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.