Spooky October Reads: A Review

To be honest, a lot of October was spent trying to prepare myself for NaNoWriMo, which starts in a little over twenty-four hours and will consume my life for thirty days. The rest of October was spent trying to knit hats for my sister and her roommate's Christmas presents. The little bit of time I had between all of that, was dedicated to working, and then a sliver beyond that, to reading.

I will have to admit that none of the books I read (and am now reviewing) are very spooky, but there are some scary inclusions in some of them!

So, although it is short, here is my review of the books I managed to read this month:

I started October with Michael Barakiva's One Man Guy, which was a sweet but short read. While it did take me a while to get into it, the overall story was generally a decent read. It had a lot of cute small things that added up to an overall sweet coming-of-age romance between two boys from very different worlds.

It also provided an interesting insight into Armenian-American family culture, and the influence the Armenian genocide has had on the modern generation. It got a little preachy in places and could have been a little better written, but if you're looking for something fast and easy, this book fits the bill.

Next up was Magnus Chase: The Ship of the Dead. Rick Riordan is one of those authors that I started reading in middle school and will continue to read until I die. He's the reason I got into Greek mythology, and everything I've read from him since the first Percy Jackson book has been incredible. Magnus Chase was no exception.

While the basis for my understanding of Norse mythology comes from the Marvel movie Thor, Riordan breaks everything down and uses fun, silly explanations for mythology keep the reader interested and informed. This is the third and final book in the Magnus Chase series, and it was just as hilarious and adventurous as the first two. Our favorite heroes from floor 19 return in larger roles this time, and we get to spend a lot more time with the enigma that is Alex Fierro. The story was a little predictable, but the jokes and need to be sure the characters really would be okay in the end kept me reading.

I cannot recommend Riordan highly enough.

Maggie Stiefvater is another of those authors where I will read whatever she writes. I got into her books later than I did Riordan's, but have lived for them since. I read the first series, The Shiver Trilogy, in high school, and then picked up The Raven Cycle just after graduating college. This time, I went with her stand alone novel, The Scorpio Races.

I will admit that it took me a bit to get into. It has a slower pace and a more mature feeling to it than her other novels, which was difficult coming off of a Riordan book, where the general feeling is a bit younger. But I caught on soon enough, and the characters were compelling enough that I hung onto the story when things seemed slow.

As always, Stiefvater's language is raw and honest. Her characters are real, and I feel like I always turn around the look at the world a little more introspectively after finishing a Stiefvater book. The Scropio Races was no different. This was a book about duality, competing past and future, and finding your home. I wanted to crawl inside the book and stay there a little while longer when I was finished, but instead I baked the wonderful November cakes via the recipe left in the back of the book. They were delicious.

Finally, I rounded out the month of October with John Green's long awaited return. Turtles All The Way Down is unlike anything Green has written before. It was much more internal, the conflict happening mostly inside the main character, Aza's, head as she struggled with her anxiety and spiraling thoughts.

It took a bit longer for me to get into that his previous books, and I think that can be attributed to the internal-ness of the story. It has a mystery and a fierce friendship and a quirky romance and all the things John Green is famous for, but this time it was Different. I wasn't chasing something with the characters this time. I was carefully looking for something I already had.

I don't really know how to explain it, but it was compelling and intriguing, following Aza all the way down. The overall message was more than just broken people finding themselves (which is a pretty good John Green message), but also that sometimes things that are broken don't get fixed. Sometimes they just get shifted around or we find a way to make them less broken and more manageable. And that's okay. Life isn't just about fixing ourselves. Sometimes it's just about learning to life with the jagged pieces.

Overall, the four books I meandered through this month were enjoyable, and while they weren't my favorites from any of the authors I have a tendency to repeat read, they're at least all worth checking out.

Keep writing, my friends.

Sam

Book Recommendation: Looking For Alaska by John Green

Movie Recommendation: Halloween Town