Magical Readathon O.W.L.S. April TBR

It's that time of year again when I will be sitting my O.W.L.S. I've been excited ever since last year. Because I participated in the Charms extra credit, I will be able to sit my Charms O.W.L. three days early. Here is my TBR for the readathon that lasts the whole of April. Additionally, I have chosen the Healer profession which requires 8 O.W.L.s in the following courses:

Charms- (an adult book) Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Defense Against the Dark Arts- (book starting with "R") The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Potions- (a sequel) The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
Transfiguration-(book with red on cover) Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Herbology- (book with a plant on the cover) Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
History of Magic- (a book more than 10 years old) Monster by Naoki Urasawa
Care of Magical Creatures- (land animal on cover) Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughn
Divination- (takes place in the future) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams


I have also picked books for the last four subjects in case I try to do them all.

Muggle Studies- (a contemporary) They Call Me The Cat Lady by Amy Miller
Astrology- ("star" in the title) Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
Arithmancy-(book with two authors) The Rule of One by Ashley and Leslie Saunders
Ancient Runes-(a retelling) Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler










There is a possibility I will switch a few of the books but this is my current TBR.

March Wrap Up #2

I've read three books since I've last updated you.

First I finished The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. This was a cute middle grade fantasy about a witch, abandoned babies, and a girl who became "enmagicked" by drinking moonlight. While this is satisfying for children, there are definitely deeper messages of government with absolute power. I really enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars.

Then I picked up American Prison by Shane Bauer. He is a journalist who went undercover as a guard in a private prison in the south and wrote about the terrible conditions for both guards and prisoners, the effect privatizing has on prisons, and even history of how ours prisons have evolved. This was hard to read because it made me so angry. I gave the book 4 stars.

Lastly, I finished I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh. This is a thriller about a hit-and-run that kills a five year old boy.  We follow multiple perspectives to find out what happened. I liked the twists and was pretty engaged the whole time. I gave the book 4 stars.

Wrap Up #1

It's Middle Grade March which significantly pumps up my numbers. I have 9 books to review.

I picked up Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend which was a re-read. I enjoyed this just as much as the first time, maybe even more. I gave it 5 stars.

Then I picked up a childhood favorite Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. This is the story of four siblings being abandoned by their mentally ill mother and their journey toward safety and survival. I love the characters, especially the oldest sibling Dicey who keeps her family together as they walk along the coast, trying to find a home. I gave it 4 stars.

I then picked up The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is a children's classic translated from French about a magical little boy who journeys to other planets. I found it really lacking in any plot and additionally, there is no character development or world building. Completely overrated in my opinion. I gave it 2 stars.

Next I checked out the graphic novel called The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag. This was a cute story about a magical community where boys are shapeshifters and girls learn witchcraft. The protagonist is a boy who wants to be a witch and the backlash he faces when he doesn't fit into his gender roles. I liked the message and the artwork was cute. I gave it 3 stars.

I decided to pick up something a bit weightier with Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. He help found the Equal Justice Initiative which helps get innocent people off of death row. He tells of specific examples of how poor people just don't get the representation which allows the legal system to railroad them. Additionally, he cites examples of how corrupt officials allow racial bias to convict an innocent man. This was a harrowing read but I'm glad to know there are programs out there fighting for people. I gave this book 5 stars.

On audiobook, I listened to Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. This is my second book by her and I've come to conclude I don't care for her stream of consciousness writing style. This is based on her childhood and is written in verse. I gave the book 3 stars.

Next I read The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman. This is a realistic fiction story about two related and close-knit families are living in the house and how one decision tears apart their relationship. The thing that tears them apart, wasn't much of a mystery. I basically guessed it within the first chapter but the author keeps heavily foreshadowing as if you don't know what it is. I didn't like that part of being spoon-fed. However, the brother characters were really well developed and grew over time which I enjoyed. I gave the book 3.5 stars.

Another audiobook I listened to was My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. This was a short book about two sisters. One is very beautiful, floating through life, and also killing her boyfriends. The other is not attractive, working hard as a nurse and cleaning up her sister's messes. (literally) Things come to a head when the pretty sister starts dating the doctor the other has a crush on. The story was really engrossing but ultimately I felt there was little to no character development. The ending disappointed. 4 stars.

Lastly, I picked up The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Oh my goodness! This was an adorable paranormal retelling of The Jungle Book. A family is murdered but the little toddler escapes to a nearby graveyard. There he has ghosts and other paranomal folk who take him in and look after him. I loved this story so much and am eagerly wanting to pick up more Neil Gaiman. I gave it a rare 5 stars!

Wrap up #4

This past week I've finished two books.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is an historical fiction with two timelines. In the first, we get to know Kya who mother, then siblings, and then whose father all abandon her. She grows up by herself in the shack in the marsh, eschewing relationships with most other people. The second timeline is several years later, where local cops are trying to solve a murder of a popular former athlete. Eventually, the two timelines merge. While I loved the survival parts of the story, the murder part was uninteresting to me. The writing was incredibly beautiful, I could tell the author put a lot of effort into the nature writing. I gave the book

Then I picked up This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel. This is an adult contemporary story about a woman who has five sons, though her youngest is a transgender girl. The parents navigate this change with acceptance but find challenges with other people who don't want to accept her. Their journey was eye-opening and informative to read about. I gave the book 4 stars.