I also read THESE books this month.

More books. Yay! The second half of my month was NOT as good as my first half, but it is what it is.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths is the first of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries. Ruth is a Forensic Archaeologist (thanks for helping me out, autocorrect) who lives next to a large saltmarsh. She is drawn into a police investigation after bones are found in the marsh. Nelson, the detective, believes they are the bones of a little girl that was lost ten years previously. They aren’t, they are from the Iron Age, whoops. Ruth’s like “Okay bye”. THEN another little girl goes missing in the same fashion as the one from 10 years before. Somehow Ruth gets involved (I can’t remember why). I loved Ruth’s character and may pick up the next one in the series. 3/5, 6/10.

Next was Fangirl, The Manga, Vol. 1 by Rainbow Rowell (Author), Sam Maggs (Adapter), and Gabi Nam (Illustrator). I did a deep dive on it in this post. It’s okay. Not sure how they are going to stretch this into four volumes, but I guess that’s not my place to decide. I’ll definitely pick up at least the second volume. This was provided to me by NetGalley. Thanks, NetGalley! 3/5, 7/10.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin was another of the Freking Book Club’s picks. Dylan chose it and boy did he choose a good one. It’s a split time period story. In the present time, four coworkers at an investment firm go into an elevator, on their way to an escape room. All of a sudden, the elevator stops, the lights go out, and *GASP* they are IN THE ESCAPE ROOM!! In the past, Sara Hall applies to work at the aforementioned investment firm and *GASP* gets a job there! Go Sara! However, as she continues to work the ungodly long hours and deals with the rampant sexism and racism within the organization, she discovers something that puts her life in danger. If you suspend your disbelief (at one point, Sara learns C++ and Python in, like, two months which, come on), it’s a page-turning thriller. 4/5, 8/10.

The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams could have been great. It could have been amazing! Esme is a babysitter. She’s a normal girl… OR SO SHE THINKS. One night, the kid she is babysitting ends up on the roof of her house babbling about how she was carried up there by someone who bears a striking resemblance to the Goblin King from Labyrinth. I’m like “Wow what a strong opening I can’t wait to keep going!” It immediately got less interesting. Esme finds out she has telekinetic powers and the new girl, Cassandra, seeks her out to help her hone her abilities. There are cosmic entities, curses, and a TALKING DOG?!?! It’s just not that great. 2/5 4/10

I’m not usually one for dual narrators, but this was excellent. I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal was heart-wrenching and powerful. Lena, a Black girl, heads out to the football game before heading to her boyfriend’s house. Campbell, a White girl, is working the concession stand. After a bigot starts picking a fight with a student and yelling racial slurs, a brawl breaks out and a police officer is shot. This throws Lena and Campbell together in a desperate bid to survive the night. INDWYT helps illustrate the implicit biases that White people have towards Black people and brings them to the forefront. This was excellent and I honestly like it better than The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I said it. 5/5, 10/10

Man, Star Wars is cool. I’m working on reading through the Legends books and it’s slow going. There are so many! Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael A. Stackpole is the second book in the NJO book series. The Yuuzhan Vong have begun their invasion of our beloved galaxy far far away. The Jedi, Rogue Squadron, and a small part of the New Republic Senate are on a race against time to save as many lives as possible while gathering all the data they can. Wow, this was a slow burn. It took me about two weeks to get through because it is so freaking slow. I’ve read Stackpole before and had the same feelings. I’ll read the second in the duology, or maybe read a synopsis and move on to book four. 3/5, 6/10

My last book of the month was a 70 page novella called Space Invaders by Nona Fernández. Thanks to this book, I realized that I know nothing about South American history other than some names of dictators. Six friends all share dreams of Estrella, a girl who mysteriously disappeared during the end of the Pinochet era. They dream of their school days: the uniforms, the pamphlets, the fun they had during parent/teacher conferences, the lives lost. It’s very short, but it packs a punch. Definitely recommend picking this up if you can find it. 4/5, 8/10

So, that’s October! Lots of good stuff, lots of okay stuff, but no complete stinkers. We shall see what next month brings. Happy Halloween! Stay safe and spooky!

All book images are from Goodreads.