Autumn is an ideal time for many activities: apple picking, getting lost in a corn maze, taking a hike… and curling up with a good book. With Halloween coming up at the end of the month, here are some of my personal favourite reads for this time of year. Happy reading!
1. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
Perhaps the most quintessential entry on this list, Through the Woods is such a spectacularly spooky Halloween read. It’s a collection of five short stories that are punctuated with eerily beautiful illustrations on every page. Haunting, unique, and so easily digestible in a single sitting, this one is an absolute must.
Fun fact: the author (Emily Carroll) is Canadian!
2. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (illustrated by Jim Kay)
There are not enough words to describe the masterpiece that is this book. Similar to Through the Woods, this low fantasy novel also contains amazing imagery, though this time, they are considerably outnumbered by the pages of pure text. Set in modern England, A Monster Calls tells the story of a boy who is struggling with the reality of his mother’s illness, until one day a monster appears at his window. The story is so beautiful, with poignant language that will make you want to mark each page. Don’t be surprised if you sob a little along the way.
3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Considering the relatively recent release of a film adaptation with the same name, directed by the famous Tim Burton, the title of this book may ring a few bells. Quite fittingly, this is certainly a peculiar book; unlike anything else I’ve read, the novel takes on a creative design by which various photographs and the like are integrated into the pages to complement the story as it unfolds. Our main character, Jake, finds a mysterious place called Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children, and the adventures (and special powers) take off from there.
4. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Personally, this is one of my favourite books… ever (that’s saying something). Uprooted is a fantasy novel that is so rich in its storytelling and plot that you will instantly feel as though you are sinking into an old, familiar fairy-tale. Agnieszka, the female lead, is collected as payment from her village to a reclusive, magical entity known as the Dragon… and that’s all I’ll share. As tired as that premise may sound, I can promise you the book is far from that! It was also the winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel– that should speak for itself.
5. Angelfall by Susan Ee
End-of-the-world apocalypse. Fallen angels. An MC (named Penryn) teams up with one of said fallen angels (Raffe) whose wings have been torn off. Even if all those things sound a tad corny at first, the execution of these intriguing ideas into a cohesive tale by Ee is flawless. This is the kind of book that reminds you of how many underappreciated and underrated gems exist in the otherwise fanaticized Young Adult category of literature.
BONUS: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
This is a science-fiction staple in the reading community, for good reason. Be prepared for Yancey to throw apocalypse, aliens, and plot twists at you in a manner that is equal parts bewildering as it is entertaining.
And that’s it! That’s the list. You can’t go wrong with any of these choices, so take your pick.