Books I wish had sequels

Since I read a sequel recently I’ve been thinking of books that I wish had sequels to them but do not.  These books are standalones, or books that have no sequels to them (although one may have a prequel but I don’t count it).  So here are my top five standalone books that I wish had sequels.  Three of the five authors of these books are dead so there will never be a sequel for them - which makes the wishing that much sadder.

 

#1 – Gone with the Wind

Why should it have a sequel?  Whether you’ve read the book or seen the movie, we know Rhett leaves Scarlett after realizing she will never be the woman he wants  (he loves her but the love is never returned equally) and won’t hear her when she admits  she loves him too.  In the end of the movie and book Scarlett plans to go back to her childhood home (which she now owns) to fix herself up and make a plan to win back her husband’s love.  I would have loved to see how she plans this out, how she executes the plan and if Rhett will ever love her again and move back into the house.

#2 – Forever Amber

Even though I had a hard time reading the book I was still interested in knowing what happened next.  Sadly, the author had to cut the book down for it to be published.  Yup, Forever Amber is only 1/5 of what the author originally wrote.  My problem is why couldn’t she use that – if she could – to make a sequel?  Since Amber’s lover Bruce is married and he and his wife have their own child will he acknowledge that he got Amber pregnant a third time?  Will he let their son ever see his mother again?  Will Amber entrap another man into marriage in America?  What is this crazy, money grabbing, mind blowingly dumb girl going to do next? 

#3 – Blood and Chocolate.

One of the best paranormal/werewolf books I’ve ever read.  Seriously, it is amazing, that’s why I wish there was a sequel.  We left Vivian (and I don’t want to give away spoilers but…warning) kissing someone we didn’t expect.  My question is, now that her werewolf pack is leaving the city and going back to the country where they can be safe, what happens next?  What is their life like in the woods?  How does the pack function outside of human influence?  Does Vivian grow as the top Bitch (as in top female werewolf, the female leader) or does she have issues?  Do Vivian and her partner have a baby or do they wait against the wishes of their pack? Does her past come back to haunt her or is there a new threat?  See, so much could have been done.  Heck, we could have called it Sugar and Teeth, or Claws and Death, or – my favorite – Vivian’s Burden.  I would stand in line at midnight to get that sequel.

#4 – To Kill A Mocking Bird.

Um, hello, does this even need to be explained?  Harper Lee, you do not write one book and call it quits.  For goodness sake, God gave you a beautiful gift why the hell do you not use it?  Even if the sequel did not follow Scout’s point of view there were other characters we could have read about.  We could have learned something from another character in the town about equality between men and women, or abuse, or poverty.  Yes we get some of that in TKAMB but not that much.  Harper Lee could have been the voice of a generation. No, she could have been the literary voice of the century.  The only reason she may not have written another book (sequel or not) was that she didn’t want the high expectations or the fame.  Good for her for being humble but darn it I wanted to learn more about that southern town of hers.

 

#5 – The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Like Origin, this book is a science fiction / medical thriller.  Jenna Fox was in a car accident, lost her two best friends and is not like other teenagers.  Although the author wrote an epilogue telling us what happened to Jenna (kind of a spoiler alert); she finally makes a new friend, marries and has a kid.  She also decides when she is ready to die.  Well, that’s nice but I wish that instead of writing a short book with a clear ending the book had a sequel.  We could have seen Jenna helping her new friend, how her relationship grows, and how living in the spot light of the medical media (this happens in the epilogue, later in her life) affects her.