I wasn’t expecting much with this update but given how much I have been reading this year I actually had plenty of candidates for these squares. I even had multiple choices for a few too which was exciting.
I’m glad I have so many completed spaces, and many bingos (yay!) because now I can focus on getting a whole card completed and with only a few left I have faith I can do it even with everything that is going on. Famous last words I know and I will be reading late into the night at the end of December to make this complete if it doesn’t happen before then so I don’t have to renege on my goal.
Looking at my categories and rereading my original post from earlier this year, I’m glad I have so much diversity because even without planning too I have followed this well and diversified my reading quite a lot. Not that I hadn’t done before, but I know my reading has improved because I have been able to find fantastic stories with great characters to enjoy, not only enjoy the genre or themes within that story. Seeing it so clearly by filling out a bingo card has shown me the range my reading has covered and I’m really proud of how I’ve managed to do that unintentionally, and as I say, I had multiple options for so many categories which is wonderful.
19/25 is a great position to be in with two months to go and I am going to start looking into titles I can track down in order to win.
2020 Release
One of Us is Next by Karen McManus
This was an interesting sequel to One of Us is Lying. It was curious to see the aftermath of the end of the first book and seeing it from a different point of view, someone not really connected to the original story but still affected by it. It isn’t quite as engrossing as the first, but there is a mystery going on and teen drama to focus on.
Reread
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
There is something special about these books that the movies cannot capture. I love the small details that get excluded and random scenes that don’t have an impact on the larger plot. Even the additional information and story around the main plots is worthwhile. There is more emotion, depth and growth in the characters that I adore in these books that is always worth revisiting.
Set in Australia
The Ex by Nicola Moriarty
This was a great read as it had a lot of twists and turns but never where you expected them. I loved the way Moriarty set up her characters and when you thought you knew exactly what was going to happen suddenly everything changes and you have to reassess. It is incredibly clever.
POC Author
10 Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah
As a story trying to demonstrate the experience of growing up as a Lebanese Muslim in Australia I don’t think Abdel-Fattah succeeds in the way she intended to but there is some merit to her story if people can learn from it and gain some perspective.
Transgender MC
I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman
With a dual narration there is so much to love about this story. I loved that being transgender isn’t the point of the story but it isn’t brushed aside or diminished either. The way Oseman balances the two narrators and their own unique lives is done remarkably well and as they join together it felt like it was meant to be. It is a story that constantly surprised me and I loved it never went where I was expecting.
Non Fiction
Queerstories ed. by Maeve Marsden
Each of these personal essays offers insight into the lives of all the contributing authors. The range of identities and experiences is diverse and getting to read about the everyday, the ordinary, and the extraordinary is the epitome of the “reflections on lives well lived” theme. There’s love and heartbreak but also lessons and fun experiences. Each story captures a certain something and it’s expressed brilliantly through each story.
Lesbian MC
Pulp by Robin Talley
I loved this story so much. A YA with a foot in the historical and the contemporary that shows the stark contrast of the lives and rights of LGBTQIA teens and how far they’ve come and how far there is left to go. There is romance and drama and a great historical element that shows off the ingenuity and resourcefulness of those oppressed in the past and how it inspires those in the future.
Mystery
The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
The third and final book in the Truly Devious series and it does not disappoint. There are answers to those pesky questions plus resolutions that feel real and appropriate for all involved. It has wonderful mystery and intrigue but also great mental illness representation and that Johnson charm and wit that I’ve come to expect from all her books.
Debut Author
The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey
This isn’t the most enjoyable book but it does explore the life of a bookworm and the secretive ways she tries to hide her mother’s hoarding from being discovered by anyone. For a debut it has promise but there wasn’t a real hook to grab me and while there is a romance of sorts it wasn’t developed enough to raise my interest. A good premise and with the temptation of books and reading I expected more but sadly it was an average execution.
Own Voices
Love From A to Z by S.K Ali
This is such a cute story that combines two worlds that are similar but the same and brings them together in an unexpected way. The dual narration was fun and I loved how it could be simple and sweet but also tackle larger issues with ease. The diary entry format helps break up the two voices and it was such a fun way to read the story. There’s big issues like family, religion, illness and love, but there’s also the fun smaller things as well, not to mention two fantastic characters who are just simply adorable.
Fairytale Retelling
Fairytales for Feisty Girls by Susannah McFarlane
These retellings were creative and enjoyable and while there are so many retellings for al the well known tales already, these stories still managed to be unique and be surprising. The famous fairytale characters we meet have new skills and talents and a certain feistiness that means they are certainly going to play out differently than the expected stories we know so well.
Free Choice
Once & Future by A.R Capetta
King Arthur in space was all I needed to know to get my hands on this book. It is a masterful retelling and I loved Capetta’s genius mind for conceptualising this entire thing because while it is so clearly a retelling of Arthur when you see the clues and plot points, it is also so not a typical Arthur retelling and I loved that. There’s diversity in characters and fantastic representation, the futuristic world is brilliantly created and there is enough action, drama and medieval fighting to satisfy everybody.
Finish A Series
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
It’s a small miracle but I actually finally finished this series after it has been on my list and on my bingos for so many years it’s actually shameful at this point. Meyer’s world is masterfully created and the traditional characters we know are there but are taken and turned into something else entirely while still seeing their recognisable origins. There is romance and action, drama, tension and so many wonderfully intricate and complex plots that I was amazed at how it all fit together. It was a delight to finally finish this series but it was pure joy to read in the first place.
On TBR Pile
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
This has been on my list for so long and it is so incredible I can’t believe it’s taken me until now to read. The Greek myth retelling is phenomenal, the action is divine, the writing is incredibly clever and from page one I was sucked into this world where I never wanted to leave. I can only plan now to inhale the rest of the series because I want to keep experiencing the high I had while I read because I adored it so much.
Romantic Suspense
Charlotte Pass by Lee Christine
A fantastic romantic suspense that has great mystery, great characters, and a setting where anything could happen both romantically and nefariously. The Australian setting was familiar and Christine has done a great job building a fictitious world around a real Australian location and real events through history while adding her own criminal twist.
Movie Adaptation
The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon
There is something wonderful about books that take place within a single day. The hour by hour events and lives of characters makes you realise how much can happen and change within the space of a day. This is a great story about finding yourself, fighting for your rights and fulfilling dreams, whatever they may be. I loved the two main characters and I love the big important issues they tackle, the passions and the dreams they have and how Yoon has created such complicated and flawed characters that they felt complete.
Gay MC
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
This entire three book graphic novel set is all kinds of wonderful but the first one is where it all begins. Charlie and Nick are adorable, and seeing their beginnings and their relationship grow is pure and wholesome and perfect. There are issues explored about bullying, mental health and other things but there is so much heart as well that you can’t help but love every one of these characters.
Historical
Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French
This was a heartfelt and emotional book as you follow Georg’s story and hear how his country is changing around him. French knows her historical stories and you are definitely transported into Germany just prior to the war and feel each of the fears and terrors as they unfold.
Classic
Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann
Another book I have been wanting to read forever. It was a great story and one that the TV show followed quite closely. The long trek to safety is full of danger and slightly depressing as animals die but it plays into the realism. Dann puts us in the minds of these animals and how they see the human world around them by keeping them natural with natural instincts but also giving them a bit of awareness about human behaviour.
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse – Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena – Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. 
A Stone Sat Still tells the story of a seemingly ordinary rock—but to the animals that use it, it is a resting place, a kitchen, a safe haven…even an entire world.
You know all those movies where teenagers have, like, THE SUMMER OF THEIR LIVES?
