September & October | Reading Wrap Ups

Okay, this is a bit late, but here are my wrap ups for the books I read in September and October! I read 10 books between these two months, which is quite a lot for me, honestly.

SEPTEMBER

1. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park - This was a Historical Fiction that took place in 12th Century, South Korea, which is a time period (and honestly I think a place?) I haven't read about before, so that was really cool. I actually liked the simplicity of the writing style, it made the story seem like a fable, almost? I liked the characters and their development, and the relationships between them. 
2. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - My mom was a big fan of Hemingway. I, however... am not. Apparently. I'M SORRY. I didn't really feel a connection to any of the characters or anything. It wasn't my least favorite classic, but it was very far from being my favorite. Maybe I actually would have enjoyed it more if I had read it for school? Cool title, though. 
3. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige - I really enjoyed the setting of this book. It was creepy, eerie, and positively dripping with the horror promised by many a reviewed. The Wizard of Oz is one of my all-time favorite movies, so seeing Danielle Paige's twist on it was fascinating. There was something very cinematic about this book. The writing style wasn't my favorite (I'm not sure why exactly, it just didn't click with me) but I did grow fond of the characters and plot enough to make up for what I felt the writing style lacked?
4. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - I try to reread this book every year. It's a middle grade book about four sisters and their single father and their dog named Hound and just. Reading it makes me so happy. This was my seventh re-read of it, and it was just as pleasant as always.
5. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall - Another reread. I had some different feelings on this one than I have had before, but they're kind of difficult to put into words. Before, this had been my second favorite and I think I still stand by that? 
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - This is a thriller with an unreliable narrarator. It was quite popular a couple of years back, but like always I'm hopping on the train (*finger guns*) later than everyone else. The first half was rather slow, but the last third of the book was so gripping and intense that I couldn't put the book down! To me, it was worth sticking with it. 

OCTOBER

1. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall - The Penderwicks reread continues! This is usually my least favorite, but I liked it more than I remember liking it. (Though, to be fair, I doubt I could ever dislike a Penderwicks book. They're too precious for me to dislike them.)
2. Esta Noche en el Titanic by Mary Pope Osborne - Yes, a reread of Magic Tree House. But this time, in Spanish! 
3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - ...Okay, here we go. Unpopular opinion time, but I didn't really enjoy this book at all? It was another cool title, but another case of can't-connect-with-the-characters. I felt like this had been marketed as a creepy, horror, thriller case, but it ended up being a romance. Which is fine if you like romance! But... I just didn't like this one. Some of it felt kind of cliché, as well, which is also fine but in this case I wasn't a fan.
4. Lair of Dreams (The Diviners #2) by Libba Bray - My Goodreads review (linked) is very long and has very in depth thoughts/gushing but WOW I LOVED THIS. It was such a worthy sequel to the Diviners. It had everything I love in it, too? Diverse and wonderful characters, 1920s setting, romances that didn't feel forced (my ship sailed yes), a fascinating and thrilling mystery, and a writing style that kept me turning pages long into the night. (It was 4am and I kept telling myself "just one more chapter...")

TOP THREE

My top three favorite books of these ten (only counting one Penderwicks book, hehe) were... 

• The Penderwicks
• The Girl on the Train
• Lair of Dreams