I was a bit bummed that this was the last N.E.W.T.s and that there wasn't any participation on twitter. However, I joined the Discord group and felt encouraged by others' participation and joined in the 24 hour in 48 hour mini readathon which helped me finish a lot of prompts. Here's what I've finished so far:
For my career as Trader of Magical Tomes:
Ancient Runes
A: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. It fulfilled the prompt "author whose name starts with "B." This was a re-read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm bummed there is only going to be one more companion novel set in this world as I love how the world-building expands with each book. I gave it 5 stars.
E: Passing by Nella Larsen. This was a classic about light-skinned black women who tried to "pass" as white. One passed so well for white that she was able to marry a racist white man who was none the wiser. The story is so short to say much more would give it away. I gave it 4 stars.
Charms
A: How to be a Normal Person by TJ Klune. This was the book I read for the "humorous prompt" and it definitely lived up to that. After reading another book by Klune earlier this year, I was keen to pick up another. This tells the story of Gus who lives a very rigid life and how it is shook up by a new man moving to town. I will definitely be picking up another of his books soon. I gave it 4 stars.
History of Magic
A: Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch. This was a historical fiction set in 1911 focusing on a family of Irish immigrants trying to make their way in NYC. I loved this story as it reminded me of my favorite book of all time; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I do wish it had been a bit longer or at least had an epilogue but enjoyed it so much I finished it in one sitting. I gave it 5 stars.
E:The Shadows by Alex North which fulfilled the black cover prompt. This is a spooky thriller about a man who goes back to his hometown where a murder occurred during his teenage years. Now in a nearby town, similar murders are happening and how are they linked? I don't want to tell anything more because there are so many good twists and turns that I'd hate to spoil it for someone. I gave it 4 stars.
For the Extracurriculars-
Locomotive Operator:
Muggle Studies
A:
E: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert. This is the companion novel to Get a Life, Chloe Brown which I read earlier in the year. This book focuses on the second sister Dani, who gets into a fake relationship after a video goes viral of the security guard rescuing her. This book had some situations that felt a little bit contrived, but overall a realistic and lovely story. I gave it 4 stars.
Magical Shop Management
Arithmancy-
A: Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis. This is based on a true story of the author's experience with domestic and sexual violence by her father. It was hard to read because the scenes were graphic but also because the first 5-6 chapters, it was unclear how much time had passed. In one chapter she's 6 but by the next chapter, she's in third grade. Once she was older, the timeline became much clearer. I'm so sorry she had to go through anything like that. I gave the book 4 stars.
Merpeople Linguistics-
Herbology
A:
E: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. Ooh boy. Another one about sexual abuse. This book has two timelines, the current day in which her former teacher is being accused by many former pupils of sexual abuse and the past when young Vanessa was in a sexual relationship with this teacher. In the "past" chapters, she is incredibly naive and thinks that they're in love and this is a romantic relationship but in the current chapters, she starts to realize she was just one of many whom this teacher groomed and abused. My only complaint is the author really did make it seem like Vanessa's fault in the beginning by having her actively pursuing this relationship which felt really icky. Of course he definitely groomed her for it and let her think she was in control but it quickly spiraled. I gave the book 4 stars and will pick up another book by this author whenever she publishes something new.
Defense for Magical Animals-
Care of Magical Creatures
A: Firefly: The Big Damn Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel. So I apparently didn't have any books with "fire" in the title so I picked up this cookbook from the library. I loved Firefly the show and this cookbook is written mostly from Kaylee's perspective, although the recipes are contributed by every member of the team. It really had a plausible reasoning why they would put forth certain ideas. The thing that made me angry though was each recipe was marked as gluten free, vegetarian, and/or vegan. As someone who has been gluten free nearly 8 years, I was shocked that many of the recipes that were marked gluten free were in fact, NOT gluten free. Just for the record, soy sauce, barley malt syrup, and cous cous- all contain gluten. I was angered that the author didn't do even a little bit of research before marking the recipes. I gave the book 2 stars (mostly for the great pictures)
E: Stranger Planet by Nathan Pyle. This was a cute compilation of comics featuring aliens doing typical human things and pointing out the humor in those situations. It was cute and enjoyable so I gave it 3.5 stars.
Just two more reads to finish my extras! I've read a ton this month and I'm pleased that most of the books have been really great.
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