver did the exact same thing to me. And the ending to Gone Girl...well, I don't really need to say anything about that, do I? :)

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  31. I totally agree with you about Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde really was a brilliant human being. Thanks for posting!

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  32. I havent read any of those books except the prisoner of azkaben, lol!

    http://reviewbooks21.blogspot.com

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  33. I totally agree with you on The prisoner of Azkaban! so sad. It was my favorite book out of the series. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

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  34. My first attempt at Top Ten Tuesday - I look forward to participating in many more. Thanks for putting this together!

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  35. Endings that left my mouth hanging open -- Fun topic! Definitely Ender's Game. I read it first when it was a novella. It left me stunned. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- several surprises there, but the biggest one was Snape. And Agatha Christie wrote two that surprised me: And Then There Were None, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Didn't see the end of either of those coming; they were both a complete shock the first time I read them.

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  36. So. Freaking. Happy. that you have Ender's Game up there! most crazy ridonculous ending to a book EVER. Also a fave of mine. ;)

    Great list!

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  37. Alright, I'm tempted to get someone to tell me about the last scene of Dorian Gray because it sounds interesting but I just could not ever make it through that book. I found it insufferable.

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  38. I have to say that I read Azkaban about 12 years ago. I was 23 and I was still shocked at the ending. It was amazing! :D

    My TTT Post

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  39. Oh man, the ending to Ender's Game was SO GOOD. I'm way too excited for the film.

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  40. This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesdays, and I did Top Ten Books I'm Dying to Read. Hopefully I will be doing many more in the future!

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  41. I loved Gone Girl. I tell strangers on the street they should be read it.

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  42. I definitely agree with Insurgent!!

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  43. I always think of Delirium and Pandemonium when it comes to cliffhangers! I remember just kinda sitting there thinking WHAAATTTT THEEEE EFFFFFFF JUST HAPPENED?!?!?

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  44. Linked! This is our first week participating, and I look forward to new topics! I chose to do the Top Ten Characters I would Crush on, since I just missed that one. For me, Gone Girl had a shocker ending, but that book drove me nuts!
    ~Cailey

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  45. Totally agree with Prisoner of Azkaban! Such an awesome twist! I'm afraid I haven't read the others on this list.

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  46. YES! The Picture of Dorian Grey is haunting. I still remember the ending O_O

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  47. I loved the ending to The Prisoner of Azkaban it was actually my fav book of the series(:

    My TTT http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-ten-tuesday.html

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  48. I remembered wondering where J. K. Rowling was going with the Sirius/Remus friendship too. I didn't see it coming. Well, truthfully, I didn't see a lot of the HP series coming.

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  49. Yay for Ender's Game making the list!! I went back and did "The Books I Recommend Most", but I like the idea of doing cliffhangers the next time around!

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  50. I agree with you completely on Prisoner of Azkaban and Ender! I think the latest book ending that left me with my mouth hanging open was A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. The final chapter and the epilogue were both jaw droppers!

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  51. Cat, Rat and Dog - best chapter EVER!

    I went for top ten hunks (I mean, characters I'd have a crush on). I missed it the first time and was a little bit devastated. I like to illustrate my list...

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  52. I've not read Gone Girl - I bought it ages ago and only rediscovered it on my bookshelf, still in a plastic bag, the other day. I will definitely be reading it soon.

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  53. Number 2 and number 10. I think I almost died when I found out Sirius Black was the good guy. I'd spent the whole book terrified that this evil guy would kill Harry, and all of a sudden he's the most awesomest character EVA!! I did NOT see the end of Ender's Game either. Blew my mind. Great list!!

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  54. I definitely agree with your choice of Cell by Stephen King. I also was left really eager to read on with the second book in the series by Beth Revis. Can't remember the name now, but I also can't believe I haven't rushed out and bought it or checked it out from the library so that I can read on!

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  55. I loved the ending to Ender's Game too! I have to check out Gone Girl, it has been on my TBR list for awhile. This is a great list!

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  56. The most amazing and absolutely perfect ending of any book I think I've ever read is the ending to Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I thought of it again while I was watching the movie, just how mind-blowing and PERFECT it is. You couldn't get a better ending than that.

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  57. I wish you could see me right now. I'm studiously adding books to my TBR list thanks to you.

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  58. The end of Goblet of Fire shocked me more than Prisoner of Azkaban, I think. Just because Cedric OMG. Oh but then so did the end of Book 6. Darn that, J. K. Rowling.

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  59. I read Ender's Game a couple months back, because someone recommended it after all the hype of the Hunger Games. Mr. Card knew what he was doing.

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  60. I swear I'm the only person on the planet who was not at all surprised by the end of Ender's Game. Thanks for reminding me I still need to read Gone Girl!!

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  61. LOVE Dorian Gray!!! And Insurgent was....WOW!

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  62. Yes to endings of The Road and Ender's Game!!! I need to read Gone Girl, though. :)

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  63. I'm jealous of your rewind. I may have to do a WOW endings too. Yours was fun to read, and I'm totally with you on Gone Girl. I read that book in a day, and once I hit page 200, I could not pick my jaw up off the floor.

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  64. House of Leaves and Ender's Game on your list were the top ones I had to agree with - the others I understood, or haven't read yet but I remember House of Leaves just leaving me stunned.

    If we're talking about incredible WOW ending, one for me has to be 1984. The book terrified me after I read what happened to the protagonist in the book.

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  65. OOOH I'M COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU! When I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, it was really tiring, and sometimes even boring. But when I read the final scene, it just... OMG, I couldn't believe what a genius was Oscar Wilde. When I finished it, I had to stay sat for a few minutes to process the information.

    Hey, sorry if my english is just horrible, i'm from Venezuela!

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  66. I saw The Cell featured on your list, and thought...wait that can't be correct. Cell probably had the most awful ending and then I read your post again and realized you meant it in the bad way :)

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