It’s officially spooky season! Now that the weather is cooler, it’s time to bring out the oversized sweatshirts, drink hot beverages, and read a mysterious book under a warm blanket. If you are stuck on what to read this month, here are four books to help you get into the autumn spirit. And don’t worry, you should still be able to sleep after reading them.
My Imaginary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Ideally, you want to go into this book not knowing much about the story. If you are curious, My Imaginary Mary follows the semi-true story of Mary Godwin, aka Mary Shelley, and how she came to write Frankenstein. Well, sort of. The keyword here is semi, because the story includes magic and talking robots. While the premise sounds weird, this book is a perfect fall read for all Mary Shelley and Frankenstein fans because of its humorous writing style and gothic themes combined with an interesting twist.
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
I Must Betray You is a historical fiction novel set in Romania in 1989 during the Romanian Revolution. For those that don’t know, after World War II, the Communist party took over Romania. For over forty years, Romanians lived in constant fear under the rule of the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. This book follows a seventeen-year-old boy named Cristian Florescu who dreams of being a writer, but being a writer is dangerous in his situation. One day, the secret police blackmail him into becoming an informer. He has two choices: betray everyone he loves or trick Ceaușescu and fight for his freedom. This book makes the perfect fall thriller because nobody can be trusted, and it will also keep you on your toes and keep you guessing the whole time.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Series by Ransom Riggs
This series is not as scary as the covers make it look. The storyline follows a boy named Jacob who discovers that his grandfather died under mysterious circumstances, which brings Jacob to the island of Wales to learn more about his late grandfather. One day, he runs into an abandoned orphanage and finds out it isn’t as abandoned as he thought. As the series continues, Jacob uncovers many secrets about his grandfather and how he is connected to this orphanage. What makes this series special is the vintage photos used throughout the book to help tell the story. All the images are actual photos that the author collected from garage sales over the years. Incorporating all these creepy black-and-white photos makes this series the perfect spooky fall read.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
During fall, do you tend to bake more than usual? If so, you will enjoy this book. Heartless is an imagined backstory of the Queen of Hearts from Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole, there was Catherine Pinkerton. Catherine doesn’t have time to fall in love because she wants to open her own bakery and be the best baker in Wonderland. Her life completely changes when the new court joker, Jest, comes into her life. Catherine is fascinated with Jest and starts to develop feelings for him, despite her parent’s disapproval of the match. Throughout the story, Catherine learns about what it means to fall in love while navigating the madness of Wonderland. This story isn’t as dark as the other books mentioned, however it is worth reading to give you baking inspiration this fall.
Get cozy and have fun reading!