In Which I Recommend Two Fall Reads

 There are new books coming out all the time, and I have neither the time nor the money to buy and read all of them. I can solve the money problem by instead requesting that my local library system acquire the books, which I highly recommend. To my chagrin, however, that does not increase my time.

However, two books came out recently that I thought I would love enough I went ahead and bought them. The first is a debut novel and the second is the writer's second book, a companion to their first novel that takes place in the same small Appalachian town.

Lisa Frenkel Riddiough's debut Elvis and the World As It Stands is a delightful read. I mean, how can you beat a story narrated by an adorable kitten and featuring a host of friendly and cute pets? This book is so much more than a cute pet story, however. It has a deep and important message about family and belonging. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it's also the perfect book for the children of those of us who were teens or young adults on that day. Its gentle but real treatment of the subject including Elvis's girl building a LEGO model of both the World Trade Center as it was before 9/11 and the Freedom Tower is a great way for young readers to enter that historical moment in an accessible way. Most importantly, though, it's a well written and enjoyable book.

Sure it's only September 10th, but at least where I live there's a chill in the air in the mornings and the season is beginning to turn from summer into autumn. In my mind, this means it's time to think about Halloween. I love Halloween, but maybe not in the way you think when you hear about people loving Halloween. I love witches, but only when they're friendly and use their magic to help people. I love skeletons, when they're smiling and dancing. My Halloween aesthetic isn't Haunted Houses and bloody, skeletal hands coming out of graves but rather cute black kittens and smiling bat families. And of course pumpkins. Give me all the pumpkins and all the pumpkin flavored food and drinks. 

A lot of people enjoy watching scary movies and reading scary books as the autumn winds blow.  I am not one of those people, but I do appreciate just a little bit of spookiness. If you're like me, Ash VanOtterloo's second book, which was released this week, may also be for you. A Touch of Ruckus is a delightful romp in a haunted Appalachian forest. But not too haunted, because that would give me nightmares. It has excellent queer rep (the MC likes both boys and girls, and her new friend is nonbinary), rural Appalachian rep, and mental health rep, as well as a sneaky environmental message. It was everything I hoped it would be, and a great follow up to Ash's debut, Cattywampus.

Do you have any favorite fall reads? I'd love to hear about them in comments.