October Wrap Up (2021)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

It's the end of October! Where's the month gone?

I have no idea. 

I've read a few spooky reads this month, completely by accident. 

Here's what I've read this month. 

Enjoy! 

1. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 

A book ahead of it's time is the thought that springs to mind. Aside from that, I can name the number of books on one hand, that chooses to tell a story as serious as this one, from the POV of a young girl. Also, I'll never get tired of reading about a young girl in an earlier time period that is something other than what their time period expects. Scout is an intelligent, outspoken, curious young girl who is just trying to make sense of the world around her. She shows the perfect POV, not quite understanding exactly what she's seeing, and her innocence as she tries to navigate the adult world of racial injustice and prejudice is quite powerful to see. So happy I finally read this. 

2. Carrie, by Stephen King

For all my in-depth thoughts on this, my review is attatched to the title. But to sum this up, you honestly wouldn't think this was King's debut. I'm not going to lie, having read some of King's more recent works, you can tell the difference in how he's grown as a storyteller, but Carrie is still an absolute groundstopper of a story. All in all, easily remembered characters, a simple premise: a bullied girl that's tipped over the edge and wrecks havoc on the entire town, and a wonderfully crafted novel. I soared through this and am eager to pick up more of King's earlier works. 

3. The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1), by Rick Riordan 

Hilarious. 

This story was hilarious. 

I genuinely didn't expect Apollo to be this arrogant. 

Of course I loved it. I was actually disappointed that I had to read two Magnus Chase books before I came back to this series. The other thing I loved was the fact that Apollo was made into a regular teenager, with acne and no six-pack. 

Oh, and the characters and plot. 

And the writing. 

So basically everything. 

4. The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase #1), by Rick Riordan 

After reading the Trials of Apollo, I was pretty bummed out that I had to start a completely different series straight after. Maybe that's why I felt that it dragged so much, especially as I knew that I would have to read the second book in the series before going back to Apollo. But, although it took me longer to read through than I would have liked, I found that I slowly warmed to the characters and grew to love them, (perhaps even more than the Apollo characters).

5. Paper Girls Vol. 1 (Paper Girls #1), by Brian K. Vaughan 

So, I deviated from the list of Rick Riordan books. Paper Girls is a graphic novel series and it was just what I needed to get out of the potential slump I was headed for. 

Honestly, I'm not madly in love with this series like I was with Saga, but I reckon this series could change my mind. I've already ordered the second novel and I'm thinking it'll be a good series to read as I work my way through the Trials of Apollo and Magnus Chase series this month. Long story short, Paper Girls is about a group of 12 year old girls that run the paper round, and stumble upon something out of this world on November 1st. I can already tell, the first volume has only scratched the surface. I'm excited, and I have no idea what I'm about to read. 

6. Salem's Lot, by Stephen King 

There's so much to this iconic book that I could only hope to give a summary about what level of amazing this novel is. Salem's Lot is the first vampire book I've read that's purely horror genre, and I'm pleased to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. My partner Jordan convinced me to download the audiobook on Audible about a month ago, to read when I get around to it. After finishing the first Paper Girls graphic novel, I didn't have anything else left to read, except for this. So I thought, "Why not?" And started listening. And of course, I was extremely surprised at how quickly I was pulled into the story. 

Review on this later. 

Okay! That's my October Wrap Up (2021)! I hope you enjoyed it, and I want to know what you guys have read this month, so be sure to let me know in the comments! 

I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxx