CassieBash’s 75 for ‘25

Hello! I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been a 75-er, but I’ve done this for a while now. I usually set certain rules to try to make it more of a challenge—mostly that the books have to be chapter books—but starting last year, I dropped all rules. Anything goes! This year (2025) looks like it’s going to be a rocky start, with my cat having liver issues (working on finding out exactly what), my dad having surgery, and my sister probably facing unemployment as the business she works for is either sold or closing. So to heck with making this more challenging, as I expect the first few months are going to be challenging enough.

But like everyone, I do have preferences. I read both fiction and nonfiction, but I do have an easier time reading some genres and topics than others. Fiction tends towards horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction, and nonfiction trends towards the natural world (animals, plants, etc.), medical topics, forensics, food history, folklore, funeral and holiday customs. They may be juvenile or adult levels.

I do almost everything on a phone with limited internet (country living in some states has some disadvantages with connectivity), so my posts don’t have too much bells and whistles. Still, I’ll do a quick review for each book to give you a taste of what it’s about, and I usually point out possible bedtime reads for parents, since I do read a fair number of children’s books.

Happy New Year, Cassie!

Happy 2025, Cassie

Welcome back, Cassie!

Hello, Roni, Paul, and Jim—a happy new year to you all!

For horror fans, I picked up a copy of an anthology of horror—365 mini stories. It will be both the first book I started this year and the last to be finished.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

>6 thornton37814: Thanks—you, too!

Peppa the cat goes to a vet with a bit more specialized equipment this Wednesday to get a few samples of liver and gallbladder cells for analysis. Hopefully this will shed some light on what’s going on with her. Dad’s surgery is coming up towards the end of this month. Between these and weather events, I may not make the monthly Muncie trip to see my guy, Derek in January.

That trip is a big opportunity for me to listen to audiobooks and podcasts—but that’s not to say that I don’t get my fair share of listening in at other times. In fact, let’s start off this year’s number 1 read with the juvenile chapter audiobook Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwotz. An historical fiction with a slight supernatural twist, this story takes place at the start of WWII, and pulls from real events and persons. Max, who is completely fictional, is a Jewish boy sent to England by his parents in an attempt to give him a safer life away from the Nazis— something that really did happen for hundreds, if not thousands, of Jewish children. From the beginning, Max wants only to get back to Berlin to reunite with his parents, despite the kindness he receives with his adoptive family. Once he realizes that one of the household members works in British Intelligence, Max is determined to become a spy so he can get back to Germany and reunite with his parents. There are two big problems with this plan:
1) Max is a child and Britain isn’t in the habit of using child spies, so Max will have to prove he’s exceptional.
2) Since he left Germany, Max has had 2 spirits—a kobold and a dybbuk— adopt him, and neither want to go back to Germany.

This book strikes a fine balance between humor and warmth and hatred and violence. Gidwitz doesn’t shy away from portraying the widespread antisemitism found not only in Germany but also in England, with bullying and harassment rampant in the British schools. The two spirits, Stein and Berg, are the comedy, trying to annoy Max and hinder his training to keep him—and themselves—in England. The book ends on a cliffhanger so I’m sure in the not-too-distant future I’ll track down the sequel.

Book 2 is Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America by Lulu Delacre. This collection of stories are beautifully illustrated by the author and, if you take the time to read the notes at the back, pull from traditional art forms, motifs, and styles from traditional peoples of the regions. Some of these tales are based in pre-European legends, while others are clearly more modern. A small sampling—there are maybe 12 stories, with a few pages of notes about the civilizations from which the stories come—this is still a nice collection for an introduction to Latin American folklore.

OK—apologies if this is convoluted but there’s a lot on my mind….

To get a minimum of 75 books in a year, you have to average 6.25 books. This past year was a struggle to do that without including non-chapter children’s books, and as I said above, the start of this year has been rocky. Sooo…I’m thinking of doing 3-4 younger readers’ books a month and doing them by themes. Any parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings—heck, I’d include Big Brothers/Big Sisters—with theme suggestions? This could be a genre or form like historical or funny, or it could be a broad or narrow topical theme like the environment or tornadoes. Back in the day (1997–2006), I was a children’s librarian at a public library (I’m in academia now), so this should be fun, like getting back to my roots. And I’m rebuilding a children’s collection for the college and reading many on the side anyway—so why not? If you have theme suggestions, just post ‘em here!

After a frustrating few weeks, we know a bit more but nothing definitive about my cat Peppa. Ultrasounds have shown some irregularities with several organs but because of a heart murmur, they’re hesitant to sedate her to take cell samples as we had hoped. But while she can’t rule out cancer completely without some cells to biopsy, she isn’t seeing certain key components that would point in that direction. Infection, high blood pressure, and IBS are all on the table, possibly in some combination. They are consulting and researching to see if one direction is more likely than another, so we will know how best to proceed.

Hi Cassie! The only topic I can think of is making friends but I am not sure that's what you are looking for. Meanwhile, lots of good energy for Peppa and hopes that it is treatable.

>9 elorin: Oh, no—that topic is fine. Friendship is a great kid-appropriate topic, and making friends is always on most young people’s minds.

If you didn’t follow last year’s thread, allow me to suggest Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris. Not exactly a how-to friendship guide but it’s a cute friendship story regardless.

Book 3 is an audiobook children’s horror by Angela Cervantes called The Cursed Moon. Legend in town states that telling a horror story during a blood moon is dangerous, but Rafael can’t help himself—he loves escaping into one of his own frightening stories, and his friends like to hear them. Only the story he tells on the night of the cursed blood moon seems to be coming true—and more mysterious is that this doesn’t seem to be the first time the story of the murderous Caretaker has been told. Can Rafael figure out how to defeat the Caretaker before his friends or family are hurt? on top of this plot is one revolving around forgiveness; Raphael and his sister are about to be reunited with their mother, who is just getting out of jail. They’ve been living with their grandparents for so long, and their mother has been in and out of trouble for so long, that Rafael is having trouble adjusting. As far as horror stories go, it’s pretty light from an adult perspective. There are some creepy places, but nothing that’s going to be excessively scary for adults for a younger audience…well, that depends on the kid. No inappropriate language, no excessive gore, no sexual situations. Going to rate this PG for upper elementary/middle school on up.

Peppa the cat is improving and is showing much more interest in food. She is on an aggressive regimen of antibiotics and supplements but it seems to be working. She is happy—except when taking a pill, but she doesn’t hold a grudge and though she’d rather not take them at all, she’s actually fairly good about it.

>5 CassieBash: this anthology sounds amazing!

Nice to meet you Cassie! I’m sorry that your year was a bit of a rough start. I hope it has settled !

>13 CassieBash: Hooray for Peppa's improvement!

>Welcome, KB23! The stories are very quick—some barely a page—but many are twisted. I’m pretty hard to scare but I can appreciate the attempt, lol!

My dad’s surgery seems to have gone well. Peppa-cat had a rough day today with some vomiting this morning that could have been hairball or a pancreatitis flareup. She barely ate during the day but settled down for dinner after her fast (one of her meds needs an empty stomach).

Book 4 is a children’s book about helping people in the way friends do—sharing and cooperation. An old Little Golden Book, Sesame Street: The Together Book by Revena Dwight is also interactive: each problem requires a friend to bring something specific, and children can look at the illustrations and point out which friend has the right tool. At the beginning, Big Bird needs wheels for his wagon, which Grover provides—and at the end, it’s Big Bird’s turn to help Grover. Great beginner book about helping out.

Book 5 is a difficult one to categorize—I suppose YA based on the protagonist age (13). Written by James Kennedy, The Order of Odd-Fish may sound strange—mostly because it is. Definitely a fantasy, where you will enter a world of unusual knights, weird creatures and even weirder inhabitants of the city, and an ancient, dormant goddess that, if awakened, will only live to swallow all of existence back into her. And this goddess may be linked to young Jo Hazelwood, left abandoned on Lily LaRouche’s step with a note: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a DANGEROUS baby.”

As if those early teen years aren’t bad enough, Jo has to worry about her possible ties to the goddess, a horrible being calling himself the Belgian Prankster, and a not-as-bad evil man who wants to be the biggest bad in the world. If you can’t handle weird, steer clear of this one. But if giant cockroach butlers, prophetic digestive organs, or knights that ride flying battle ostriches don’t phase you (or even pique your interest) then pick this one up.

Book 6 is the next Shady Hollow book by Juneau Black—a cozy mystery series where the people are animals (anthropomorphic, of course). Like any society, there are problems, especially when there are long-held prejudices. Otters and beavers historically clashed over river rights—and that’s why Shelby Atwater disapproves of his son’s romantic involvement with the local heiress to the Von Beaverpelt empire. But is his disapproval enough for the young heiress, Stasia, to kill him at the book’s namesake location, Twilight Falls? All evidence says yes, but newspaper reporter Vera Vixen has her doubts….

There’s one more title so far in this series, with another due out later this year, if I remember right. I’m trying to savor my time in the Hollow, so I’ll leave the next book for later. Heading into Valentine’s Day, and with this book taking place in the spring, it just seemed like the perfect time to listen.

Book 7 is a children’s nonfiction book about Making Friends, which also happens to be the title. Written by Steffi Cavell- Clark in 2018, the book does give good advice about making and—just as important—keeping friends. It talks about valuing uniqueness and emphasizes good listening. It says that family members can be friends, and it touches on bullying (don’t do it) and peer pressure (you always have a choice and you shouldn’t do something if it makes you uncomfortable). There’s a glossary in the back which is good, because I actually thought that some of the words might be a bit above the reading level of the target audience. However, there’s nothing that says a caregiver or older sibling can’t read it to them, and though the words might be hard for beginners to read, they’re probably familiar with most of them.

Book 8 is Bunny and Bird Are Best Friends: Making New Friends by Jeffrey Denardo. They are best friends, but when winter comes and Bird has to go south with her family, Bunny is left sad and alone, until he meets someone else who’s also lonely. Not really a how-to book like the previous one, but it does provide some questions at the end for children to reflect on and apply to themselves. Also, this is more of a reader, so this is one that many school age kids could read. They do have a very short glossary for the more complex words, but there are far fewer in this one.

A triple decker, so Books 9, 10, and 11 are—

Olive My Love by Vivian Walsh. If you’ve read or seen Olive, the Other Reindeer, you’re already familiar with this children’s book pooch with the heart of gold. This time, she’s trying to return a giant heart to her friend, and in so doing, makes a few more.

A Crankenstein Valentine by Samantha Berger. All children have a bit of “Crankenstein” in them (see the first book Crankenstein), but all this mushy love stuff is too much for our Crankenstein, who would rather just skip the day…with one exception. This one I could really connect to, as I wasn’t a great fan of the day myself as I was growing up. Not exactly cranky about it—it was more of a “this again” resignation—but I can appreciate a Crankenstein viewpoint.

The Peasant King is my adult listen, based on historical fact and Judea prophecy regarding the Persian/Medean king. Despite not being Jewish himself, he was their friend and ended their Babylonian exile. This historical fiction/spiritual fiction/light romance had a nice balance between its plots so that it didn’t get bogged down in any one of its genres while smothering the others. Blending real and historical figures, there are both strong male and female characters working God’s will to see Cyrus ascend. If you’ve read want a bodice ripper romance, or a book where the romance is the A plot, this isn’t for you, but the romance is a solid B plot and to me, that’s what made this work. No sex, no real swearing (they use non-offensive phrases like “fire and lightning” a lot). The reader has a pleasant voice but I found some of the pregnant pauses distracting, and in places the author had pretty sudden jumps in locations with no transition as to how they got there, not even a “The journey to x was uneventful….”. Otherwise, a good story with decent character development and plot.

We could all use a reminder to be more compassionate and be aware of our tempers, right? Even children can understand these concepts, especially through a comparison that’s less abstract, like a bucket of water. And that’s exactly what Felix learns in How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. Felix’s grandfather explains how everyone has an invisible bucket, and when that bucket is full, you feel great. But anything that upsets you spills drops from your bucket, and the closer to empty you are, the more upset you become. Felix also learns that not only good things that happen to you add back to the bucket, but that helping others not only means you help add to someone else’s bucket but also your own. This is a nice way to take more abstract ideas and make them relatable to counter audience. I especially like how it was also applied to pets (Felix’s family has a dog), and as a pet owner, I’ve seen this happen in the animal world, too. I also appreciate that while Felix’s day starts out bad, and his bucket starts to empty, not everything that happens in his day is bad, since very few days have nothing positive.

Books 13, 14, and 15:

Let’s start with a pair of books by Michelle Harrison: 13 Treasures and 13 Curses. While these have the same characters, they are self-contained stories though it would probably be useful to read in order. Tanya, who can see faeries, is sent to stay with her grandmother at the old manor house—rife with all sorts of fae. Her grandmother gifts her a charm bracelet with 13 charms representing 13 faerie treasures. Things start getting intense when Red,a girl who supposedly has stolen away children, gets entangled in the lives of Tanya and her friend Fabian, son of the manor’s caretaker, and when it’s discovered that the fae want Tanya as payment for an old debt. In the second book, Red must make a deal with the fae in order to get something she wants very badly (no spoilers here), but of course the bargain includes a quest involving the bracelet, and because they’re faeries the quest may not be all it seems.

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood is based on the Greek myth of Odysseus and a curse placed on Ithaca for the murder of innocent maids upon his return home. Leto is the daughter of Ithaca’s oracle, left an orphan until she develops the mark that dooms her and 11 others as sacrifices. She is killed but later revives; every so often, Poisidon allows one of the girls to revive for training to kill the Ithican prince—one of the original sacrifices, Melantho, says that 12 Ithican princes must die to break the curse, and Mathias is the last. Can Nelantho and Leto get to the prince to kill him and break the curse. WARNING: Aside from obvious bloodshed and violence, this YA novel has lesbian themes and while there are no hardcore sex scenes, it’s definitely implied.

Books 16 and 17 are children’s books—one a silly, fun story and another that gives an idea of how to make first-time separation easier (school is the example here but the concept could work in other situations). First, in Charlie and the Octopus by Rebecca Roan, a boy visits an aquarium and an octopus follows him home, causing all sorts of mischief—but whenever the parents come in, the octopus camouflages himself and when Charlie insists it was “the octopus”, all the parents see is Charlie’s plushy octopus. Can he fix his octopus problem? No morals, just a cute story (unless the moral is always look to see who’s following you home from the aquarium/zoo/farm).

Next, Chester Raccoon learns a secret way to bring himself a little comfort as he starts school in Audrey Penn’s The Kissing Hand. Chester would rather stay with his mom than go to school, but with the ancient secret passed down through generations of her family, mom shares this secret and Chester finds comfort in a simple gesture nearly everyone can do—mom kisses the palm of his paw, and anytime he misses her, he’s to press that palm to his cheek for a “kiss” from mom. Separation anxiety is a real thing with many kids, so I imagine that any trick that works may be welcome, no matter how old the book it’s coming from.

A dang cold has me laid out pretty good—so of course I’ve done some reading. Book 18 is The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens, a fantasy novel for…upper elementary? YA? While the ages of the characters suggest the former, the scenes of violence, undead monsters, very evil villains, etc. makes me recommend to parents that you know what your child can handle and what they can’t. I know some young kids who would handle this just fine, others who wouldn’t. This is presumably the first book of three (if my simple math and deductive reasoning is correct), as this Atlas is one of three tones of power. Kate, Michael, and Emma have only memories of their parents, who send them away to live in a series of orphanages, each worse than the last, until a Dr. Pym agrees to take them. When the kids discover the green book, they don’t realize its powers until they are taken back in time. The rest of the story is the children trying to get back home—not easily done—and avoiding the evil Countess, who very badly wants the books of power. While clearly there’s at least one sequel (presumably 2–one for each of the remaining books), the book does fine as a stand-alone story if need be.

My cold is now officially a sinus infection and bronchitis and I’m to stay home from work for the next 2 days and read in bed—doctor’s orders. OK, technically she didn’t specify the reading part but let’s face it—it’s gonna happen.

Book 19 is A Plague of Unicorns by Jane Yolen, a short children’s chapter book that’s part historical and part fantasy. Cranford Abbey has 5 varieties of apples—some red and green ones, a purple one, and a golden one. For years, the monks harvested all the red, green, and purple ones unchallenged, but all the gold apples but the ones on the highest branches were eaten by a migrating herd of unicorns. For a long time, this was accepted but a new abbot brings a recipe for an exceedingly wonderful golden apple cider, and suddenly the apples the unicorns eat are prized by the monks. Except unicorns are fierce when provoked, and though hero after hero comes to try to expel the animals, none succeed. But young James from the nearby Dukedom has a plan, and there may be one hero left out there who could help…. Pretty gentle book with black and white illustrations (my copy anyway)—my favorite is a two page spread of the motley heroes, looking like a Dungeons and Dragons police lineup. This could easily be a bedtime book for those who no longer need illustrations on every page or a short read for 4th-5th grade up. The nice thing is that while unicorns are often associated with being girlie, your main protagonist is a boy, and these unicorns aren’t the pink glittering kind. These are wild animals, and they act like it.

Book 20 is Lightlark by Alex Aster, an action/fantasy and, in my case, a beautifully read audiobook, read by Suzy Jackson. There are 6 kingdoms represented in Lightlark—moon and sun, sky and star, wild and dark. Each has their own abilities—but each also has their own curse. In order to break the curses, one of the realms’ rulers must be killed during the centennial trials, where rulers form—and break—alliances as they attempt to determine who will die. So far, it’s never happened, but Isla of the Wildings knows this must be the year, because her people and land are dying. Her biggest problem, however, is that she actually has no powers. Without the natural abilities of the Wildings, she hasn’t much advantage except her fierce fighting skills. She also has a secret alliance, though—one that might provide a loophole for her and one other ruler. Political and personal intrigues, grudges and fighting, some quests, even a bit of romance. While I had a few things figured out before Isla did, there were enough twists that I couldn’t figure out the nuances. I’m not sure if there’s a second book but it definitely leaves that option open.

Book 21: The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge—In the 1860s, women can’t be naturalists. Faith, whose father is both a man of the cloth and a naturalist, has made an extremely controversial find. Rumors of fraud tarnish his reputation, and he moves his family to an island, as much to participate in a dig site as to let the rumors fade. Faith wants her father’s approval and affection but secretly hopes for more—to work at his side as an equal. Yet Faith’s father becomes more morose, more temperamental, up to the day he has her lead him to a secret coastal cave, where he puts a little plant pot. The next day, he’s found dead—and Faith embarks on a path of revenge and an attempt to find out who murdered him. But she needs one final thing from her father’s collection—the tree in the pot in the cave. Whisper a lie to it and spread that lie to others so they’ll believe, and the tree grows a fruit that, when eaten, shows you a hidden truth—maybe. The reader may question the reliability of a plant that feeds on lies, after all, but one thing is certain—the tree carries an awesome power, and many will use it for personal gain….

Not as good as her Mosca Mye books (Fly By Night and “Fly Trap” or Twilight Robbery as it’s called outside the U.S. editions), it’s still a solid story with the hints of a mystery; Hardinge excels at that. While the Mosca books are grounded in reality (albeit in another world) with no real magic or supernatural elements, the supernatural aspects of the tree definitely place this into the realm of fantasy. I did not solve the mystery in advance so if you prefer your mysteries to not be incredibly obvious, and you don’t mind the supernatural elements, give this one a try.

>23 CassieBash: Never heard of that book before, Cassie, but it does sound like fun.

>25 CassieBash: Got me. Onto the wishlist it goes.

>26 PaulCranswick: Can’t think of a Jane Yolen story that disappointed.

>27 elorin: Yes, I would recommend any of those 3 by Hardinge. There’s always some political intrigue or mystery involved.

Book 22 is a graphic novel by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang called In Real Life. Ands is a girl gamer, invited to an all-girls gaming guild in the massive online game called Coarsegold. At first, Anda just has fun, teaming up with another girl to level up quickly and run missions, mostly to kill “gold miners”—characters who collect virtual gold to sell for real money to gamers who want to increase their status quickly without having to put in the time and effort to level up with gameplay. Killing these avatars are easy—until Anda actually talks to one and finds out that the gold farmers are real people, playing the game to collect as much gold as possible for corporations in other countries for pitiful wages, while the corporations collect and sell the virtual gold for profit. So Anda sets out to clandestinely help her new friend—only to find that using Western tactics in a country like China may do more harm than good….

A different look at gaming; not only is the focus on girls in gaming but also looking at the economics and struggles of working conditions in other countries and how virtual lives intersect with real ones. A must read for any gamer.

Book 23 is The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell. It’s a children’s fantasy about an 11 year old girl, Lin, whose family moved to a different city, and she’s had to leave her best friend behind. When the book opens, she’s not only dealing with that loss, but also the loss of her pet Rufus, a redback vole she found injured and took home to heal (and consequently became her pet). When she discovers a strange key and doorway underneath their home, she is transported to an afterlife world where pets and wild animals live in harmony, capable of speaking and creating a civilization. She’s reunited with her beloved Rufus, but only because the world is in danger and called to her—a Twistrose. Whenever their world is in danger, a Twistrose appears to save the day. But is Lin up to the challenge of saving the life of the last protector of their world? Though the villains are easy to identify, the story is still good. Themes of death, loss, courage, and friendship. No swearing, no sex—giving this a PG rating for some darker moments and death themes.

Books 24 & 25 are by Katherine Addison. With the release of The Tomb of Dragons, the fourth of her novels of Osreth, I decided to listen to the prior books first, starting with The Goblin Emperor, which introduces, through court intrigue and political machinations, a world of goblins and elves. With a kind half-goblin who was never expected to rise to Emperor on the throne, the world is bound to change—provided the Emperor can survive the plots against him.

The Witness for the Dead follows not the Emperor but Celehar, who has the ability to “speak” to the dead (often less in words than impressions), and when an opera singer turns up dead, he must find out what happened and expose her murderer.

This series is wonderful for fantasy lovers but also mystery fans, especially those following Celehar as he witnesses, as murders are revealed.

Book 26 is The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison, 3rd in the series in which Celehar faces an undead creature worse than a ghoul in an effort to bring justice to a dead foundling murdered to keep a dangerous secret from coming to light. As always, this world and its characters are well-fleshed and I could _almost_ want to live in this world, if I didn’t already have my heart set on living in the Shady Hollow series, lol!

I don’t do a lot of anthologies for some reason, but I picked this one up more with my mom in mind. All Horses Go to Heaven, a collection selected by Beth Brown, has a wide array of stories from silly to poignant. Some selections are from larger works, like Mary O’Hara’s My Friend Flicka and John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony, while others seem to just be short stories in their own right. Be aware that this is an older work and has racist language and stereotyping; this might have been marketed to the horse-crazy tween girl audience back in the day, but a conversation about racial issues may be needed for modern youth.

Books 28-30:

Let’s start with the audiobook: The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison. Celehar has to deal with the aftermath of what happened in the last book (no spoilers here!), but that’s not going to help him when a group of miners kidnap him hoping he will solve their problem—the undead remnant of a dragon lurking in the mines. But will he survive?

I read a pair of chapter books for younger readers by Tony DiTerlizzi: Kenny and the Dragon, in which Kenny Rabbit befriends a peaceful dragon named Grahame and must find a way to convince others that he’s benign. Kenny and the Book of Beasts finds Kenny dealing with a lot of change—friends switching schools and moving away, lots of new sisters, and then an old friend of Grahame’s returns to the realm via magic, and Kenny feels he’s losing his best friend to the newcomer, a manticore named Dante. On top of that, the witch Nesbit is up to something fishy—something that might endanger Grahame, Dante, and even Kenny. One thing I like about these two books are nods to classic children's fantasy fiction and folklore—Kenneth Grahame wrote The Reluctant Dragon (the names for Kenny Rabbit and of course the dragon Grahame clearly came from this), Kenny’s friend George (as in Saint George and the dragon) turns out to be a knight, and the name of the witch Eldritch Nesbit is based on real writer Edith Nesbit, who more commonly published her books under E. Nesbit. Some of her books featured mythical creatures like dragons and phoenix, so like Mr. Grahame, it makes sense to reference her—though since her character is the villain of the story, I’m not sure how flattered she’d be if she were still alive.

Been sick—again—this time just a cold I think but the post nasal drip is bugging me a lot. My cat’s health is somewhat improved but we had to say goodbye to our oldest pony, who was pushing 40. My oldest sister will soon be sans job, as her place of employment has been sold and they’re wrapping up things—this almost exactly 1 year after the owner’s unexpected death. I’m really hoping that next year’s commencement ceremony isn’t marred by death and illness, since the last 2 were.

Books 31-33

This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko is about a young girl named Jaq (short for Jaqueline), who is in remission from a childhood cancer. No one in town knows but her and her mom—and it’s coming up on her 5 year checkpoint. But overnight a strange house appears at the end of the cul-de-sac—a house that calls to her. When she and a few of her schoolmates enter, they quickly find themselves in a house of horrors. But this isn’t a typical haunted house; Jaq has a psychological need for the house, and it might just answer some questions for her—if she can survive the house that she’s built. A psychological horror that’s actually pretty good; I’m hard to scare and while it didn’t give me nightmares or anything, there were scenes that definitely unsettled me—and that’s high praise indeed, especially since I didn’t care for the reader they chose for this one (by far too perky a voice at times). But, generally, the book is suitable for that tween age group and it might be a good read for kids suffering from a debilitating disease. Interestingly, they don’t use the word “cancer” until the very end of the book; it’s implied but never explicitly stated until quite late.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher is a fantasy horror very, VERY loosely (OK, not really) based on The Goose Girl, which is a more obscure fairy tale as collected by the Grimm Brothers. The main character, Cordelia, is the daughter of said sorceress, who is worming her way into a marriage with a well-to-do country squire, whose sister raises geese. The whole story, which is a slow build, is about Cordelia and her new friends trying to destroy the sorceress’s powers. It’s nothing like the original tale except that the sorceress’s familiar takes on a horse’s shape and is named Falada (as is the horse in the original). Oh, and that there are geese. But the plot of a servant betraying her mistress in order to wed her betrothed and making her tend the geese, while the decapitated head of the horse talks to his mistress and laments her plight—well, most of that just isn’t in there. Kingsolver could have called the horse anything really, and the story wouldn’t have been changed, so why she claims this is based on the old fairy tale, I honestly don’t know. It’s good—just forget it has anything to do with the original. Warning—the horror is a slow build, but once it hits, there are some pretty graphic scenes and it can be a bit intense. Definitely for a more mature audience.

Nick of Time by Ted Bell is an historical science fiction involving time travel. I honestly think that Mr. Bell asked himself what elements he thought would appeal to his age group (upper elementary and tweens mainly) and then crammed it all in there. He has the main characters, Nick and his sister Kate, living in 1939 England—right before Germany starts eyeing England as a target for WWII. Nick is helping gather intelligence about German activity off the coasts, as his father is a lighthouse keeper. He and Kate find a wooden box, however—and a strange, piratical-type man wants it. I don’t want to give away too many details, but eventually Nick finds a device that allows him and his friends to travel through time. Half the characters and story remains in 1939, and the other half travels to the past. While our time travelers have swashbuckling naval adventures, our current-time characters spy on Nazis. Plenty of action and suspense throughout, and both Nick and Kate are equally strong characters, but with different strengths and strategies. Good for the target audience and suitable for a chapter book read-aloud.

Book 34: The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers is a first-person narrative of Johannes, a free dog who patrols a massive park on behalf of the park’s elders, three old bison kept in a pen for park visitors to enjoy watching. But Johannes has an idea—an impossible idea—to set the bison free. With the help of his animal friends—Bertrand the gull, Yolanda the pelican, Sophia the squirrel, and Angus the raccoon—they create a plan. But ever since Johannes did something that alerted the humans to his presence, he’s been on the run himself. Can he and his friends actually get the bison to freedom? There are some intense scenes; without spoiling anything, kids sensitive to animal harm may not want to read this book. But it’s a good read (or listen); Ethan Hawke does an excellent narration and captures Johannes’s personality perfectly in the audio version.

Books 35-39:

This is exciting since I wanted to be halfway through the 75 by the end of June, so I’m a little ahead. Let’s see if I can keep momentum; my senior cat’s health issues will probably distract me, but we’ll see.

Book 35: The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf takes place in modern Malaysia using Chinese ghost mythology. Eastern ghost lore is much different than western lore; be prepared for the supernatural beings to interact with people a little differently. In this case, the ghost was created by a witch to do her bidding, and when she dies, the ghost must seek out a member of the witch’s family to bind himself to—and her granddaughter he feels is perfect. Despite that ghosts are not supposed to have hearts that can form friendships, the ghost finds himself loving his new charge. This book of family and friendship has gentle scenes of affection but these are balanced by the ghost’s actions, which he feels are in the best interest of the girl but often lead to horrible things happening to others. The ghost character is complex and very human; arguably neither strictly good or evil, but rather like someone who doesn’t handle his emotional states very well. Nothing inappropriate for the targeted tween age group but it’s probably more for girls than boys, as the main characters are almost all female.

Book 36–Let’s do one for tween boys—Crows and Cards by Joseph Helgerson is a witty, Mark Twain-ish story about a boy in the late 1840s whose parents apprentice him to his tanner uncle, packing him off on a steamboat to send him out west. But while on the boat, Zeb meets Chilly, a gambler cardsharp and apprentices with him instead. Chilly convinces him that his group are like gambler Robin Hoods, giving much of their winnings to charity. When Zeb finds out that Chilly and company haven’t all been on the up-and-up with him, can he live with himself if he continues? And if he leaves—will Chilly let him leave? Plenty of suspense and unusual characters, with historical notes, additional reading, and a dictionary in the back, this tween-appropriate, first person narrative story includes an Native American chief and his daughter, a slave set on running as soon as possible, and three cheating gamblers who will do anything, including violence, to keep running their games on their terms.

Book 37: The curse on Spectacle Key by Chantel Acevedo: Frank, a Cuban American tween boy, loves ghosts, ghouls, misters, and especially Frankenstein. But he doesn’t like that his mom and dad flip unusual buildings and that they’re always moving. But he’s been assured that this move to the Florida Keys is their last; the family has bought an old historic lighthouse on Spectacle Key. But all the locals claim that Spectacle Key is haunted; Frank doesn’t believe that—at first. But when unexpected, even impossible—things start happening and Frank meets an invisible girl with amnesia, and a ghost who communicates with sniffs, snuffles, and occasionally temper tantrums, Frank can’t deny the supernatural anymore. Worse, the clock is ticking on how long he has to solve the mystery of who these two children are, before something disastrous happens. Again, a good read for tweens, this one a bit more balanced between gender interest, as both Frank and his ghostly girl friend work together to solve problems and research.

Book 38: Sparks! by Ian Boothby is a graphic novel about two cats who escape from a lab where experiments have made one of the cats super smart. She creates a super dog suit that they operate from the inside, and use to generally do good. But a sinister presence is threatening to use mind control on animals to take over the world; can these two cats use their Sparks dog disguise to save the world? Cute G-rated graphic novel suitable for all ages.

Book 39: Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale is a graphic novel set in the Wild West era, but populated y the folks from fairy tales. Mother Gothel owns pretty much everything, as her powers to produce growth or stunt it means she can control the food supply. Rapunzel grows up sheltered from all this, until she learns the truth by sneaking out and runs into her biological mother. This starts her on her rebellion against her stepmother—she intends to free her mother and overthrow Gothel. But she’ll need help from her new friend Jack. Some violence and minor swearing may make this more for the tween/teen crowd.

My cat and I are going up to Ft. Wayne next Tuesday to see if the specialists there can figure out what’s going on with her liver. We’ve been fighting triaditis and everything but the liver has either gone back to normal or is improving. She is not particularly textbooks as she’s not acting as sick as she should be; in fact, her energy and attitude are still very good. I’m hoping they can at least get me answers; even if it’s cancer, I’d at least know and my vet and I could plan palliative/hospice. With luck, the underlying cause will be more treatable; we’ve treated her with antibiotics but if the cause is viral, antibiotics wouldn’t work, so a new treatment may be in order.

>36 CassieBash: A little ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Hanna Alkaf, Cassie. I am surprised that her books don't seem to get so much coverage in Malaysia.

>This is a pre-teen/early teen years audience. I know nothing about Malaysian culture so I can’t say this may be a reason, but there may be cultures that don’t push promotion of youth books, especially to an adult. Remember the Harry Potter books published with “grown-up” covers? Some cultures stigmatize adults reading “children’s” books—it has even happened to me, when a fellow adult would try to shame me for reading children’s and YA literature. It happens less now, but I don’t know if that’s a cultural mind shift or my “I don’t give a (insert expletive of your choice here)” attitude. Maybe both.

Peppa the cat’s heart murmur isn’t yet signs of heart disease so the felt confident enough to do mild sedation for a liver aspiration. Results show no cancer cells so we’re going to approach this as an autoimmune issue. She’s already on a low dose of cyclosporine which has helped the inflammation of the other organs, so since her heart is good we’re going to try prednisolone, an active form of prednisone which doesn’t need to be broken down and metabolized by the liver. (It’s what prednisone becomes once the liver is done processing it—thus with liver conditions having an already metabolized form is better.) Both the pred and cyclosporine are frequently given together to control autoimmune issues in cats, so if she’s responsive to this treatment, it’s a good sign she’s got some sort of autoimmune issue. With her hyperthyroid issues, too, I’m hoping the pred increases her appetite (cyclosporine depresses it) and maybe she even gains a little weight.

OK, on to the books! Keeping it mainly light with book 40, Sea Legs by Alex Shearer, this comedy of errors for pre-teen/early teen readers finds first person narrator Eric and his younger twin (NOT identical; Eric can’t stress that enough) plotting on how to sneak on board the cruise ship, where their father is Senior Steward. From planning how to fool their grandparents into thinking their dad is actually taking them with him this time, to foiling a piracy scheme, Eric and Clive have their hands full just trying not to get caught as stowaways. A great adventure story, particularly for boys.

Cinders and Sparrows as book 41 by Stefan Bachmann was a YA fantasy about an orphan girl who finds out (via note delivered by “living” scarecrow) that she is heiress to a castle, as part of a famous witch family that can see and banish ghosts. Her family is supposedly dead, their bodies kept in perfect condition by the curse that killed them—but is that really what happened? Another first person narrative, Zita must figure out the secrets around her family or—perhaps literally—die trying. More serious than the former, it’s a bit predictable in places though there’s enough of a twist at the end that some may not figure it out prematurely.

Book 42 is a beginner chapter book, Bad Kitty Goes to the Vet by Nick Bruel. Bad Kitty isn’t feeling well, so it’s time for a vet trip! This book is part nonfiction, embedding actual cat and veterinary information within the fictional story. WARNING: While much of this book is funny, there is a death theme and if you have a pet in poor health that may need vet care, you might hold off giving this to your kids for reading material.

>38 CassieBash: Best wishes for the new treatment for Peppa the cat!

Book 43: Project Jackalope by Emily Ecton is a humorous YA science fiction novel about a teen lad named Jeremy whose mad scientist wannabe neighbor creates the ultimate animal weapon—a jackalope. (Yes, you read that right.) Only his neighbor has dumped the project on Jeremy unexpectedly and has disappeared, and only his fellow teen Agatha can help him avoid the mysterious agents out to get “Jack”, even as he tries to protect him. Can they figure out how to keep the agents from getting this new weapon? Fun, first person narrative with little to no swearing (may be some mild swearing if any at all) and no sex (not even romance—Jeremy and Agatha seem to be purely platonic). Fun and quick read that should appeal to a wide audience.

Book 44: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones centers around Sophie, eldest daughter and therefore, as per tradition, the most unlucky and cursed of daughters. (Everyone knows the youngest is the lucky one, blessed with good fortune—at least in this world). And that seems true—Sophie crosses paths with the Witch of the Wasteland and is cursed to become an old woman. Sophie sets out, unsure how to break news of her curse to her family, and comes upon the wizard Howl’s castle, which almost constantly moves, thanks to the magical fire demon living in the hearth, bound to Howl—unless Sophie can free him. If she can free him from Howl’s contract, he’ll help Sophie break her curse. Can Sophie figure out how to break the contract? Minor swearing and romance—suitable for older YA readers. I listened to the audio version and reader Jenny Sterlin was awesome, providing unique character voices.

Book 45: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty and read by Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal—beautifully so. First person narrative done as the heroine Amina shares her story to a scribe. The story could be part of the 1,001 Arabian Nights—Amina the female smuggler (she’s very insistent that she’s not a pirate) is hired (read blackmailed) by the mother of a former crewman to rescue her kidnapped granddaughter, or she will have Amina and her whole family slain. Since Amina has no way to keep the powerful old woman from doing that, she embarks on a journey to track down a Frank with a penchant for the occult who supposedly did the deed—and ends up on a journey of supernatural wonders. An adult story full of sexual innuendo, swearing (including F), anatomical references both male and female, LGBTQ+ references and themes, and of course violence. But it has a folktale feel so if you enjoy gritty fairy tale retellings for a modern audience, and you can handle all the elements above, give it a try either in print, e-, or audiobook.

Book 46: The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy is a story of mother-daughter reconciliation and finding family. Jamie and her daughter Fern have lived on The Ranch—a New York state survivalist commune (you can read it as “cult”—since Fern was 6. It provided Fern a place where she felt safe and protected, but Dr. Ben said she’s ready to do the rite of passage to adulthood early—about 3 years early. Only her mom takes her out before that can happen, racing all the way to California to escape. But can they? Fern doesn’t want to, and she writes a letter to Dr. Ben begging him to come get them. But she’s lived half her life at The Ranch and doesn’t have a clue as to how to send it. And as the story unfolds and Fern sees how life outside The Ranch is, she notices that maybe her old life wasn’t entirely as perfect as she thought. Great realistic fiction about family, friendship, and home. Written for upper elementary/junior high, this book is age appropriate and has enough tension to keep a reader engaged.

Book 47: Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz is the sequel to >7 CassieBash:. Max and his little immortal pals are back in Germany, and Max has the first of his orders—go to Berlin, meet his contact, and befriend the son of radio personality Hans Fritzsche. This is so Max can infiltrate the radio station for a secret mission. But Max has his own mission that even British intelligence doesn’t know about to find his mom. That takes him to a very dark place; this is Nazi Germany, so you can probably guess where that is. Well, the first book wasn’t exactly a lighthearted, comical romp, but this book takes a very dark turn, especially at the end when Max describes his meeting his mom in the concentration camp. It was still a good read, and an important one, considering that there are Holocaust deniers. Won’t change their mind, but for those of us who know that we’re doomed to repeat history if we forget, it’s a terrible reminder of how evil can happen.

Book 48: Witch Catcher but Mary Downing Hahn: Based on real items that were once believed to capture witches and other magical beings, these stoppered bottles of colored glass actually work in this story. When Jen and her father inherit their eccentric relative’s house, they become entangled in an old battle between witches and the fae. Jen’s father is bewitched and Jen finds herself on team fae in order to get rid of the witches and get her father back to normal. All of their plans center around the witch catchers, which work just as well against the faeries. But can Jen truly trust her allies any more than she can the witches? Short chapter book perfect for the upper elementary/tween audience with no inappropriate language or sex.

Book 49: No One Leaves the Castle by Christopher Healy: Lila has left being a princess behind to turn bounty hunter and she’s even got her own personal bard to help her spread tales of her glorious deeds. Only problem is—it’s darn hard to find a glorious deed to do. Until a butler for a baron’s household shows up to hire her to find out who stole a priceless heirloom and to bring back both it and its thief. But once she’s in the castle, things get out of control as both bounty hunter and bard find themselves caught up in a murder investigation. Worse, the murder victim was a wizard—a wizard who cast a spell that encircled the entire castle in a bubble force field so no one can leave. (Pretty obvious what the title alludes to, I guess.). As the night goes on and Lila works to solve the mystery, the bubble begins to close in. Will the mystery be solved before the bubble completely collapses and crushes everyone inside? Basically , this is a humorous fantasy mystery that could have been a light-hearted RPG plot. Language, themes, and such great for the young YA crowd though of course adults may enjoy as well.

A Peppa the cat update (and thanks >39 elorin: for the well-wishes): She hasn’t had another checkup just yet but she did get a quick potassium check and her levels were back to normal, so they’re considering it a temporary flux caused by the extended fast she was on for the NIVES visit. She has been gaining weight and is now consistently above 6 pounds. She is fleshed out and has lost the gaunt look she’d had. I’ll have to find out from the local vet when she’ll want to give her another liver blood test—they may want to wait another couple of weeks since this is only week 4 and they said it could take 6-8 weeks on the pred to notice changes, but she’s looking and acting so much better. If the ALT values drop and the ultrasound shows less inflammation then our hypothesis of autoimmune issue is likely correct. She’s on probably the lowest dose possible: 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet every day.

>43 CassieBash: So glad to hear Peppa is doing better. I have three chunky cats myself and they are so precious to me.

>44 elorin: Thanks! If you hadn’t guessed, the picture for my profile is Peppa. That was a picture of her on the very first day. I adopted her and she came home. Unlike most cats, she did not hide at all, and instead made herself right at home in our room.

Chunky has never been an issue with her, especially since she developed hyperthyroidism a few years back. Keeping her weight from dropping is the trick, but now that she’s on prednisone, that’s kind of going by the wayside. She has been over 6 pounds for about two weeks now—a first in maybe a bit over a year.

Best of health to yours!

Books 50 and 51:

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger is an interesting premise—take the modern world but alter it so all of the folklore beings and creatures also inhabit it—European vampires, Native American Coyote, etc. When Elatsoe’s—Ellie’s—cousin is found dead in his car, authorities assume it was an accident. Yet Ellie, who can commune with the dead, is visited by his spirit claiming it was murder and asking for her to find proof. He provides her with his killer’s name and the town where he lives—and from there it becomes part mystery and part horror story. Themes of colonialism, indigenous displacement, and racism is throughout, because unfortunately that part of the history follows our own. However, the tween and teen crowd that the story is aimed at will find nothing inappropriate regarding language or sex scenes, and Ellie, who is asexual, is nothing more than a good friend to Jay, the boy who helps her try to solve the mystery.

Vampire Plagues: Paris, 1850 by Sebastian Rook is the continuation of an apparently 3 part story. I’ve either read the first book or this one, as the basic concept of the Mexican Mayan vampire god, Camazotz, coming to life and trying to regain his full power was so familiar. I didn’t need to read the first one as they recap the important bits in the book, so a reader who is picking this one up won’t be totally lost, but it probably would be helpful to read them in order. Can’t really give more than that without giving too many spoilers, but let’s just say that Jack, Ben, and Emily—our youthful protagonists—had better be on their toes if they don’t want to end up a vampiric snack. Good horror for the tween/young teen age group; again, no foul language or sex.

Books 52 and 53:

Isla, now with awakening Wildling and Shadow powers, must start turning her attention to preparing for war with Grim, ruler of the realm of Nightbane. The second book by Alex Aster, this one develops Isla’s past, including a forgotten shared past with Grim. As her memories are unlocked, Isla finds herself struggling to come with terms as to which ruler she loves. Wars looming, and Isla is the only one who can choose the outcome. This young adult novel does feature some sex scenes, so parents should be aware that this might not be suitable for the younger young adult readers.

Zoobreak by Gordon Korman is the second in a set, but can be read as a standalone. Cleopatra is Savannah‘s pet monkey, and best friend to her very large dog Luther. But Cleopatra is missing, and suddenly a floating boat zoo (yes, you read that right) suddenly has an identical monkey. Savannah is convinced that this monkey is hers, and her friends decide. They are going to get the monkey out and return it to Savannah. But when Savannah sees the living conditions of the animals, she’s determined to make a better life for them all, and get them all out. this is a fun action adventure, for younger readers, with no romance and no bad language.

Books 54 and 55:

Skyshade by Alwx Aster is as far as I’m planning on going in this series. This one turned me off with too much angst and sex. EThere is obviously another done/in the works as this one is very much a cliffhanger, but I’m getting too annoyed with Isla’s character and the love triangle that I no longer care to invest further time in this series. But hey—if bodice rippers and romantic angst are your thing, go ahead and enjoy! This series has just evolved into something that personally isn’t for me.

I did, however, enjoy the historical action-adventure children’s/tween book The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri. Told from the perspective of an orphaned boy rescued by our title character, he relates the (mid)adventures of himself and his new master, who someone hates enough to hire not one assassin but many, including the dreaded Cid. Can our young narrator buy his freedom and save Samir from the assassins—and himself! Written with a good balance of action, mystery, and humor, the author has worked hard to recreate the Silk Road that Samir and his servant boy (and their ancient donkey) travel. Complete with bibliography and historical notes about the time period (late 11th century), the Silk Road, and how the different assassins would have fit into that time period, it has a classic feel while still appealing to a modern audience.

Book 56 is Notorious by Gordan Korman, which seemed a natural follow-up to Zoobreak. Keenan is forced to live with his father in a border town—part is in Michigan and part is in Ontario. At first he hates it—he’s recuperating from TB and can’t do much of anything—but then he meets a girl named ZeeBee who’s obsessed with the town’s gangster past and her deceased monster of a dog, Barney. Barney was as notorious as the gangsters that once roamed the area—and ZeeBee is convinced someone killed him. Keenan is dubious at first but then finds some startling evidence to back up ZeeBee’s canine-icide. Could she also be right about buried gangster treasure? Once again, Korman balances the genders a bit with one strong character of each. ZeeBee, however, can come across too strong and is even mean at times. Still, an enjoyable action adventure tale suitable for fairly young readers.

Books 57 & 58:

Summers End by Juneau Black: Vera has agreed to chaperone a school trip to the archaeological site Summer’s End, this world’s Stonehengian site. But the head of the dig site is murdered, and the blame falls on Ligeia Lee, Lenore’s sister. Can they uncover the truth before the local lawman Buckthorn arrests the wrong suspect? Lovely cozy mystery series; can’t wait until October when the next one is out!

Release the Wolves by Stefan Bachmann: For a long time, Argo’s world has been at an uneasy peace, with weakened monsters popping up occasionally—monsters from the last Release. The rulers of the world, the Elduari, create and release monsters into the world when they feel an uprising coming—and Argo finds himself a part of the uprising when he’s joined by a princess turned towards vengeance. A fantasy horror, this book doesn’t have sex or cursing but there’s a lot of blood and death, and while not the most graphic descriptions I’ve read, I’m pegging this book as more appropriate for teens than a younger audience.

Book 59: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman may sound like a horror story, but Clare the Fox is an Usher of Souls, helping the souls of departed wild animals to their final reward—one of the four realms of Pleasure, Peace, Progress, and Pain. He’s not the first Usher; he took the job as he lay dying. He’s enjoys the work, but when a badger soul shows up and can’t get into any of the afterlifes, Clare isn’t sure exactly what it means—but he doesn’t like it. A tween story, Clare’s physical appearance and some of his memories are a bit graphic maybe for some, but the book is more about friendship and belonging than anything scary.

60 & 61 are Foxfire, Wolfskin, and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women by Sharon Blackie is a collection of short stories (audio in my case) that’s pretty much as advertised. As with most story collections, some are better than others but they’re all based on folklore, much of which I was familiar with, but if you need a little memory nudge as to where the stories’ origins are, the author includes some folklore background for each tale at the end of the book. From selkies to Baba Yaga, my favorite was probably how the woman who wanted a child turned to her wise-woman ancestors and worked a little fertility magic. There are stories of romance, belonging, empowerment—a bit of several themes included so there should be something for everyone.

A Small Zombie Problem by K. G. Campbell is book one in a series about a boy, August, raised by his aunt, who keeps them reclusive until a box of moon pies draws him out, and he learns that he has another aunt who’s children—his cousins—do normal things like go to school and hang with friends, which are all things August wants to do. You know—do things normal kids do. This second aunt will help him with this, but only if he brings her the rare mineral Cadaverite. Only problem is, August has to pass by the cemetery, and he suddenly finds he has a friendly zombie girl following him everywhere. Rather hard to be normal if August can’t get rid of his little zombie problem….Several puns, play-on-words, and despite the zombie, not really a horror. But it is a bit of a cliffhanger, so be aware of that going in.

Skimming back through what I’ve read since August and there’s a definite October vibe here—murder mystery, fantasy horror, children’s zombie fiction—so you can guess that my actual October Halloween books are going to up the ante. And book 62 falls into my old “disturbing read” category, as it’s true crime. But not just any true crime—but true crime from La Porte, Indiana. Yes, I’m talking about Belle Gunness! Learn all about the crimes and the mystery behind one of Indiana’s most notorious killers in Hell’s Princess: the Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schecter. The book starts with a little background into her beginnings, goes into how she lured men under the premise of marriage, and of course how she killed them. Then there’s the question as to whether she actually died or not in the fire that supposedly consumed her and her children. It’s probably a good listen/read for true crime fanatics. If you happen to be near or in La Porte county, Indiana, you should check out their historical Society museum. In the basement, they actually have a small section dedicated to Belle and they have some interesting artifacts, including a human skull that was one of her unidentified victims. So if you’re like me and you like the morbid, it’s worth an adventure to that part of our state. And it’s perfect for Halloween!

Look at me—I finished another audiobook! Book 63 is The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack. This collection of short juvenile stories include African American folk tales and the stories progress from older ones that go back to the days of slavery to ones from the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s to the 80s and early 90s. Before each one, the author included a bit of context for each, including the last one which is a self-proclaimed semi-autobiographical story. From traditional ghosts to a tribal evil spirit to a classic kids bogeyman type-monster, these stories should be just the right amount of scare for most children in this age group (upper elementary/tween). Only a couple had a creepy atmospheric feel to it to me, but I don’t scare easy so that’s actually quite the compliment! I really enjoyed them though, scary or not, possibly because they read like folk tales and you all probably know by now how I love my folk and fairytales.

Much as I’m itching to listen to the latest of the Juno Black books, I’m going to hold off until after my Halloween spooky season. Probably will be the first thing I listen to after I’m done with my Halloween listens.

Book 64: The Bone Snatcher by Charlotte Saler
Is a tween horror fantasy. Set in an undisclosed location, this world is one in which many people have fallen prey to Sea Fever; sufferers of this malady have only one thought: to sail across the ocean they so fear, braving the monsters therein, in order to get to the New Continent. Sophie‘s parents have this fever, and to afford the tickets they sell Sophie doomed to live in a house on an island, Sophie is forced to stay with psychopathic people that may be worse than the monsters living in the ocean. But one of them, Cartwright, May be her salvation – – but only if she can help him find his father‘s last invention, the Monster Box, which should hold the cure to the fever. But Sophia and Cartwright have to survive the machinations of the matron of the house and the two twin boys: Ralf and Gail. The twins are not above playing nasty, dangerous games with Sophie and the others in the household. And the monsters in the sea must be fed. Can Sophie find the box before the twins ultimately find and destroy her?

This book has some admittedly creepy feels to it in some parts, so it may not be suitable for all readers. The twins are a nasty piece of work, and the matron isn’t really better. The book had a couple of surprise twists that I wasn’t expecting either, which is nice because I’m usually pretty good at figuring things out at least two steps ahead of most characters with this book, I was learning things right alongside Sophie. So there’s a bit of suspense that might attract some readers.

Books 65 and 66: The Beasties by William Sleator is about a family of ho rent a cabin deep in the woods on the edge of a logging camp. The siblings—Doug and his younger sister Colette—have been warned about “the beasties”, but in a vague sort of way. They’re warned to stay away from the logging camps, which seem to have more than their share of mutilations. Even their housekeeper is missing her nose. Will Colette and Doug run into these “beasties”—and if they do, what will the beasties do to them? Children’s chapter horror with an environmental slant, suitable for older elementary children.

The Elementals by Michael McDowell is another slow-build, Southern gothic from the same author as The Blackwater Saga. Like Blackwater, he builds his characters and the supernatural events slowly—until the end, when the supernatural events come to their climax in a rather nasty, bloody way. The slow build is not quite as chilling as those in Blackwater, but it’s not bad. But as I warned, there are a few violent, bloody deaths at the end, so be forewarned. Also, some of the characters swear like sailors so if dropping f bombs aren’t your thing, you might want to skip this one.

Book 67 is Kwame Crashes the Underworld by Craig Kofi Farmer. When Kwame’s grandmother dies, he goes into denial. He already denies his Ghanaian roots she had embraced, including the dashiki she’d made for him. Now his parents are taking him to Ghana for her celebration of life, but he’d rather stay at his friend Autumn’s house. His parents let him spend the night at her place with the understanding that they’re leaving for Ghana the next day, but a series of events leads Kwame and Autumn to end up as living souls in the afterlife, Asamando, where Kwame finds out he is literally spiritually linked to Asase Yaa, the Earth Goddess. In order to get back to the land of the living, Kwame and Autumn must make it past mythical figures and deities who have their own agendas. This book had some great points including not just themes of dealing with grief, identity issues, friendship and family but also includes a character trait rarely seen in children’s fiction—a teen who’s deaf/hard of hearing. No romance or sex, no swearing, so for this book I’d say PG 13 for the themes.

67 and 68 are both audio short story horror collections—A Selection of Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories and Classic Tales of Horror. Both are excellent for those who don’t like gore but want that creeping chill of psychological horror. The latter may be a misnomer to some as these tales are newer, some maybe even as new as the 1980s. I know—some would look at that as ancient but I’m not sure that all the writers or their stories have endured well enough to be considered classics yet. Still, there are some great authors included who—if not considered classic horror writers yet—will be in the future. Ray Bradbury, Charles L. Grant, and Robert Bloch are probably the most well-known in this collection and therefore arguably worthy of classic designation, but even the lesser-known authors and their stories were good, if not as lasting. As for the former—I was familiar with many but some I had never heard before—so you could argue the same points as to whether these are “classics” but, to be fair, the title doesn’t claim anything other than their time period—and there’s no denying these are Victorian and Edwardian. The language and phrasing make that clear.

Both are strong collections with some very well-known titles.

69, 70, 71:

Mockingbird Court by Juneau Black is the latest installment of the Shady Hollow series. This time, the murder takes place in the apartment of famous author Bradley Marvel, and the wolf flees to the countryside to avoid suspicion. He swears he didn’t do it—and the city detective who followed Marvel to town agrees. The only problem is that he thinks Vera, our foxy sleuth, did it. Now Vera has to face her past—and we readers get a glimpse of her backstory in the process. So far, I’m still enjoying this series even if I am pretty good at figuring out the whodunnit part before Vera.

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard is dry and black humor dark fantasy more than horror. Yes, there are zombies and vampires and some scenes that some might find disturbing or disgusting, with the undead losing body parts. For me, that’s just part and parcel with this sort of story—but then again, my high school senior paper was on mummification and I frequently snacked while reading about how the ancient Egyptians and other societies would prepare the bodies, so it’s safe to say I’m not highly bothered by textual descriptions of gross things. Johannes wants his soul back from Satan, and in order to do it, he is loaned a dark carnival a la Ray Bradbury’s Cooger and Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes. He enlists the help of his brother as they start rounding up the required 100 souls. Will Johannes sacrifice his humanity to regain his soul? Fun, quirky, and I always like a good dark carnival, don’t you?

71: On a totally different track than the other two, I have a children’s nonfiction called Goid Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, who wrote this book as a series of one-to two-person plays so every child in the classes at the school she worked at could have a starring role (as explained in the foreword—you should read it, too). Most of the plays are set in verse, some free verse, some with rhyming schemes. A few are prose. All depict a young person (or persons) who would have lived and died in a medieval village: a tanner’s apprentice, the lord’s daughter, a peasant girl, a knight’s son, etc. there are side notes to help explain unfamiliar words or concepts, and every so often, there will be a full page or two with a bit more in-depth information on a topic like falconry or the Crusades, for instance. While this is considered a juvenile book, I highly enjoyed it. It was a Newberry gold winner if that is of interest to anyone, and it certainly earned it.

With 4 more to go to hit the goal, I think I’ll manage even with the holidays eating into what spare time I have. I’ve downloaded my next audiobook, I’m almost done with one print book and a little over halfway through another.

I loved Johannes Cabal the Necromancer - and need to finish the series!

>60 drneutron: I’m working on that; I’m listening to Johannes Cabal the Detective at the moment, which I think is book 2. I have about 3 more of them waiting in the Audible wings.

But for the moment, book 72 is Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, a collection of very short (most are under 2 pages and none really exceed that) modern horror by a variety of authors. Some are unsettling, some darkly humorous, a few even have some deeper meaning at their heart. Are they “scary”? Well….let’s just say I read the vast majority of these at bedtime and they didn’t keep me up nor give me nightmares. Some may have been a little creepy at best but nothing that figuratively grabbed me by the throat. Was it worth the read? Overall I’d say yes—most of the stories were solid and those more easily prone to heebee jeebies may actually find some of these scary—I admit to being hard to scare via the printed word, and the books or stories that do it are longer and are written by masters of the slow, psychological creep. Would some of these authors manage it with a bit longer work? Hmm…possibly. I think the lack of scare from my end, however, should not dissuade you from giving it a try if you like the horror genre. You may find this a frightening collection or, like me, you may still enjoy them without having to be horrified.

Only 3 more—but will the holidays slow me down and create the stumbling block that will trip me up in my 75 goal???

Book 73: The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu is the first book of the “Edinburgh Nights” series. This introduces our protagonist Ropa, a young girl who supports her sister and grandmother by taking messages from ghosts to their living relatives, with an occasional quieting of a restless or aggressive spirit. But one spirit cannot rest until she finds out what happened to her son, who has disappeared. So have other children, and as she and her friends Jomo and Priya find out more, it’s clear something sinister and paranormal is going on. Part light horror, part fantasy, part mystery for more mature YA audiences. Swearing, including the f bomb, mature themes, (possibly) scary imagery (I’m not easily scared so I have trouble judging what the average audience might find frightening). Up side—Priya is an awesome character and is in a wheelchair, and Ropa’s grandmother is also a strong character, so you’ve got some diversity going on.

Book 74: The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce is pretty much what you would expect a dictionary written from the devil’s perspective as through the pen of a satirical writer to be. Witty though sometimes suffering from misogynistic and racist views. It was OK but I much more prefer his short horror stories so this one will be going to Derek’s for trade-in.

Book 75! Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard is more mystery than horror and while there is some raising of the dead, much of the story is political intrigue and murder mystery. While the first book in this series had a Ray Bradbury flavor, this one is Agatha Christie meets Jules Verne, with a slight steampunk feel with airships and such. But of course, Cabal is in the thick of it with the lively and clever Miss Barrow, who teams up with Cabal to try to solve the whodunnit while also trying to stay alive. I didn’t find this one quite as enjoyable as the first but it’s still a good listen/read. Maybe the new reader had something to do with it—I think I liked the previous narrator’s voice and inflection better, but of course that’s a personal preference.

So I squeezed in 75 with some time to spare—yay!

Congratulations on reaching 75!

Congrats!

Thanks!