Hello friends! Not a lot happened in August, and that is fine with me! It was a pretty good reading month, though. All covers are linked to Goodreads.
The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
★★★★
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Release Year: 2000
Just as good as the first time I read it back in 2013!
The Good Luck Girls, by Charlotte Nicole Davis
★★★★
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Year: 2019
You want a ripping good adventure? This is it. You want a story about sisterhood? This is it. You want female rage and empowerment? This is it. I loved the Wild West-inspired setting and fresh magical elements (raveners, vengeants, etc). This book does deal with heavier themes such as sex trafficking and suicide, so I wouldn't recommend it for younger teens, but I think it's a valuable read for older teens and adults!
We Used to Live Here, by Marcus Kliewer
★★★★
Genre: Horror
Release Year: 2024
I don't even know what to say about this one. I'm definitely horrified! (But in the best possible way.) Marcus Kliewer did an outstanding job of building an atmosphere of dread throughout the entire book, with a masterful use of em dashes and ellipses, but without (much) gore, which I highly appreciated. Also, making Eve such a relatable character was brilliant. I want more from this author!
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, by Erik Larson
★★★
Genre: Nonfiction/History
Release Year: 2024
I tried listening to this as an audiobook first and couldn't get into it. Reading it with my eyes was much more engaging and easier to follow. It helped that most of the chapters were quite short!
The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain, by Bill Bryson (Audiobook)
★★★.5
Genre: Memoir
Release Year: 2015
This was a lot of fun, but I don't feel like I gained anything substantial from listening to it, which is why it didn't quite reach 4 stars for me.
Capitana, by Cassandra James
★★★.75
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Year: 2025
There were things I loved about this book (the premise, the characters, the relationships between Ximena and Dante and Ximena and Pía), and then there were things that made me annoyed and confused (i.e. The Twist That No One Saw Coming And Made No Sense And Was Never Even Fully Explained–I'm Not Buying It), or simply felt flat (i.e. the setting–except for the Republic of Pirates, which was excellent and delightfully atmospheric). I will say that the setup for the second book was so good that I put it on hold at the library immediately. I want to see what happens between Dante and Ximena!
You Started It, by Jackie Khalilieh
★★★★
Genre: YA Romance
Release Year: 2025
I think with another book or two as good as this one, Jackie Khalilieh could become one of my favorite voices in YA romance. While the plot didn't feel particularly fresh, the themes and characters made it feel new, fun, and exciting. My only quibbles would be that, as with Khalilieh's first book Something More, I felt that the drama (in this case, the third act breakup) dragged on a biiiiiit too long. But I love that the ending kept me guessing about how they were going to get back together! I also feel like the characters articulated their feelings much more than normal people would, but this is fiction, and we love a good self-realization moment (or five), so I won't complain too much!
The Queen's Granddaughter, by Diane Zahler
★★★★
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction
Release Year: 2026
I enjoyed this fast-paced novel and its spunky heroine!
A Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America's Best High Schools, by Alec Klein
★★★★
Genre: Nonfiction
Release Year: 2007
I can't say that all of the content in this book aged well, but I enjoyed this journalistic foray into Stuyvesant High School. I thought it was interesting how Klein took himself out of the picture for the main part of the book, only mentioning himself in the introduction and the epilogue. The focus was really on the people, and I appreciated that.
The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch, by Jacqueline Firkins
★★★
Genre: Romance
Release Year: 2023
The writing was good, the characters were great, and the themes were strong. However, I just can't totally look past the (in my opinion) alarmingly casual attitude to sex displayed in this book. It kind of spoiled it a little bit for me.
Reading Goals/Challenges
Goodreads Challenge: 81 / 120 (10 in August)
Paper TBR: 11 / 12 (1 in August)
Nonfiction: 19 / 12 (2 in August)
National Month Challenge: 8 / 12 (1 in August)
Cover Lovers Reading Challenge: 34 / 50 (6 in August)
New Release Challenge: 14 / 12 (1 in August)
Rereads: 6 / 5 (1 in August)
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