Bookpossum

Tentatively rekindling my passion for reading after 8 years in bookselling 💜

3682 points

0% overlap

My Taste

Brigands & Breadknives (Legends & Lattes, #2)

Reading...

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59%

Bookpossum made progress on...

A Sorceress Comes to Call

T. Kingfisher

12%

Bookpossum started reading...

A Sorceress Comes to Call

T. Kingfisher

A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers. After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister. Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

Bookpossum made progress on...

Gallant

Victoria Schwab

35%

Bookpossum started reading...

Gallant

Victoria Schwab

Everything casts a shadow. Even the world we live in. And as with every shadow, there is a place where it must touch. A seam, where the shadow meets its source. Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways. Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from. Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

Bookpossum made progress on...

19h

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

40%

Bookpossum commented on brandanadei's update

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Every Villain is a Hero

Bronze: Finished 5 Main Quest books.

Bookpossum commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

wellreadperi

Middle grade books that aren’t Harry Potter

This summer I’m working as a camp counselor, and one of the kids I was in charge of this week was a major Harry Potter fan. It made me realize that Harry Potter is still a huge franchise, especially among little kids who are unaware of who J.K. Rowling really is. I don’t support J.K Rowling at all and frankly believe her prejudices are present all throughout her writing, but I’d hate to discourage the love of reading I see in children like this one, and nobody should be mad at a nine-year-old for not knowing the details of J.K. Rowling’s horrible actions, which is why I thought it might be nice to compile a list of books to hand kids that aren’t Harry Potter.

I know there are already some lists like this, and I don’t want to copy anyone else’s idea, so I came up with some specific criteria:

The book must be middle grade/for children (not YA or adult)
The book must be a series starter
The book should have some sort of fantastical element (like the gods in Percy Jackson or the elves in Keeper of the Lost Cities)
I’m less interested in graphic novels for this list, but they aren’t strictly forbidden

Basically any series that’s just as much fun and not nearly as problematic as Harry Potter will do. I really just want any series that could get a kid hooked on reading the way Harry Potter successfully has for decades. It would be great to have some books with better representation as well!