October Books

Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven #2) by Brandon Mull

It is the following summer when Seth and Kendra return to Fablehaven. Seth’s impulsiveness gets him into trouble several times but also pays off. Several new characters come to Fablehaven, but at least one of them appears to be a traitor. (You can’t trust anybody when it comes to Brandon Mull!)

Kendra and Seth have plenty of adventures while the adults are not completely useless or absent. Overall, it’s quite clever. It builds to a really big showdown. Very satisfying fantasy adventure.

Clean content, but there is some violence to bad guys and fantastical creatures.

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The Ruin (Cormac Reilly #1) by Derva McTiernan

An alcoholic woman dies of a drug overdose, leaving a teenage daughter and young son. The daughter disappears while the son gets adopted. Twenty years later, the son dies of an apparent suicide. The cop who found the mother gets assigned to investigate that death while the daughter returns and insists her brother didn’t kill himself.

It’s a tad convoluted; I started forgetting who characters were. It’s also a tad slow. For a mystery, not a whole lot seemed to happen. I felt like I was still at the beginning when I was really more than half-way through. It read more like a drama than a mystery.

The book is set in Ireland and read by an Irish narrator. I would not have known how to pronounce some of those Irish names otherwise. The author seems to have a resentful, even hostile attitude toward the Catholic Church in Ireland.

There is a lot of strong language, especially f—. Is this not as offensive in Ireland and Britain as in the U.S.? I thought bloody was supposed to be pretty offensive, and that wasn’t used in the book at all. Sexual content is not graphic.

Potential TW: abuse, neglect, pedophilia, abortion, drug use and alcoholism, anti-Catholic sentiments

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First Kisses Suck: Minnie Kim: Vampire Girl (by Ali Cross)

I generally avoid YA vampire books, but I needed one for a challenge. This story focuses on the life-changing aspects of becoming a vampire.

Teenage Minnie is vampirized without her consent. First she has to deal with a changed body with new needs. All her plans are upended, her family and friends shun her, and the rest of her classmates become hostile. It is easy to empathize with Minnie. Her problems are relatable and feel real.

It’s a smooth read with good characters and real issues.

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Vision in Silver (The Others #3) by Anne Bishop

What if European explorers found predators instead of prey when they came to the New World?

This is the third in the series. I think you could pick it up and understand it just fine, but it’s still best to start from the beginning of the series.

The xenophobic Humans First and Last movement becomes quite aggressive in this book. They are infuriatingly stupid in their blindness, but there are plenty of good guys who are kind and rational to balance them out.

Meg seems to regress in this book. She and the other blood prophets have to be careful of overstimulation. This wasn’t an issue before and feels like something the author just invented now.

Simon shows up on the YA Love Interest Radar but continues to just be a close friend to Meg. I love that.

I was completely hooked by the book. I enjoy the writing style and the culture of the Earth Natives. I think what is really appealing is how so many of the characters are introverts, so it’s easy to click with them.

About four instances of f— and some violence. A few mentions of “mating.” Otherwise clean content.

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Smoke & Summons (Numina Trilogy #1) by Charlie Holmberg

My main issue with this book is the setting. It’s a big city full of pollution and poverty and corruption. It reminds me a bit of Six of Crows or Foundryside in that sense. I just find that kind of setting depressing, and I need my books to help me escape depression, not wallow in it. So it’s totally a case of It’s-me-not-you. If you enjoy fantasies with a darker edge, then go for it.

I found the writing quite good and characters decent. The villains are pretty one-dimensional, but they don’t get enough time to be anything else. Rone and Sandis are obviously meant to fall in love, and I wish they’d just be friends first. Not much happens with the romance, but they keep making goo-goo eyes at each other. Charlie said she loves writing about kissing, so I guess it was inevitable, but I wish there were more books with young people just being friends.

Most of the plot is running and hiding, which I tend to enjoy. But I wonder how much was just filling time in setting up the rest of the trilogy.

Occasional mild language; threats of sexual violence; non-graphic nudity; occult-style violence

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Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell

I read this in a single day; it’s not long. The anecdote collection is mainly from the UK, but this edition also has accounts from Australia, Canada, and the U.S. Some things will make you laugh while others will make you seriously question your faith in humanity. There are pictures, but I didn’t care much for them. (Clean content.)

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Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom #6) by Garth Nix

We’re really getting deep into the world now. Arthur is more resigned to changing state and uses sorcery a lot more than before. His plan is to collect the next part of the will while avoiding Superior Saturday, but is that even possible? It takes a lot of creative maneuvering — highly imaginative stuff here — to try out this plan.

As usual, memorable characters, creative world, and engaging plot. A must for MG fantasy fans. This one ends on a big cliffhanger, so beware.

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Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

I accidentally put this on hold while looking for Shackleton’s book, but that turned out for the best. Scott Kelly was inspired by Shackleton when creating his own memoir. Kelly is a present-day astronaut, most recently spending a year in space at the ISS to be a guinea pig and learn what long-term space living does to the body. He was on his way to juvenile delinquency when he read The Right Stuff. It moved him so much, he turned his life around and worked hard to become an astronaut.

He alternates his memoir between the year in space and his life journey to becoming an astronaut. The year in space is told in present tense; the past is told in past tense.

I realized that I have not learned a lot about the modern space age; I know little about the space shuttle. Kelly is quite a different astronaut from the Mercury and Apollo astronauts. It’s interesting to see how things have changed.

Contains some strong language.