Like my "spooky reads"in October, I also had a bit of a theme with my reading this past month. Lesley of Words of a Reader, one of my favorite bookish YouTube channels, hosted a children's literature month in November. I didn't vow to only read kids' books the entire month, but I did go through my shelves and pull out a lot of middle grade novels that I've been meaning to read. I love children's books, so it was a lot of fun and nice to focus on them this month. (But now I'm ready to take a break from themed reading for a while, ha.) As always, click on the titles for my Goodreads reviews.
Halloween Party, by Agatha Christie. This was another Halloween read that I didn't finish until the first day of November. The mystery in this one was more complicated than I expected! I really enjoyed it. It seemed a little slow in spots, but the end was very tense and exciting, so it made up for that.
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. I had such a weird experience with this book. More details in my review if you're interested, but basically I listened to the first half of it months ago as an audiobook, then physically read the second half. And I didn't really like it. I don't know what's wrong with me, I feel like I should love Neil Gaiman's books but so far I just don't.
Flora & Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo. This book was just adorable. Kate DiCamillo's books are always lovely, but usually in a sad way. This one was quirky and charming, and the ending was so sweet. Who knew that poetry written by a squirrel could be so moving? (I know that sounds a little random, but that's the book in a nutshell. Pun intended.)
Destiny, Rewritten, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Like Flora & Ulysses, it was also charming and full of quirky characters, but in a different way. I liked how bookish it was, and at times it reminded me of Natalie Lloyd's books.
Juniper Berry, by M.P. Kozlowsky. This one was a little disappointing. There were some very memorable aspects, because they were both creepy and creative, but I felt like it wrapped up too quickly. Especially because the majority of the book was slower paced.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. This book was a lot of fun! I'd always heard good things about it, and I'm glad that it lived up to them. I know almost nothing about Greek mythology, but that wasn't a problem at all. I loved how creatively and seamlessly the gods and characters from mythology were incorporated into the modern day setting. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series!
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. This memoir was okay, about what I expected. I'm not a fan of Mindy Kaling's (not that I'm not a fan, I'm just not really familiar with her work), but for some reason I've always wanted to read this book. Some parts were funny, and I enjoyed the more personal essays about relationships and body image and friendship more than the ones about her career. I liked it enough that I'll be reading her second memoir soon.