Anyway...........
Started the month off by finishing A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, the first book in her All Souls trilogy. The book is massive and took me a bit to really get into, but now I'm hooked on the series. I love the characters, from witches and vampires to humans and daemons, and even one house that does more than just sit on its foundation. I really like how magic and science are linked in the story, it gives it the perfect touch of magical realism. I'll be diving into the second novel as soon as I read everything that piled up on my nightstand while reading this.
Switching back to The Madman's Daughter trilogy with Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd, this book uses the same characters as the first but with a storyline inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I enjoyed this story, but not as much as the first one. It did, however, set up for a great third book, which is supposed to be based on/inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
This next book was chosen on the recommendation of author V.E. Schwab, from a tweet listing five books that inspire her. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black is a vampire story like no other. Vampires, almost-vampires, and vampire groupies live in walled cities called Coldtowns, which have popped up throughout the country over the course of a decade. The story follows Tana, unsure if she's going Cold, as she fights to survive Coldtown for her ex-boyfriend and a mysterious vampire she saved and befriended. It's an intense and hypnotic YA read.
This next book was chosen from the same V.E. Schwab tweet, and is my first Neil Gaiman YA. (I've read some of his adult fiction.) The Graveyard Book is about a boy raised in a graveyard by ghosts to keep him safe from the man who killed his entire family when the boy was just a toddler. Gaiman works with illustrator Dave McKean to show the first scene of each chapter. I couldn't put this book down, it took just over a day to read, mostly because I have to sleep and raise a kid. (Sigh.)
And now we come to the wonderful writing of Ms. Schwab herself, another writer whose YA books I haven't read until now. (Her Shades of Magic for adults is ah-maze-ing, check it out!) The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab is her first novel, published in 2011 for YA readers. A great read, although it was just creepy enough that I couldn't read it before bed! (Note: YA books are published under Victoria Schwab, adult fiction under V.E. Schwa, so pick accordingly!) (PS: While this book has a gorgeous new cover, the library copy I got is the original cover/first edition hardcover.)
I continued by YA-themed month with Angie Thomas' On the Come Up, her amazing second novel. Just like The Hate U Give, Thomas gives voice to important issues the youth in our country (especially minority children) face every day. Set in Garden Heights and with mentions of some of the events in THUG, this book made me laugh and cry and I almost threw it across the room once because the truth behind the fiction made me so angry. Read this. Have your children read this.
My final book for this month was a memoir about growing up evangelical and being forced into ex-gay therapy. Boy Erased is Gerrard Conley's story of coming to terms with his sexuality in a deeply religious Baptist family. This book made me very angry because I can't imagine doing something like this to your child. I found this book while doing research for my own.
