October Reading Wrap Up
These reading wrap ups are some of my favorite posts! I absolutely love talking about books (in case you haven’t noticed). I’ve been considering starting a booktube channel on YouTube solely to discuss books. For right now, though, I’m going to continue writing about them. Maybe someday I’ll do both.
I read a ton of books this month (26!) and a huge reason for that is that I participated in my first reading challenge! The challenge was started by Chantel (you can check out her booktube channel here). Chantel has a free TBR random prompt website called Hey Reader! It helps you pick the next books to read. I’m including my Hey Readerathon challenge in a separate section from other books. I’m also not sharing every single book I read this month, because there were so many! I have a lot listed here, but left out a few for the sake of time/space.
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Hey Readerathon
The prompts for the Hey Readerathon were:
- A Book With Orange on the Cover or Spine
- Three Words in the Title
- The First Book in a Series
- Includes a “Water” Word
- BONUS: A Book From Chantel’s Fall Book Recommendations Video
We had a week to read these books, so I really had to push myself, but I did it! It helped that one book was really short and one was a middle grade.
My Picks
I’m ashamed to admit that I had never read this book. I had a children’s version that I was obsessed with when I was young for quite some time. Unfortunately, I left it out in the rain and it got totally ruined. It was so sad.
Anyway, this book is so impactful. There’s a very good chance you’ve read it, but in case you haven’t, it’s the story of Corrie ten Boom, a watchmaker’s daughter in Holland. When Germany sets up occupation during World War 2, she and her family begin hiding Jews and finding ways to get them to safety. It’s such an amazing and inspiring book. I highly recommend it!
Oh, goodness, this book made me so happy. I picked it up at thrift store, because I saw Madeleine L’Engle’s name on the front. It’s very unlike A Wrinkle in Time, but I loved it. It’s the story of the Austin family, told from tween daughter Vicky’s perspective. I just love their family dynamic and the stories of their childhood, particularly how they take in an orphaned girl. There are other books in this series. I don’t know if they’re as good as the first one, but the book doesn’t leave you on a cliffhanger.
What if you found your best friend murdered? What if you were being framed for it, but knew you couldn’t trust the police? What would you do? Casey Cox has to make that decision. I ended up reading the other two books in the trilogy after finishing this one. The first book was decent and fast paced, but I felt like it was sorely lacking in character development. I thought perhaps Blackstock would build on the characters in the rest of series. Not so much. I actually hated book 2 (spoiler-y goodreads review here) and book 3, while better, was still a disappointment, especially in terms of the romance. The premise of the story was interesting, so it was a shame to see it executed so poorly.
Overall, this series follows so many stereotypical tropes in Christian romance with some action/suspense thrown in. If you’re into that, go ahead and dive into that series. If you’re not into romances (like me), skip it.
This is a dual timeline story, which I don’t normally prefer, but I really enjoyed this one! It follows Thea Reed, an orphaned girl working as a post-mortem photographer in 1908 and Heidi Lane, a young woman responding to a strange letter from her estranged mother. Both stories are entwined around Misty Wayfair, a ghost that haunts Pleasant Valley.
Like the If I Run series, this is a Christian suspense/romance. However, it’s not as formulaic. I would prefer a book with almost no romance (or at least not every girl ends up with the guy), but I still enjoyed the creepy vibes in this story. The romance definitely took a backseat to the suspense. It also has a great message about legalism and truly knowing God, which I liked.
The Illustrated Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: 100th Anniversary Edition
This was a short little book (about 70 pages, I think), but it was really enjoyable. Probably everyone knows the plot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so there were no surprising plot twists for me. Still, it was well written and I really enjoyed Stevenson’s exploration of the good and evil inside of all of us.
What Else I've Been Reading
High fantasy is not my genre at all. But I kept hearing people talk about Brandon Sanderson, even people who aren’t typically into the fantasy genre. I had heard that Mistborn was a good introduction to Sanderson and boy oh boy, am I so glad I read this book! The basic plot is that people want to overthrow the Lord Ruler, who has been in power for a thousand years. In this world, there are people who have powers by using metals. It’s hard to explain in a review, but Sanderson does a great job of establishing his world. He does it slowly enough that it’s not confusing, but keeps enough action and character development that you don’t get bored. I was shocked at how much I loved this book. I didn’t want to go on to any other books after reading it. Everything felt like a disappointment in its wake. I believe it’s a trilogy, so I’m looking forward to reading book 2 next month!
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery
I kept hearing a lot of good things about this series, so I decided to give it a shot. It’s about a tween girl named Flavia de Luce. She’s a genius who is obsessed with chemistry (especially relating to poisons). When she stumbles upon a dying man in her backyard, she decides to solve the mystery before the police do. While it was a decent mystery, it took a while for me to get into, probably because Flavia was an obnoxious know-it-all and her family were a bunch of jerks. With no real likable characters, it made the book a lot less enjoyable.
Sophie has been able to hear people’s thoughts since she was five. She’s always felt like she doesn’t fit in. One day, a strange boy comes and whisks her away to a magical land and Sophie finds out she’s an elf. In the first few chapters, I didn’t really like this book and almost stopped reading, but I’m glad I continued. This book has a lot of great adventure and fun world-building. However, I do kinda wish Shannon Messenger had called them something other than elves, because nothing about them fits into any sort of folklore (kind of like how Stephanie Meyer completely changed vampires in Twilight), but other than that, this is an excellent middle grade novel. It’s the first in a series that I’m looking forward to continuing.
Alice is a colorless girl in a world full of color. Color brings magic and beauty, so she feels very out of place. Her father is the one person who loves and supports her, so when he goes missing, Alice is distraught. One day, she gets news that someone knows where he is. When she journeys to Furthermore, a treacherous and dangerous world, will she have the bravery and strength to save her father?
This middle grade fiction is very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. It was a lot of fun to read!
This is yet another book that is so outside my normal reading genre. I tend to avoid YA like the plague, but this book intrigued me. It’s a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The “beauty” protagonist, Harper, is plucked from the streets of Washington DC so Prince Rhen can try to woo her. This is his last chance to try get a girl to fall in love with him or the curse will never be broken. Harper has cerebral palsy, so it was really cool to see representation of disabilities while still getting a strong, kick butt protagonist.
I’m planning to read the sequel in November, but I know it follows a side character, so I’m not sure how I’ll like it. I’m going into it with low expectations. I did that with A Curse So Dark and Lonely and loved it, so maybe I’ll love book 2 also!
Deep Unto Deep: The Journey of the Immeasurable Love of Christ
I’m a little ashamed to admit that it took me 9 months to read this book. Not because it wasn’t good. I struggle with reading nonfiction in a timely manner. When it comes to spiritual books especially, I feel as if I need to take time to really digest what I’m reading. Then I end up taking too much time in between chapters and never finish it.
In my 32 Birthday Goals post, I talked about wanting to read one spiritual book each month. This was October’s. It’s such a beautifully written, deep book about Christ’s love for us and our responding love to Him. Dana’s writing is so eloquent and beautiful. I’ve heard her speak a few times and absolutely love her heart. Highly recommend this book!
Jonathan Auxier is one of my favorite middle grade authors. In fact, Sweep is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. He didn’t disappoint in this creepy story. The Night Gardener follows two Irish orphans who come to work at a creepy, decrepit English manor. The children soon come face to face with a mysterious stranger and a strange curse that threatens the lives of everyone in the house. While this is a middle grade, I don’t recommend this book to sensitive children or ones who are the lower end of the middle grade spectrum. It’s definitely creepy, intense and violent in places, but it’s a powerful and imaginative book.
Frankenstein is a classic I somehow never read. I think I might’ve started it in high school, but I’m not sure. Most people are familiar with the plot of Victor Frankenstein creating the monster and bringing life to him, but most of the Hollywood tropes we see aren’t present in this book at all. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it was beautifully written and explored the depths of destruction that rage and revenge can bring.
What Claire's Been Reading
Claire has been enjoying all of the American Girl books about Kaya lately. Kaya is a Native American girl living in in 1760s. This historical character wasn’t out yet when I was a child, so I hadn’t read any of her stories. Claire has loved them all so far!
One day Owen sees his classmate Bethany climb out of a book in the library. She is searching for her father. In order to buy his silence, Bethany agrees to take Owen into his favorite book. How many of us would love to be able to jump into the pages of our favorite book? This was such a fun idea for a book. Claire and I had some very lengthy discussions afterwards about what book we would choose to jump into.
Dave the Unicorn: Welcome to Unicorn School
This isn’t going to be a book that goes down as being quality literature, but Claire thought it was funny and imaginative. Mira is so excited to go to unicorn school! On your first day, you get your very own unicorn! You get to go on adventures and do all sorts of exciting things together. Unfortunately, Mira gets paired with Dave. He’s the opposite of majestic. He loves donuts, doesn’t follow directions and has a flatulence problem. But he’s also the smartest unicorn in the bunch. Mira and Dave save the day in this silly book.
Brina the Cat 1: The Gang of the Feline Sun
Brina’s family moves from the city to the mountains. Here she meets a gang of cats who have left their owners to join together in freedom. They convince Brina to leave her family. While Brina’s owners are panicking and searching for her, Brina must make the choice to retain her freedom or go back to the family she loves. This graphic novel was an emotional read for Claire, especially as we just had to put down her favorite cat. She says it was a great book and has read it multiple times.
Read Alouds
While I’m including this book in the list, keep in mind that this book is out of print. You’ll only be able to find it used. However, if you stumble across it, it’s definitely worth your time! This is the sweet story of a man, his favorite red hen and a smart dog who needs a home. There are themes of loyalty and friendship. This isn’t an action packed tale, but it’s so sweet and beautifully written. We absolutely loved it!
As you likely know, Dr. Doolittle can talk to animals. This is his origin story of how he learns to talk to animals and his first adventure to help some monkeys in Africa. It was funny, cute, but not the best book we’ve ever read. We still enjoyed it, but it wasn’t amazing.
Squirrel in the Museum (Twitch the Squirrel)
Twitch is a squirrel who lives outside a school. He enjoys watching the children on the playground and in their classrooms. He even likes to sneak into the school after everyone has gone home. One day, he decides he wants to learn more about wolves and climbs on the school bus to go to the museum with a class. As you can imagine, chaos ensues. The entire story is told from Twitch’s perspective and it’s hilarious and fun!
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