37-Books I read in September & October

I only read one book in September (sad, I know), so I am combining both months for this post. Here we go:

September

1. Marked (House of Night #1)-P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

October

1. Betrayed (House of Night #2)-P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
2. Chosen (House of Night #3)-P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
3. How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay-Julia Alvarez 
4. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia #1)-C.S. Lewis

I began reading The House of Night series years ago, but didn’t get very far. I found books 1-4 at Goodwill and had to buy them (10 books for $1, seriously). I love vampire stories and mythology and this series has plenty of both.

So, what is this book about? Zoey Redbird is a ‘regular’ 16 year old girl who gets marked to become a vampire. Once someone becomes marked, they have to live at the House of Night until they go through the change to become adult vampires. Zoey soon discovers that she is a special kind of fledgling and receives special gifts from the goddess Nyx. These gifts lead her to make friends, as well as enemies, and to take on a lot more challenges than she anticipated.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but feel that the other books were kind of slow (and a bit repetitive). That being this is an easy read and I will be on the lookout for the rest of them.

#3 and #4 are books that I read to my kids. #3 is the story of Miguel and Juanita, two siblings who, after their parent’s divorce, move to Vermont (from New York City). Their mother invites Tia Lola to visit (from the Dominican Republic) and her arrival causes Miguel to have a cultural identity crisis. In New York, there were many people like him, but Vermont is primarily Caucassian. He already feels like the odd ‘brown’ boy and his eccentric Tia Lola does not make matters easier. In the end, of course, Miguel comes to appreciate his aunt. I like that this book deals with real issues and I think it is a good way to introduce these topics to children.

The Chronicles of Narnia series is like required reading for children.  I read it as a child and wanted to share that with my kids. I’m happy to day that they enjoyed it.:) I don’t have much else to add about it. I’m pretty sure everyone knows what this series is about. If not, read it!