Hello!

Even though I have summer off, I did Summer School this year, so I was able to read more middle grade and Young Adult fiction.

I didn’t do as well with my personal reading challenge nor the Goodreads reading challenge, so I will need to refocus for the second half of the year. 

The books that I read this month weren’t the best, but I still had some standout ones. I hope one of these books interests you!

Generation Wonder: The New Age of Heroes by Various Authors (About an Exclusive Group or Club, YA Novel, Short Story Collection, Coming of Age Story)

Summary:

A high-flying YA anthology featuring thirteen short stories that turn superhero tropes on their head and offer fresh perspectives on modern myths

Triumph. Tragedy. The empyreal. The infernal. Even the mundane, filtered through the fantastical. Superheroes are, appropriately enough, a sort of super-genre, encompassing all other story types.

This YA anthology features thirteen short stories that creatively turn superhero tropes on their head, while still paying homage to the genre that has found fans for more than eight decades. And there will be no mistake–superheroes don’t have to just be generic handsome white dudes. Everyone in the world, no matter their race, sexual preference, pronouns, or level of ability, has dreamed of flying.

Review:

Just like any other short story collections, there are some good and some bad stories. 

However, I was more disappointed by these stories than I expected. I love superhero stories, but over half of these fail flat for me. This was either because some of the stories didn’t have interesting characters or the plot wasn’t engaging.

There were some standout ones though, and those stories led me to looking into those authors, so that was a benefit.

Rating:

3/5

Caprice by Coe Booth (Coming of Age Story)

Summary:

This should be an exciting time for Caprice. She has been offered a place at the school of her dreams, where she’s just had a fantastic summer. But this great opportunity coincides with a lot of internal doubt and the disturbing news that her long-estranged grandmother has fallen ill and may be near death. As Caprice tries to figure out her future, she is pulled back toward her past, and the abuse she endured from her uncle when she was little — an abuse she’s never told anyone about.

With extreme sensitivity and honesty for middle-grade readers, Coe Booth has written a painful but ultimately healing novel about finding support from your parents and friends, articulating your truth, and choosing your own path.

Review:

I picked up this middle grade book on a whim. I did not know what to expect when I began reading it, but it was an emotional journey.

The story covers very serious and intense topics, and it handles all of them in a very delicate manner without sugarcoating things too much. 

There was a moment at the end where secrets are revealed, and it was such a cathartic moment for me.

Rating:

5/5

Mimi’s Tales of Terror by Junji Ito (Mythology Retelling, Short Story Collection, A Graphic Novel)

Summary:

Experience real-life chills as Junji Ito brings these “true” horror series to life!

University student Mimi and her boyfriend Naoto encounter one chilling mystery after another. There’s the enigmatic neighbor woman dressed in black from head to toe—but if she’s so odd, why does it seems like there are many others like her? Then, whose eyes track Mimi’s movements from the cemetery next door? And why does a bizarre red circle drawn on a basement wall change with each passing day?

Nine scary stories that really happened, drawn from the famed collection of urban legends Shin Mimibukuro (New Earmuffs), and adapted into manga by horror genius Junji Ito!

Review:

The different urban legends told throughout the book were interesting, and I liked the framing device of following a young woman named Mimi as she experiences these different events. 

Unfortunately, this framing device is the book’s downfall as well. Even though Mimi experiences so many supernatural events, she never recognizes the pattern, nor does her boyfriend believe her. This becomes annoying since they even reference past events. 

Rating:

3/5

The Long Walk by Richard Bachman-Stephen King (About an Exclusive Group or Club, Book by an Author You Love)

Summary:

Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping… with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. 

But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently…

Review:

This is a book I did not hear about until the trailer for the movie came out. The premise sounded interesting, and I wanted to learn more about this world and the purpose of the event.

In the process of researching this book, I learned that this was one of the first books Stephen King wrote, even though he did not publish it until his Bachman pseudonym. 

I can see elements of Carrie, another early book of his, through the characters we follow and the religious themes eventually discussed. 

This was an enjoyable read, and the characters made the story. While it does fall into the problem of having too many characters, some of which we forget about until the end, they were all distinct in their own ways.  

Rating:

4/5

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier (Set in a Small Town)

Summary:

The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite command of language, The Night Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a classic in the making.

Review:

This book had a good start. It did a great job in creating the setting and introducing the characters. It built the suspense and mystery really well.

However, at the point when the characters learned the big mystery, and we should be wrapping up, we didn’t. It just kept going. And going. 

By the time we got to the big showdown at the end of the novel, I was bored and annoyed with everyone involved. The ending was a bit quick and the resolution with the characters wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been. 

Rating:

3/5