Year in Review, 2021

Through sheer force of will, I managed to review one more book this year than last year, pushing myself through the difficulty of reading while snowed in an AirBnB with a variety of small children and noise making toys. It's not ideal, but nothing about 2021 has been ideal for most people. 

For the record, when I count these books, I put all big kids stuff in the YA/middle grade novels category even if it's a graphic novel or nonfiction.  Of course I read a lot of in that area because I volunteer at an elementary school library, so I wasn't constrained by the COVID restrictions at the public library and I didn't have to make special trips to get kids book.

So, here's the tally:

Dragon's 2021 Year in Review

Picture books:                     10

YA/middle grade novels:    27

Nonfiction:                          7    

Graphic novels:                   5

Memoir:                              1

Novel:                                 12

Poetry:                                1

Short story collections:      4

Total books read:               67  

Food Heroes: 16 Culinary Artisans Preserving Traditions

Author: Georgia Pellegrini

First line: I can still picture her standing in her gardens, permanently hunched over, with shovel and trowel, her white hair puffing out from below the brim of her baseball hat, her floral shirt falling just above her muddy oversized sneakers.

Why you should read this book: It's a celebration of the dreamers and lovers who set aside the culture of convenience, commercialism, and fast food to focus on producing ingredients in the slow, careful, old ways, or sometimes in new ways that combine old and new knowledge. The author travels America and Europe in search of the artisans, farmers, ranchers, and brewers slow-crafting food and drink that must be savored and celebrated. Each of the sixteen vignettes mixes science, culture, human interest, and food lore, and concludes with a few relevant recipes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You can't tell the difference. 

Rubyfruit Jungle

Written by: Rita Mae Brown

First line: No one remembers her beginnings.

Why you should read this book: Irrepressible Molly Bolt knows from an early age who she is—an independent, sexually liberated girl destined to follow her own path in a time when women simply aren't given space to be different—and what she wants—to make love to beautiful women without guilt or commitment or people freaking out about the L word. Unapologetically queer and nonmonogamous, her troubles always involve being betrayed by the people to whom she makes herself vulnerable, as if love in inextricably bound up in disappointment. But through it all, Molly remains true to her own values and follows her own compass, with the knowledge that as hard as her path is, it would be infinitely harder to walk any other. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't like to think about that time in college.

The Crossroads at Midnight

Written by: Abby Howard

First line: What's it like with the old farmer?

Why you should read this book: As a huge fan of the author's Junior Scientist Power Hour and The Last Halloween webcomics, I was thrilled to discover that Abby Howard has published a devilishly inventive 350-page book comprising five freaky horror comics. With artwork that transcends the more cartoonish images of some of her earlier work, these legitimately spooky comics pull no punches—even children aren't safe from the various monsters that inhabit these detailed black-and-white worlds—and deliver true terror, often from unexpected directions, and occasionally, a drop of compassion. There's no telling what the outcome might be when you befriend a fiend, but if scary stories and dark comics get you going, this collection is highly recommended. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are easily disturbed and all alone.

Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories

Written by: Dan SaSuWeh Jones

First line: Ghost stories were a big part of my life growing up as an American Indian.

Why you should read this book: It sets itself apart from most collections of creepy stories and folktales in two ways: first that, many of the stories were personally collected by the author, and second, that many of the stories really happened. It sets itself apart from most collections of indigenous legends in that the author and illustrator, as well as all their sources, are indigenous themselves. This is a kids' book, but the spooky factor is turned up fairly high on some of them—readers will meet all kind of terrifying spirits, monsters, ghosts, and other fairy tale creatures, none of whom have the best wishes of humanity in mind. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Probably too scary for very young readers.

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love

Written by: Sonya Renee Taylor 

First line: Long before there was a digital media and education company or a radical self-love movement with hundreds of thousands of followers on our website and social media pages, before anyone cared to write about us in newsprint or interview me on television, before people began to send me photos of their bodies with my words etched in ink on their backs, forearms, and shoulders (which never stops being awesome and weird), there was a word...well, words. 

Why you should read this book: Radical self-love asks us to embrace our bodies, with all their unique diversities and divergences, for their remarkable abilities to contain our spirits and allow us to live our lives, and to take this love to the extreme and extend to all bodies the same joyful and shameless celebration. Taylor categorizes the cultural shame and narrow boundaries of acceptable forms as body terrorism and assures us that whoever we are, however we look, and whatever our abilities, we are enough, and worthy of kindness, first from ourselves, but also from the world. Full of provocative inquiries and reflections, this remarkable and important book provides a road map for active and healthy change that every reader can use to improve the world, to increase their own comfort in their own skin.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You lack a corporeal form and don't interact with anyone who lives in a body. (This book should be required reading for being human.)

The Cabinet of Wonders

Written by: Marie Rutkoski

First line: The yellow hills rose and fell in sunny tops and valleys. 

Why you should read this book: Delightful and unpredictable, this story, set in Bohemia in (I think) the sixteenth century, begins with an aesthetic similar to steampunk, but based on magic and powered by brassica oil. Petra's father, a great magical metalworker who has invented a menagerie of mechanical pets, has been summoned to the capital to construct an astrological clock for the prince, who thanks him by stealing his eyes and sending him home completely blind and unable to work. Incensed by the unfairness of this theft, Petra runs away to Prague with her pet tin spider, Astrophil; she has no plan, only the intention of repossessing her father's eyes, and she's about to get all kinds of education in subjects she didn't even know existed before she left home. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You despise the mixing of history and fantasy.

Words by Heart

Written by: Ouida Sebestyen

First line: Old Bullet had guessed they were going somewhere—Lena's folks—before they came out the door.

Why you should read this book: Lena is probably the smartest kid in school, but she's keenly aware that being the only Black family in town means that some people are going to have a problem with her success, even though her papa moved them from the deep south specifically for the better opportunities he thinks await the family out west. Papa is a "turn the other cheek" sort of guy, but Lena doesn't understand why she has to be the one to suffer and sacrifice for the pleasure of wealthy white people or the pettiness of poor ones. The world isn't fair, but Lena has her father's beliefs to guide her as she makes choices about how to live and what kind of person to be.

Why you shouldn't read this book: To be frank, while I get that the author is intent on making a point about Christian forgiveness, I think this is a pretty rough way to get there, and the fact that the author appears to be a white woman whose thesis is that young Black girls need to forgive unforgivably racist horror (literally by protecting criminal white people from the consequences of their actions) doesn't exactly sit well with me.  

Mine

Written by: Delilah S. Dawson

First line: Lily Horne was dying.

Why you should read this book: A delightfully creepy ghost story that takes the spooky factor about as high as you can go and still get your book into the hands of a young audience, this novel sees budding actress Lily Horne dragged across the country to start a new life in Florida. She's got a horrible secret she can barely admit to herself, but her immediate problem is that her new house is a hoarded disaster, and the previous (deceased) inhabitants seem displeased with the Hornes' home improvements even though Lily's parents don't notice anything out of the ordinary and also are at the end of their rope with Lily's histrionics. Who is messing with Lily, and will they succeed in keeping their stranglehold on the past, or can Lily find a way to put these ghosts to rest and come to terms with her own mistakes?

Why you shouldn't read this book: I can imagine it would be difficult for anyone currently living in a hoarded home that they had no part in hoarding. Also, for a kids' book, it's pretty scary. 

Act

Written by: Kayla Miller

First line: Late for my bus.

Why you should read this book: This is a sequel to Click but not, I think, the sequel—I seemed to have missed an installment of the story about Olive Branche, the girl who is friends with everyone but doesn't seem to be part of any group—which finds our hero becoming aware of inequality within her school system and pursuing resolution through government. Incensed by the realization that some kids can't afford to go on field trips, and disappointed in the response to her petitions and protests, Olive runs for student council with the intention of helping other students achieve financial parity, circumvent inexplicable dress code violations, and end the public shaming of learning disabled kids. With a good handle on the issues and a strong base of supporters across the cliques, Olive has a fighting chance of enacting change, but her primary competition is running on the platform of "more pudding for everyone," and it's going to be an uphill battle to win hearts and minds in middle school.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You enjoy seeing children suffer for no reason.

Decelerate Blue

Written by: Adam Rapp and Mike Cavallaro

First line: So that's where is happened.

Why you should read this book: Angela lives in a dystopian nightmare where speed and capitalism merge to form a horrific reality for people who want to relax and enjoy themselves from time to time doing things besides running in place, shopping at the Megamall, and watching time-saving fourteen-minute movies. When she learns that her grandfather is being sent to a reduction colony for being too slow, she ends up being drawn into the Underground, a secret society of people who use as many adjectives as they like, play slow music, and stare at the world's most relaxing cow for fun. Angela finds love and hope for the future, but becoming a member of this new society and ending the reign of terror in the rest of the world entails more than simply running away. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think brevity is the soul of everything. 

Allergic

Written by: Megan Wagner Lloyd

First line: It was my tenth birthday

Why you should read this book: The only thing Maggie wants for her birthday is a puppy, and she's found the perfect one in the shelter—until it turns out that this puppy isn't perfect after all, because Maggie breaks out in itchy hives when she touches it. Worse still, the doctor says she's allergic to every animal with fur or feathers, and now she's not allowed to have any cuddly companion, even the tiniest mouse. Her parents have each other and a new baby on the way, and her twin brothers don't seem to need anyone but each other, but who's going to be Maggie's match in her family now?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think a spider is a great companion.

The Magic Fish

Written by: Trung Le Nguyen 

First line: They say we’re meant to go from here to there, but so much happens between those two places.

 Why you should read this book: Tien enjoys a close relationship with his mother but is having trouble coming out to her, primarily because they are Vietnamese refugees, and her English isn’t great, and he can’t find anyone who can tell him how to say, “I’m gay,” in Vietnamese. Reading fairy tales to each other in English is helping his mother improve her language skills and helping Tien find the words to talk to his mother about love, but it just seems like there’s always another obstacle to the one conversation he really wants to have. Much needed queer content for kids, a book that demonstrates the importance to of listening to and accepting a children's truths. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You'd rather have a dead child than a gay one, which is also an argument for why you shouldn't be allowed to have any child at all.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Written by: Lewis Carroll

First line: Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?"

Why you should read this book: Obviously, I have read Alice in Wonderland dozens, perhaps even hundreds of times in my life, but not, apparently, once in the last fifteen years since I've been keeping this blog; Alice was such a formative part of my childhood, so deeply embedding in my psyche that I suppose I didn't need to reread it because it existed inside me (although it's perhaps a little weird that I never read it to my stepdaughter, but she had her own ideas about books and gravitated toward more modern stuff). This is the tale of an inquisitive little girl who falls down a rabbit hole and come out in an altered fantasy world to be ordered around and abused by birds, rabbits, playing cards, and various other unlikely creatures while changing size on a regular basis and never quite understanding the rules of this brave new world. Alice is the basis of much children's fantasy literature and a fair amount of adult content generated in the one hundred fifty years since its original publication, and while some of the references that might have made sense to its original readership have faded into nonsense for today's children, the overall balance of sense to nonsense has remained about the same, as some of Alice's stranger experiences have morphed into common tropes in kids' entertainment. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You enjoy remaining completely unconnected to a shared sense of culture.

Paying for It: A Comic-Strip Memoir about Being a John

Written by: Chester Brown

First line: June 1996: Can we talk?

Why you should read this book: After an amicable breakup—he remains roommates with his ex while she moves on with a new live-in boyfriend—Chester determines that he has no interest in relationships, although he's still plenty interested in sex. Following a lot of soul-searching, false starts, research, self-doubt, and mounting desire, he begins paying for sex with a series of professional sex workers, much to his own great satisfaction, and his friends' vocal disgust. This graphic memoir protects the identity of the sex workers: he conceals their faces and ethnicity and changes their hairstyles and names, while reproducing their speech in such a way as to put a more useful face on the concept of sex work and give the women honest voices, although the narrative focuses primarily on Chester's feelings and experience. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're an unashamed SWERF.

Luna Howls at the Moon

Written by: Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

First line: Most of my clients don't mind when I lick their tears away.

Why you should read this book: Luna is a therapy dog who loves her work comforting troubled kids and is anxious to earn her fifty-session pin from Therapy Dogs Worldwide, thus demonstrating her official status as a very good dog. When three of her clients run away together on a crazy mission across town, Luna knows it is her responsibility to escape with them and offer support, just as much as she knows that she could be jeopardizing her own goal by accompanying them on this spree. Luna's perspective provides young readers with a new understanding of empathy, along with tools to help them make sense of other people's struggles and behavior through a lens of unconditional love. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have zero tolerance for dogs.

I, Claudius

Written by: Robert Graves

First line: I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot", or "That Claudius", or "Claudius the Stammerer", or "Clau-Clau-Claudius" or at best as "Poor Uncle Claudius", am now about to write this strange history of my life, starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the "golden predicament" from which I have never since become disentangled. 

Why you should read this book: Covering the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula, this classic book novelizes fifty-plus years of Roman history as seen though the eyes of a man who was simultaneously entrenched in the political machinations playing out all around him while remaining an outsider, able to research, record, and comment wryly on the most troubling aspects of human nature, while offering the reader all manner of scandalous personal observations. His legs lame and his stutter making it difficult for him to express himself, Claudius is largely unaffected by the murderous instincts of those jockeying for power and wealth in Rome, most particularly his devious and ambitious grandmother Livia. Devoting himself to the study of history, Claudius survives, occasionally thrives, and eventually outlives his oppressors to win a dubious award he didn't want in the first place. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You still retain any trace of faith in humanity. 

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Written by: Janae Marks

First line: The day I turned twelve, I was certain it'd be my favorite birthday yet, but then I got the letter.

Why you should read this book: The only thing Zoe knows about her biological father is that he was a bad man who did a bad thing and went to prison for it, until the day she intercepts a letter from the state penitentiary and begins a secret correspondence with the man she had previously thought of only as "Marcus." Now Marcus starts to become a real person to her, someone who claims to love her, who sends her cool song recommendations and, at last, claims to be innocent of any crime except having a terrible public defender. Will Zoe risk her shot at achieving her previous dream of becoming a kid celebrity pastry chef to pursue her new dream of exonerating the dad she never knew of a murder he swears he didn't commit?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are a terrible public defender and proud of it.

Those Shoes

Written by: Maribeth Boelts and Noah Z. Jones

First line: I have dreams about those shoes. 

Why you should read this book: This is a story about economic necessity, fads, desire, and kindness. A little boy longs for a pair of stylish sneakers, but his family's situation is such that he ends up with a pair of charity shoes from the guidance counselor's stash. Eventually he acquires an affordable, secondhand, too-small pair of the coveted kicks, and while he can't really wear them, he can make a choice that demonstrates his understanding of the true value of material things. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't have any shoes.

A Spoon for Every Bite

Written by: Joe Hayes and Rebecca Leer

First line: A long time ago there was a poor copule who lived in a small, tumbledown house.

Why you should read this book: This is a retelling of an old folktale—the author's notes claim it combines elements from two old Hispanic stories (although I have also read some of the elements of this tale in an old Yiddish folktale)—that highlights the divide between the grateful poor and the oblivious rich. An economically disadvantaged couple names their wealthy neighbor as godfather of their child in the hopes that they will become better friends, and scrimp and save to purchase a third spoon for their household, that they may entertain their new friend. When the rich man laughs at the poverty of the poor couple, they take their simple, glorious revenge with poetic irony. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The idea that anyone lives more lavishly than you puts you off your food.

Kidnapped

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: It's a mistake to earn the reputation of being a liar. 

Why you should read this book: Joey Bishop is known for telling tall tales, so when he tells people that he witnessed his classmate/enemy Willie Groves getting kidnapped after school, he gets mocked and lectured and patronized and chastised and reminded about the boy who cried wolf, but not believed. Joey is no fan of Willie, but his vivid imagination suggests such horrible outcomes that he continues to talk about the kidnapping until some adult, any adult, will listen. Unfortunately for Joey, it turns out that the wrong adult was listening all along. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some of the plot points are, perhaps, a little bit convenient.

In the Unlikely Event

Written by: Judy Blume

First line: Even now she can't decide. 

Why you should read this book: This is one of perennial favorite children's author, Judy Blume's, adult novels, and while the story itself is fiction, the unlikely event of the title is a real, historical one: a period of two months during which the town of Elizabeth, New Jersey was the unfortunate site of three separate deadly plane crashes, which eventually led to the closing of Newark Airport but ushered in a season of terror and PTSD for the people of Elizabeth. Told from multiple viewpoints, the story focuses on fifteen-year-old Miri Ammerman, who experiences her first love, her first heartbreak, and any number of adult life lessons against the backdrop of these tragedies. As the story unfolds, we witness the surprising connections among the many characters, and the numerous ways they all cope with the impact of the cycle of explosions and death. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There are so many points of view that you really need to consult the dramatis personae included at the beginning of the book.

The Unfinished Angel

Written by: Sharon Creech

First line: Peoples are strange!

Why you should read this book: The angel has been hanging out in this sleepy town in Switzerland for a long, long time, never entirely sure what its purpose might be, or how to fulfill it, or literally anything about being an angel, but the angel is basically content with existence until the day an American girl moves into the tower where it lives. Zola, unlike most humans, can see the angel, and unlike the angel, Zola has very specific ideas about what angels are supposed to do, and, being American, has no compunction about explaining what those things are and demanding action. With Zola's eye for social justice and the angel's ability to influence the course of human behavior, life is about to improve for everyone in this part of the Swiss Alps in an inspirational story that reminds us what it is to be human and what it is to be divine.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although the author includes specific notes about how and why the angel's imperfect voice is written as it is, I couldn't help but constantly feel like the angel seemed to talk exactly like J.Lo from Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, which was a little distracting.

The Magic Book

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: If I had known ahead of time what I'd be getting into, I'm not sure I would have gone with my dad to that used book sale.

Why you should read this book: Alex, like most of Roberts's protagonists, lives in a world where adults are largely ineffective at helping kids with basic stuff; in Alex's case, his biggest problem is a bully names Norm. When Alex is basically waylaid by a magic book that looks really old, has his name on the cover, and doesn't act the way books usually act, he and his friends start performing the spell they find inside, with interesting results. In the end, Alex manages to get the best of Norm, but it's uncertain whether the book was magic or if all he ever needed was a little confidence. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Probably the weakest story by this author I've ever read; her talent lies more in uncomfortable realism than in fantasy.

Blackflies

Written by: Robert Munsch and Jay Odjick

First line: Helen got up very early one morning, looked out the window, and said, "No snow!"

Why you should read this book: It's a tall tale (but not that tall, from what I've heard) about the insects in Alberta, Canada, and how unpleasant and annoying their presence makes the spring. Helen's family is carried off by said invertebrates, and Helen must arm herself with the most intense pesticides available to small children and rescue them from the woods. The illustrations are fun and will make most American children glad they're not Canadian.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You get itchy just thinking about large numbers of bugs.

The Little Girl Who Wanted To Be Big

Written by: Dave Engledow

First line: There once was a little girl who wanted to be big.

Why you should read this book: There's so much that you can't do when you're little—ride roller coasters, use the stove, drive a tractor—and this little girl wants them so much that she exercises and eats broccoli, to no avail. Her parents advise her to think big if she wants to do big things, and the book takes a fun turn as it illustrates the little girl getting bigger and bigger and taking on more and more of the world. The pictures are Photoshopped images of the author's own family, and children will enjoy seeing the little girl appear big enough to have a real impact on the world as her size gives her the opportunity to do everything she's ever wanted to do. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a fully grown adult and you're still not big.

Front Desk

Written by: Kelly Yang

First line: My parents told me that America would be this amazing place where we could live in a house with a dog, do whatever we want, and eat hamburgers till we were red in the face. 

Why you should read this book: Recent immigrants from China in the 1990s, Mia's family has found themselves homeless and living in a car, so managing a motel seems like a golden opportunity for their prosperity, even if the owner is a liar, and a cheapskate, and a racist, and some other, unmentionable things. But Mia is determined to make her new life work and sets herself up as assistant and manager and front desk attendant so her parents can take care of all the other work that needs to be done. With her can-do attitude, Mia begins to make friends, and with her interest in the English language, she begins to understand the power of a well-worded letter, along with her own agency and the knowledge that she has the ability to create positive change in the world through her writing.  

Why you shouldn't read this book: You believe you can tell if people are bad by looking at them.

Caught!

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: I'd had a reputation for being crazy ever since I let Sean Wilson and Hank Kavorkian talk me into going wild river rafting with them down the Stilly. 

Why you should read this book: Vickie's not a bad girl; she just doesn't always think things through when they sound good in the moment, so when her mother leaves Vickie and her little sister Joanie with their strict grandmother for the week, running away to her dad's seems like a her only possible solution. But, when they finally get to their father's new little apartment, everything falls apart, because their dad is nowhere to be found, there's evidence that some kind of crime took place in his new home prior to his disappearance, they're out of money and almost out of food, and strange men are poking around much too close for comfort. With the help of a boy named Jake and the other neighbors in the building, Vickie and Joanie only have a few days to solve this mystery!

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think running away will solve all your problems.

The Sylvia Game

Written by: Vivien Alcock

First line: In October, Emily Dodd had the flu so badly that she nearly died of it. 

Why you should read this book: This unusual and somewhat convoluted story follows a little girl who is forced, against her will, to go on vacation with her father, even though he's an artist who is always broke and she's sure her family can't afford the trip and she'd rather just go back to school. Suspicious, she follows her father around the seaside town and begins to uncover mysteries: a Renoir that's been stolen, or destroyed, or forged, or maybe all three; the hinted connection between a teasing half-Roma working boy and the little lord of the manor who knows more than he's saying but doesn't always tell the truth; the question of whether her father is secretly a criminal, involved in something ghastly; what connection the purloined painting has to Emily; the possibility of some sort of malevolent ghost.... Nothing is exactly as it seems, and Emily will have to go to great and somewhat unpleasant lengths to uncover the truth. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're considering insurance fraud as a solution to your ancestral problems.

Click

Written by: Kayla Miller

First line: I know, right?!

Why you should read this book: Olive is happy to be friends with everyone the fifth grade, until it's time for the school variety show and everyone teams up with their best friends, leaving her the only unpartnered kid in the show and the only person without an act. Just as she's starting to understand the concept of cliques and what it means to be outside, her cool Aunt Molly comes to the rescue with a crash course in entertainment, leading Olive to the perfect solution to her problem. It turns out that there is a very special role for the kid who gets along with everyone and has never needed to find her own clique. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't get along with anyone. 

It Came in the Mail

Written by: Ben Clanton

First line: Liam loved to get mail.

Why you should read this book: Liam is disappointed on a daily basis because he never receives any mail, but has the realization that sending letters might be the answer. Rather than bother his family or friends, Liam chooses to write directly to his mailbox, requesting "something BIG," which arrives in the form of a delightful fire-breathing dragon. Delighted with his response, Liam continues sending similar letters until he is overwhelmed with amazing mail and must think of a solution to his new problem.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You only ever get bills. 

The True Meaning of Smekday

Written by: Adam Rex

First line: It was Moving Day.

Why you should read this book: Earth has been invaded and defeated by a race of tacky aliens with vastly superior technology who have benevolently chosen to colonize the planet and relocate its inhabitants to convenient reservations. Gratuity Tucci (her friends call her Tip), whose mother has already been kidnapped by the Boov, decides she's going to drive herself to Florida to reunite with humanity, even though she's a child who can only reach the pedals by nailing cans to her shoes. Along with her cat, Pig, and an outcast Boov who goes by the Earth moniker "J. Lo." she sets out on an epic journey in a hybrid vehicle (half Earth car, half floating Boov scooter) to find her mom, and possibly save her species in the process. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's one of the rare novels that's been adapted into a movie—Home— that's just as good as the book (although it's perhaps a bit surprising that Disney picked it up, considering the references to "Happy Mouse Kingdom" that abound in this story).

Katie and the Cupcake Cure

 

Written by: Coco Simon

First line: Every time I have ever watched a movie about middle school, the main character is always freaking out before the first day of school.

Why you should read this book: As promised by the title, this book's central thesis is that cupcakes are the solution to all of life's problems, which I am not going to argue with, although anyone over the target age group of this book (number one in the Cupcake Diary series) may be able to think of a few exceptions. Katie is wholly unconcerned about starting middle school, which, she believes, won't be any different from elementary school, until it turns out that her best friend, Callie, has made new friends over the summer and will henceforth be walking to school, sitting at lunch, and otherwise engaged during the school day with the "Popular Girls Club" (they literally and unironically call themselves that) even though she swears that Katie is still her best friend. But Katie bounces back with the help of some new friends and a lot (A LOT) of cupcakes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Trying to cut out sugar.

Fish in a Tree

Written by: Lynda Mullaly Hunt

First line: It's always there.

Why you should read this book: Ally is smart enough that she's managed to make it all the way to sixth grade without anyone every figuring out her big secret: Ally is illiterate. It's just easier to clown around and get into trouble than to reveal that she can't read or write because the letters always look like they're jumping around on the page, even if it means she never has any real friends, even if it means that she sometimes really hurts people she actually likes. But when Ally's new teacher starts to puzzle out the reason behind her behavior, he offers the kinds of interventions that completely change everything—school, social interactions, even her home life—and help Ally see that there's more to her than the troublemaker she's presented to the world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although it's won awards and gotten on a bunch of recommended lists, this strikes me as one of those books that adults think kids should read, rather than a book that a kid would want to read: Patricia Polacco tells a similar story in a much more accessible format in Thank You, Mr. Falker, but it's unlikely that a kid struggling with dyslexia would find anything but rage and terror in a novel of this length. 

Esio Trot

Written by: Roald Dahl

First line: Mr. Hoppy lived in a small flat high up in a tall concrete building.

Why you should read this book: Mr. Hoppy is hopelessly but secretly in love with Mrs. Silver, the widow whose balcony he can see beneath his, but Mrs. Silver loves nothing except her small tortoise, Alfie. After years of meaningless small talk, Mr. Hoppy learns that Mrs. Silver does have one tiny little unfulfilled desire, which, Mr. Hoppy can trick her into believing has been fulfilled through the use of subterfuge, smokescreen, misdirection, and a dollop of impropriety toward animals. A rather unconventional love story. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Mr. Hoppy is a con artist and Mrs. Silver is an idiot; I'm not sure what kind of message that sends kids about romance. 

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel

Written by: Lisa Cron

First line: What's the biggest mistake writers make?

Why you should read this book: If you feel like you have book inside you and have no idea how to get it out, this might be the solution you've been looking for. Cron's method focuses on a reader's connection to a character's emotional journal and provides a host of exercises for helping authors create compelling reasons for their readers to fall into a story and never want to come out. Each chapter builds on the last, leading to the creation of a "blueprint" (rather than an outline—you really need to read the book to understand the distinction) that, the book promises, will make the actual writing of the novel as simple as paint-by-numbers.

Why you shouldn't read this book: I personally felt this method sucked all the joy and pleasure out of the creative process without offering seasoned writers anything new except charts to fill out with information that they previously just kept in their head; also I didn't really see how "brain science" figured into the method, other than by identifying character driven stories as being the most interesting and helping new writers understand things like back stories and motivation.

What Are We Going to Do about David?

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: I knew I was in trouble the minute I saw Mom's car parked in front of our apartment house.

Why you should read this book: I confess that adore this author specifically because her writing acknowledges that adults can and often do suffer from mental illnesses that they manage to hide from the adult world while making their hapless child victim believe that they're responsible for a grown-up's irrational behavior. Such is the case for David, whose high-strung mother is in the process of torpedoing all her relationships in pursuit of a real estate career, and who is caught in the crossfire when neither of his parents are willing to sacrifice their own plans to take care of him over the summer. David finds himself stuck in a weird and boring little town with a grandmother he barely knows, with only three kids his age (two of whom are bullies and one of whom is horribly disfigured), a beach where you can't swim, and a dog that you can't train.  

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't believe that people are supposed to take care of each other.

Down World

Written by: Rebecca Phelps

First line: So we've decided to leave.

Why you should read this book: Starting her sophomore year at a confusing new high school, Marina O'Connell gradually becomes aware of a strange not-so-secret secret in the basement, one that could upend not just Marina's understanding of reality, but reality itself. As she creeps ever closer to the truth, she begins to ask not just what the other kids know about the three mysterious doors beneath the building, but what her own mother might know, what they might have to do with the tragedy of her past, and what they might mean for her future. But when the act of investigating has the power to warp your world beyond recognition and the truth is strong enough to literally devastate or even destroy lives, every step Marina takes becomes critical, and it gets harder and harder to take back mistakes. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're obsessed with the mistakes of the past. 

Go Set a Watchman

Written by: Harper Lee

First line: Since Atlanta, she had looked out the dining-car window with a delight almost physical.

Why you should read this book: Jean Louise Scout returns to the sleepy southern town where she never fit in as a child to spend time with her aging father, Atticus, her sometimes sweetheart, Henry, and an assortment of disapproving friends and family. Maycomb should be timeless, as far as she's concerned, but as she muddles through her visit, its people seem different, more sinister, than she remembered, and she questions all her old relationships and understandings, particularly as they pertain to race relations. This book is primarily of interest to scholars of the author and perhaps writing enthusiasts interested in the progression of an idea from trunk novel to Pulitzer.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It seems fairly obvious that Lee never intended for it to be published, and that she was probably coerced into releasing the manuscript at a time in her life when she was not truly capable of consent.

The Fairy Rebel

Written by: Lynne Reid Banks

First line: If you happen to go to school just outside London, you might find yourself sitting next to a girl called Bindi.

Why you should read this book: A chance meeting between Jan, a former child star with chronic depression and a deep desire for a baby to fill the void, and Tiki, a rebel fairy who wears blue jeans in defiance of her fairy queen's edict, leads to the birth of Bindi, an almost perfectly normal human child. But the fairy queen has rules—lots of rules—and the punishment for disobedience is fierce and terrible, if not swift. Now Tiki's life and Bindi's future are threatened by the wrath of a tyrant who demands love and and obedience and takes infractions very personally. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: There's a bit of fat-shaming in there that would have gone unremarked when this book was published in the '80s but is kind of uncomfortable now.

Sinister Tentacle Sorority: A Grave Robbers Novella

Written by: Cameron D. Blackwell

First line: Bradley McCluskey stood on the Gamma Rho Lambda sorority house lawn, staring up at it in awe and trepidation.

Why you should read this book: What you see is what you get—there's a sorority, there are tentacles, things get sinister. Optimistic teen Bradley McCluskey, one of six new pledges at Gamma Rho Lambda, uncovers a shocking conspiracy: a horrific tentacle monster lives beneath her new home, and the Greeks have been feeding it pledges for as long as anyone can remember. When Bradley runs afoul of the mean girl but escapes a terrible, tentacled fate, things start to get really dangerous. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The dedication page warns readers that the book contains no tentacle rape, and further disclaims that people who are interested in tentacle rape need Jesus, but I think a little tentacle rape could have elevated the story—these tentacles only kill and eat young people, and there's no sex. 

The Dark Kraft: A Collection of Cheesy Creepy Pastas

Written by: Cameron D. Blackwell

First line: Paula Jean Stanton, or PJ to her friends, worked diligently on her project at Stanco labs.

Why you should read this book: "Creepy pasta," or internet-based horror legends, began as cut and paste twenty-first century legends of terror based on possibly believable premises, but the term has gradually evolved to include a wide range of scary stories. This book brings you five silly-spooky tales of the modern unknown, including an AI turned evil through accidental forced immersion in a marathon of the '90s era sitcom Friends, a terrifyingly comfortable secondhand couch, and an irresponsible pet sitter unaware of the importance of catering to a persnickety house cat. Fast and funny, this short collection may have you avoiding thrift shops and Black Friday sales for fear of the evil that lurks within. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: The "cheesy" part is not just a side dish; this book piles on the cheese.

My Mama Says There Aren't Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things

Written by: Judith Viorst and Kay Chorao

First line: My mama says there isn't an mean-eyed monster with long slimy hair and pointy claws going scritchy-scratch, scritchy-scritchy-scratch outside my window.

Why you should read this book: In a child's eyes, the world is full of terrors and wonder, and our child narrator has ample sensory evidence for the existence of a whole pantheon of monsters lurking just at the edge of human perception. In every case, the child's perception allows him to see or hear the horrors of his world, and in every case his mother denies any foundation for his reality. But the observant child notes a litany of mistakes his mother makes on a regular basis, and a long list of things she's definitely wrong about, so how can he possibly trust her when she reassures him that monsters aren't real?

Why you shouldn't read this book: You need your kid to believe that you're infallible.

The Frog Prince Continued

Written by: Jon Scieszka and Steve Johnson 

First line: The princess kissed the frog. 

Why you should read this book: In the modern tradition of fractured fairy tales, this book examines, with increasing silliness, the meaning of the phrase "happily ever after" and the question of what comes after that. Feeling unloved and incompatible with his princess, who doesn't seem to accept any residual amphibious traits in her beloved, the Frog Prince sets off in search of a witch who can turn him back into a frog so he doesn't have to deal with the constant nagging and criticism. While there are no end of witches infesting this kingdom, they all seem to be engaged in tormenting other fairy tale characters and even the most useful of them can offer only a temporary transformation, leading our protagonist to reassess the importance of perfect harmony at home. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're desperately working to escape an abusive spouse. 

 

 

If I Ran the Circus

Written by: Dr. Seuss 

First line: "In all the whole town, the most wonderful spot/Is behind Sneelock's Store in the big vacant lot." 

Why you should read this book: Young Morris McGurk waxes poetic/fanciful about his plans for a vacant lot in his town, which, if he can just clear out the trash, will house the most remarkable circus ever conceived. Along with a large number of increasingly improbable animals, his plans hinge on the full participation of old man Sneelock, an amiable grandfatherly type who seems content to lean against the door jamb smoking a pipe, although McGurk's vision depends on Sneelock participating in wild stunts, training animals, and performing dangerous feats such as diving four-fifths of a mile into a fishbowl. McGurk has a big imagination but the implication seems to be that he has no follow-through and there's no indication that he's secured financial back for this project. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Even for Seuss fans, this one is kind of phoned-in, derivative of other Seuss works, highly dependent on nonsense words to create easy rhymes, with no plot or conflict to speak of, other than the reader's relative certainty that Sneelock isn't going to participate on any level envisioned by the young narrator.

Becoming Brianna

Written by: Terri Libenson

First line: Well, here I am again.

Why you should read this book: Brianna can't figure out why she agreed to have a bat mitzvah when she doesn't know any Hebrew and hardly even feels like she's Jewish, but she did tell her mother to sign her up and now she's stuck with her decision. But as she finds herself more and more stressed out trying to learn an entire new language while being asked to find meaning in a religion that seems increasingly at odds with her own personal worldview, she's also in between her divorced parents' disagreements, and meanwhile, her best friend seems jealous of the attention Brianna's suddenly getting from the popular girls who want in on the party of the year. Will Brianna muddle through this ceremony with her relationships intact or will she lose her parents' respect and her best friend for good?

Why you shouldn't read this book: Do you often throw up before public speaking?

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

Edited by: Cynthia Leitich Smith 

First line: A powwow is/friends and family/gathered together to honor the Creator,/Kinnekasus, Man-Never-Known-on-Earth,/who watches over us. 

Why you should read this book: It's a collection of short stories for young readers, clustered around the experience of children attending the big powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan, written by a variety of authors from different tribes and traditions (with a glossary at the end, since the book contains snippets of many languages). Although the characters have diverse backgrounds and personalities (including those who don't have powwow or dance in their culture historically), patterns soon emerge: a fear of or reluctance to dance being replaced by joy in dancing, feelings around beautiful regalia, the experience of eating frybread, the experience of working in the family business selling food or crafts, the gulf between young people and their elders made small through love and communication, the embracing of identity in surprising new ways, the absence of missing loved ones and the joys of reunification, and the presence of a dog wearing a funny T-shirt. While these are certainly stories for kids, they also tackle bigger issues like death and mourning, cultural appropriation, and making retribution for mistakes. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: These are mostly what I call "quiet" stories; they tend to be less about plot and action and more about the protagonist's thoughts and feelings. 

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Written by: Susanna Clarke

First line: Some years ago there was in York a society of magicians.

Why you should read this book: Seventeen years ago, Neil Gaiman called it, "unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years," and, as usual, I don't think I can improve upon Gaiman; this is truly a perfect book, the sort of book about which the only honest criticism could be that, eventually, it ends (although at 782 pages, it does its best to avoid that failing for as long as it can). While much studied by learned gentlemen in the early nineteenth century, English magic has fallen into disuse until revived by the prickly, prejudiced, and pompous Mr Norrell, a man as enamored with his own beliefs about magic as he is by magic itself, a man willing to take a critically hypocritical misstep to promote his own worldview. His only match is his talented pupil, truest friend, and occasional enemy, Jonathan Strange, a very different kind of magician with very different perspectives on thaumaturgical practice, one that holds the entirety of English magic, along with the fate of England, in the balance. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You never read the footnotes.

 

Christmas Jars

Written by: Jason F. Wright

First line: Louise Jensen was sitting alone, licking her fingers two at a time and paying serious attention to her greasy chicken-leg-and-thigh-platter, when she heard muffled crying from the booth behind her at Chuck's Chicken 'n' Biscuits on U.S. Highway 4. 

Why you should read this book: This definitely falls under the category of "books that I read because they were there" (in this case, "there" being, "in this AirBnB where I'm reuniting with my family since we're all vaccinated"). It's a sappy sweet pay-it-forward Christmas miracle story about an orphan girl who grows up to be a journalist in search of her first big scoop. When her apartment is burglarized on Christmas Eve, her despair turns to wonder and determination after an anonymous stranger leaves a jar of money at her door.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Saccharine, predictable, and dully expository. 

The Yiddish Policeman's Union

Written by: Michael Chabon

First line: Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his fellow residents managing to get themselves murdered.

Why you should read this book: In prose so lush you could graze a herd of cattle on it, Chabon creates an alternate history in which the State of Israel lasted a mere three months before before being overrun by enemies in 1948; subsequently, the United States allowed a large number of Jews to settle in a temporary district in Sitka, Alaska. Here, in the modern day, we meet Detective Meyer Landsman, seeking solace from his multiple losses in a bottle of Slivovitz until some yid he doesn't even know gets his ticket punched in the terrible flophouse where Landsman is biding time until the district reverts to American control and he loses his job and everything else. His new boss, who happens to be his ex-wife, childhood sweetheart, and the only woman he's ever loved, tells him to let it go, but Landsman finds himself compelled to follow the case to its bitter end, even though every lead leads him deeper into personal danger and troubled territory.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You have a limited vocabulary and no Yiddishkeit.

The Desert Year

Written by: Joseph Wood Krutch

First line: Scenery, as such, never meant much to me. 

Why you should read this book: A New England academic, captivated by his scant passing views of the Sonoran Desert, dedicates a sabbatical year and change to living among the saguaros so as to learn the secrets of this strange landscape. Meandering yet focused, the narrative begins afresh with every chapter, with some observation of plant, animal, terrain, or weather serving as a springboard to the author's thoughts about life on earth (human and otherwise), philosophy, sociology, spirituality, along with biology, zoology, botany, and any other scholarly pursuit that springs to mind. In the tradition of the amateur American naturalist, Krutch endeavors to sit with his environment until it makes itself known to him, and then, in his professorial capacity, turns to books and experts to make further sense of the revelations granted to those who learn to love the land as they love themselves. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I guess if you didn't like Walden when you were in college, you won't like this. 

 

The Artist's Way

Written by: Julia Cameron

First line: When people ask me what I do, I usually answer, "I'm a writer-director and I teach these creativity workshops."

Why you should read this book: You should read this book if you are a "blocked artist," i.e. a person who wants to find fulfillment in creative endeavors, but for whatever reason, can't seem to create the things you want to create. This twelve-week course in creativity has been around for decades and helped guide countless artists through various obstacles to their eventual success, in many cases, to very great success. With numerous activities, writing exercises, words of encouragement, and tough love deconstructions of the psychological barriers that hold us back, it offers an almost hundred percent guarantee of meaningful change of one sort or another for those who follow its specific but simple guidelines; I was certainly skeptical to start, but about halfway through the program I did start to experience some of the promised "magic" of the program. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I personally had some difficulty with its dependence on a "manifesting abundance" doctrine that I'm afraid feels inherently classist, and I didn't really find a way to completely embrace the discussion of a "God" that rewards artists. Also, some of the writing exercises are psychologically extremely difficult.

Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge, A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution

Written by: Terence McKenna

First line: A specter is haunting planetary culture—the specter of drugs. 

Why you should read this book: I suppose this will be the last of my COVID reads, but this is another book I've owned for close to two decades without cracking it open. McKenna's now-classic treatise on  psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and related plants delineates his theories on how they guided the development of human consciousness, archaeological evidence for their importance to ancient civilizations, how and why psychedelic experiences fell out of favor as civilization "progressed," what was lost in the transition, what was found when westerners rediscovered them, and what this all means for the future of our species. The book is, at times, heartbreakingly prescient in its discussion of the forces that continue to suppress the knowledge and practices that could heal humans, individually and as an animal species connected to a vegetable world, and yet containing kernels of hope that seem to pop every time another city, state, or country relaxes restrictions on marijuana and psychedelics. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You are a cryptofascist, or you work for the CIA, or you have a financial interest in the alcohol industry, or you really fell for that lazy D.A.R.E. information someone spewed into your head in the '80s or '90s. 

Cousins

Written by: Virginia Hamilton

First line: "You hear that?" Cammy asked Gram Tut. 

Why you should read this book: Cammy spends her free time sneaking into the care home to hang out with her elderly grandmother—her mom works and her brother can't keep track of her and she barely knows her dad—even though she's not supposed to be there without an accompanying adult. She loves Gram Tut, but she hates her perfectionist cousin Patty Ann, whose clothes are always perfect and who never does anything wrong, and she has mixed feelings about Patty Ann's brother Richie and her poor third cousin, Elodie. Cammy thinks she understands her world and her relations, until tragedy turns her understanding of that world upside down.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some heavy real world stuff for young readers: death, eating disorders, class, family problems. 

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern

Written by: Anne McCaffrey

First line: Rukbat, in the Sagittarian sector, was a golden G-type star.

Why you should read this book: Another of my "I've owned this volume for decades and never read it" pandemic reads, this is the seventh book in McCaffrey's Pern series, although it's a prequel to the previous six books, taking place so far in advance that the characters of this book are heroic legends sung about in ballads in the later books. Ironically, perhaps, this story is about a planet beset by a deadly pandemic that kills people and livestock and threatens an entire human civilization, and even though it was published in 1983, McCaffrey very accurately predicts the behavior of humans when confronted by a disease of this nature: most grudgingly obey the quarantine, some go for the super extra social isolation quarantine variant, some disregard the safety measures entirely, and some pay lip service to the restrictions while earnestly believing that those restrictions don't apply to themselves and their friends. Masterhealer Capiam recovers from the illness, realizes that his blood must now contain antibodies that can inoculate others, and rushes to produce a vaccine, which Moreta must figure out how to deliver before the second, and surely more deadly wave of the plague destroys the carefully balanced infrastructure required to survive on their hostile world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't believe public health measures apply to you, your friends, or you family. 

The Princess Bride

Written by: William Goldman

First line: This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.

Why you should read this book: When I was a kid, shortly after the popular film version of this book was released, I wanted to read the original book, but every copy I could find claimed to be an abridged version, and being the intellectual kid I thought myself to be, I wanted to read the full version; only many years later did I understand the concept of the frame story, and the literary devices that Goldman was using terms of pretending to be abridging a more famous and less interesting work when, in fact, he was just very cleverly writing a novel. At any rate, this is still the book you imagine it is, more or less, and while there are things that were changed, added, or left out of the movie, it's basically the same story of a beautiful girl named Buttercup, a poor farm boy called Westley, and the series of event that contrive to keep the true lovers apart until they are reunited at last at the very end. The writing is charming, funny, engaging, and just really smart, and while young readers likely will not enjoy or understand the narrative asides, you can certainly just read the "good parts" if you'd rather. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's a good book, really, but some of it feels kind of misogynistic.

Beneath a Meth Moon: An Elegy

Written by: Jacqueline Woodson

First line: It's almost winter again and the cold moves through this town like water washing over us.

Why you should read this book: Poetic and haunting, this is the brutal story of a high school girl's descent into and ascent out of meth addiction. After losing her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina, Laurel tries to create a new life for herself in a new town, but from the first hit of "moon," her hold on life begins to slip away until her demise seems inevitable. Shines a light on the stark reality of loss, addiction, and the meth epidemic in small town America.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Content warning for meth. Lots and lots of meth.

Root Magic

Written by: Eden Royce

First line: When Gullah people die, babies in the family get passed over the coffin so the dead person won't come back from the beyond to take them away.

Why you should read this book: This absolutely gorgeous novel weaves a rich story about two children who begin to study their family's ancestral knowledge, the traditional root work of the Gullah-Geechee people of South Carolina, after their beloved grandmother's death. It's the early 1960s and Jezebel and Jay must navigate a present made complicated by racism and classism along with the tangled details of the past revealed as they learn and grow and discover what magic is, how it works, and how they will choose to use it. A delightful page turner containing powerful messages about identity and empathy along with just enough spookiness to satisfy a young reader. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're a crooked cop.

Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain and Ireland

Written by: Kevin Crossley-Holland and Frances Castle

First line: As Jemmy strode down the road toward Slane, he began to say praises.

Why you should read this book: It's a very fresh collection of very old stories, made excellent through the author's use of voice, which manages to summon the spirit of oral transmission while remaining accessible to modern readers, and imbues each story with its own character, as if they were collected and transcribed directly from the mouths of dozens of speakers. The tropes and tales are often familiar to students of world mythology and folklore, while retaining their specific regional flair, and impart elements such as setting and culture in ways that come to life as you read. Just a wonderful anthology of rich and detailed folklore, suitable for children, scholars, and dreamers.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Perhaps a bit more drinking and sex than in most children's literature. 

David Mogo Godhunter

Written by: Suyi Davies Okungbowa 

First line: This is going to be a bad job. 

Why you should read this book: David Mogo is a demigod raised by a wizard—he doesn't know his divine mother or his human father, but he's stronger and tougher than an ordinary man—and when his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria was overrun by a variety of god and godlings falling from the heavens ten years ago, it made perfect sense for him to make his living hunting down the weaker godlings annoying his neighbors. He has no interest in tangling with the big gods, but he really needs some money to fix his foster father's roof, so he takes a bad-news gig to capture the twin orishas of abundance for a dangerous and powerful wizard, and there his real troubles begin. Mogo has stumbled into an all-out war for the future of the planet, and he's the only one with the power to stand against the coming onslaught. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Plenty of supernatural violence, and despite his power, Mogo gets his ass handed to him a lot.

 

Man's Search for Meaning

Written by: Viktor E. Frankl 

First line: This book does not claim to be an account of facts and events but of personal experiences, experiences which millions of prisoners have suffered time and again. 

Why you should read this book: One of the most impactful books of the twentieth century, Frankl's narrative is an exceptional source for all seekers of meaning, a philosophy to carry any troubled soul over the waves of existential crisis, an inspirational work highly recommended for all troubling times. While it is, in part, the author's Holocaust memoir and a terrible tale of human suffering under the most horrifying conditions, this is also, and primarily, the foundational work logotherapy, a psychological system that assures us that we can create meaning even in the midst of the most extreme suffering and tragedy. Ideas formulated before the war and refined in the dread crucible of four death camps offer hope in the form of a simple system that transforms hopeless and despair into a viable path forward through meaning. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You totally have it all together and have never questioned the point of your existence.

The Freedom Riddle

Written by: Angela Shelf Medcaris and John Ward 

First line: It was finally Christmas Day! 

Why you should read this book: It is apparently based on a short story written by William Falkner, which was apparently based on a true story. In the antebellum south, an enslaved Black man named Jim makes a deal: it's Christmas day and slavery is, from a literary perspective, supposed to be nominally less inhumane on Christmas, to the point that a man who is totally cool with owning human beings agrees to allow Jim his freedom if Jim can tell him a riddle to which he can't guess the answer. It takes Jim an entire year and a few observations of the natural world, but he succeeds. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I guess I'm personally uncomfortable with this type of narrative because it seems to mitigate the horrors of slavery and I'm not sure we need light hearted stories about human bondage, especially in a country where the evils of slavery continue to echo, loudly, through society and continue to harm living people.