Though I didn’t feast on books as I did in January, I still read a substantial eight in February, the month of love. Granted, I should’ve saved my romance mania for this month, but I digress. It was a nostalgia kick instead, a mixture of childhood and teenage years.
To reiterate from my first wrap-ups: I’m going off of vibe, re-readability, and genre preference when rating these novels. I may compare them to each other, but I’m also comparing them to similar books I’ve read in the past.
Being a re-reading month (other than one new book), these rankings were hard to place. I considered how much my first perceptions of them mattered when compared to my adult processing of them. Did they live up to the hype of my youth? Would I return to them again in another few years? Which would I reach for over the other?
All these reviews are spoiler-free!
8. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Published June 3, 1982
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics, War, Horses, Children’s
Summary: Joey, a beautiful red-bay horse with a white cross on his forehead, is thrust into war in 1914. He leaves behind his master and best friend, Albert, a farm boy who raised him with kindness and love. Separated from home, Joey goes through the horrors of war, losing those he cares for left and right. The pockets of affection and care are all that gets Joey through. Albert never stopped looking though, and perhaps Joey didn’t either.
When I started my (mostly) re-read month, I got curious about the juvenile books I keep on a special small shelf in my room. War Horse was one of them, a copy tattered with many reads from when I was a child. As a horse girl since I was five, I remember how much I loved Joey. So much so, that whenever I drew a horse, they were likely to be red-bay like him with white socks. I don’t have any complaints about this book, it’s just not my style anymore. It’s a little slow and a bit boring, but the emotional depth is there. Joey is a courageous horse, a war hero really. Even deeper, Morpurgo writes a message about humanity all being the same, no matter what side of the war you fall on.
7. Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland
Published December 1, 2009
Rating: 4 stars
Genres: Romance, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Children’s
Summary: Polly Madassa is a twelve-year old obsessed with romantic times like those of Jane Austen. She spends the summer delivering pastries and baked goods for her family’s bakery at the shore while also playing matchmaker for all ages. Most is done in secret and without consent, however, and disaster starts to strike. Polly must come to terms with what she’s done and repair relationships.
I wish I remembered where this book came from in my childhood years. I remember loving it, most likely because of the romantic language that Polly uses, easily understandable but not dense like true Austen writing. I think this would be the last time I’ll read it even if I’m glad I finally did re-read Eland’s middle-school aged book. The story is no longer my taste. I was cringing a bit at Polly’s way of speaking and her actions. It was also difficult for me to read something where I knew the main character was messing up almost the entire book; it’s only slightly rewarding for her to redeem herself at the end. Even then, her redemption was a bit victim-y. She’s only twelve though, with plenty of growing to do. I think a lot of her actions sprouted from loneliness and immaturity, which is a good message overall. It’s a cute, fun read for kids.
6. Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
Published September 13, 2022
Rating: 4 stars
Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Horror, LGBTQ+, Polyamorous, Adult
Summary: In a world of Reapers, vampire bounty hunters and government protectors, Remy Pendergast is an outcast. His father is powerful, but his mother was the source of rumors. Now, a new breed of mindless vampires has risen and Remy finds himself allying with two vampires: Zidan Malekh and Xiaodan Song. They may be engaged, but their affection for Remy finds all of them tumbling together, both into the mysteries of Rot and their beds.
I originally couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book, but found myself let down. It was clear early on that I was struggling to predict any of the turns it took, which I couldn’t tell was good or bad. The world building and some characters felt flat to me. So much information was thrown together without a map or a glossary to help guide my reading. Personally, I didn’t really like Remy all that much and would’ve preferred an additional POV from Zidan or Xiaodan. His writing lacked depth, despite the serious traumas he endured, and his character had little agency. I’m not a fan of characters that are moved by the narrative instead of moving the narrative themselves. However! The concept was intriguing, the plot twist at the very end actually took me by surprise, and the relationship between Remy, Zidan, and Xiaodan was great. I’ve only ever read a polyamorous relationship in A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson; the one in Chupeco’s novel was much better. Cool weapons, too. I likely won’t pursue the sequel, though.
5. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Published April 25, 2009
Rating: 4.5-5 stars
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Contemporary, Adult
Summary: Libby Day’s whole family was murdered by her brother Ben when she was seven-years old. Well, at least that’s the story she testified to. Except, her whole world is thrown into chaos when a group contacts her that believes in Ben’s innocence fully. Everyone has secrets from that day and it’s Libby’s desperate mission to find the truth.
What do you do with a book where every character is an unreliable narrator? Where they only know snippets of truth while you, the reader, know it all, can piece together where it everything went wrong? In my re-read, I’d forgotten a crucial piece of this puzzle, so I’m glad I revisited Flynn’s book. Screwed up people make messed up, violent, and desperate choices. Like Sharp Objects by the same author (talked about below), some actions seemed unbelievable and wild. Somehow, Dark Places is way sadder than this other book, which makes me like it less. The emotional damage is painful. The mystery is pretty good, with some shocking twists of ugly humanity. It’s definitely something to look up trigger warnings for. I’m tentatively between 4.5 and 5 stars for this read because of the nostalgia factor from my teenage years. Reading it now, I find Flynn’s track record of little girl characteristics and the flippancy towards feminism a bit disconcerting. I also just like this less than her other work in this wrap-up.
4. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Published September 26, 2006
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Contemporary, Adult
Summary: Reporter Camille Preaker returns to her small-town to cover the deaths of two preteen girls. She encounters her strangely cold but hypochondriac mother and her half-sister she barely knows. Her sister is a beautiful and popular thirteen year old that acts like an adult out of the house. Camille must delve into her own horrible past to unravel the horror of her hometown murders.
This book contains many trigger warnings, please read it with caution.
Sharp Objects is a grungy and dark psychological thriller riddled with crassness. Some of the actions of the characters feel unrealistic, with their bluntness and small-town aggression and “niceties.” It’s even more apparent to me re-reading it as an adult. Flynn is great at writing complexity, though, and the ugliness of humanity. It’s memorable. It’s been a long time since I read this book, but I somehow remembered every detail and turn. It sticks in your head forever, which is both a good and bad thing considering the subject matter. I still get the realization of horror on that last plot twist. This story sticks to me like sap, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. It’s just good, even as plainly vulgar as it is. I was definitely uncomfortable as I read, but that’s sort of what makes it great. I struggled to pick a ranking, whether it should be this high on the list, but somehow it still ended up here.
3. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Published May 19, 2015
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Mental Illness/Health, Romance, Young Adult
Summary: Alex, a teen girl diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, needs to get through senior year of high school and to college. Except, it’s harder than you’d think to tell the difference between real and unreal. Even as she struggles, she meets friends and Miles, a boy she thought she imagined when she was younger. Somehow, so many parts of life suddenly feel normal. Something creeps in the background…
When I quickly ran out of new books to read in January, instead of buying more, I instead turned to books from my teenage years that still sat on my shelves. Made You Up was one of those. Its biggest flaw is the possibility that schizophrenia isn’t represented accurately. I know little about the illness or the author’s research, but I’m sure some mistakes were made along the way. That aside, the narrative works. The characters are likable, the chemistry between Alex and Miles is endearing, and the antics are semi-impossible fun. I remember being really shocked by the plot twists when I first read Zappia’s novel around ten years ago, too. I think for any new reader, they would also be caught off guard. The author leads readers perfectly astray by allowing you to see how Alex is unreliable, but not the full story till the end.
2. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt (drawings by David Small)
Published May 6, 2008
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Children’s
Summary: Ranger is a chained up old hound who finds comfort in a calico mama who gives them two kittens. Except, you know what they say about curiosity and cats, tenfold when it’s kittens. Other characters–human Gar Face, Grandmother Moccasin, Night Song and her family, and the trees–all fold together in a harrowing narrative in the bayou filled with fantasy, love, and hate.
Three M’s came to mind as I re-read one of my childhood favorites: magical, mystical, magnificent. It’s a story about family (found or otherwise), promises, and betrayal. It brims with mystery and poetic words. The characters have surprising depth built into their past, present, and future. Everything is personified, from animals to trees, always the trees. I simply have a lot to love about this novel, including the scattered pencil drawings of different scenes. It’s a slow and methodical story, but not one I’m bored with. I can even see how my writing was influenced by this book. Before I finished, I was already writing this review (and adding it as a potential tattoo in the future). I love it so much it was even fighting to unseat All The Bright Places for number one, but I settled it into the second spot instead.
1. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Published January 6, 2015 (Collector’s Edition published January 14, 2025)
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Mental Illness/Health, Romance, Young Adult
Summary: Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet at the top of their school’s bell tower. While he physically saves her in this initial meeting, he goes on to save her from the hole she’s dug herself in since her sister’s death. They team up for a class project to “wander” Indiana and fall in love in the process. Yet, Finch still falls victim to his undiagnosed mental illness, despite the brightness Violet brings to his life.
With the Collector’s Edition published this year for the ten-year anniversary, I knew it was time to re-read my favorite book from my teen years. It was only recently that The Priory of the Orange Tree replaced ATBP as my favorite standalone novel, but during this read I remembered why it held the spot so long. Despite the manic-pixie-dream-boy-ness of Finch (including some unrealistic dramatics), all of this story holds up. It’s intense and loving and raw. Finch and Violet’s realness make the whole novel; their struggles and their laughs. It’s a book I always end up crying to and never knowing how to move past the grief of a fictional character. The Collector’s Edition added a letter to readers, an extra chapter (that honestly would’ve felt out of place in the story, so I’m glad it was cut), and messages and art from fans. Nothing in February could even touch Niven’s heart wrenching story to take the top spot.
Bonus: “You are all the colors in one, at full brightness” was my senior quote in high school.
Check out January’s reading wrap-up here!
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