Fall Reads

Yesterday was the first day I woke up to frost on the ground. While it doesn’t get super cold here, we are entering that time of year where you need some warm cozy clothes and it feels great to snuggle under a blanket with a good book and a hot cup of tea. Ahhhh, heaven!

So, I thought I’d share some of my recent good reads with you. Links are affiliate in case you want to buy these books, but you know I’m a die-hard library fan.

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda Here’s what so intriguing about this book: for most of it, each chapter tells the story of what happened the day before the chapter you just finished. It works backwards, explaining what happened to a girl who goes missing in a small town that had already experienced the mysterious disappearance of another girl years ago. The unique structure definitely drew me in. And I wanted to figure out what had happened. I have to admit, I did not guess any of it. Usually, I see endings coming and get a little frustrated that the author doesn’t just jump to it and tell us what’s so obvious, but this one was a surprise to me. If you read it, you’ll have to let me know if you had it all figured out before the big reveal.

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover I can’t say that I loved this one quite as much as I loved her Hopeless, but it still drew me in. It might not even be fair to compare the two because Hopeless skews more young adult and this one is not. But, it’s a powerful story. There’s some heartbreaking insight into why someone would stay in an abusive relationship and wisely questions why people ask why the abused doesn’t leave instead of why the abuser is the way they are.

The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning) by John Stephens If you’re looking for something to read with your upper elementary schooler, this is a good one. I read it because it was on my middle schooler’s Battle of the Books list and he wanted me to read those so I could quiz him on them. I struggled with getting through some of the others because they weren’t what I would choose to read (and we wonder why all kids don’t love to read…) but I adored this one. Time travel, magic, a quest… it has a bit of a Narnia feel to it, but not the same because of the time travel element and how the siblings’ time-traveling actions affect the present. I haven’t read the other two books in the series, but plan to.

Oh, and if you haven’t read Behind Closed Doors yet, you really need to! I’ve passed that book on to four friends already and they all loved it.

What have you read lately that you’d recommend?