Hi, everyone! Gosh, is it already time for another edition of Monthly Must-Reads? I’m so excited to be welcoming October and some pretty fall weather, so this month’s theme for MMR is books that will make you FALL in love! (Haha. See the pun there??) These books are perfect for snuggling up inside with some hot chocolate or pumpkin spice coffee – whatever floats your boat in Autumn – and a fluffy blanket. 🙂

For those of you who are new to this, Monthly Must-Reads is a monthly link-up hosted by myself and Trisha @ Bonjour Belle. At the end of every month, Trisha and I will come up with a theme for that month’s post. For the rest of the month, you can join in on your own blog, by listing ten must-read books related to the theme we pick. Then you can add the link to your post at the end of our posts, so everyone who participates can visit and read each other’s must-reads!

#1: needle and thread (main street series #2) by ann m. martin

The cover of this one is obvious for fall! I love The Main Street series by Ann M. Martin, and re-reading these gives me such a nostalgic and cozy feeling. 🙂

#2: cornelia and the audacious escapades of the somerset sisters by lesley m.m. blume

This is one of those cute books made for one sitting and a box of tissues. It takes place in fall – and New York City, nonetheless – so bring along your favorite sweater!

#3: countdown by deborah wiles

I love reading historical fiction in the fall. I can’t exactly explain it – nor why this one ended up on this list (maybe because my teacher read it to my class at school – which has me thinking of fall?) – but it’s a good one.

#4: the felicity books

Yes, I have an American Girl book on my list. Rare, right? But here’s a secret: I love American Girl. Even though my AG dolls just sit on top of my bookshelf staring down at me (it gets a little creepy sometimes, but they look good up there!) I still adore the books. I started reading them when I was seven or eight, and I think that’s what got me into historical fiction. I owe a lot to these books. Out of all the girls, I think Felicity’s books go best with fall. Again, can’t explain it, but I definitely recommend reading these! (Believe me, they’re quick reads!)

#5: waiting for normal by leslie connor

Sort of like Needle & Thread, something about this cover looks fall-ish to me. I think it’s the orange-y light, or the fact that she’s outside…? It’s a bitter-sweet book, and pretty heavy. I read it as part of my school’s reading club in the fourth grade, and went bawling to my mom when I finished. That was the first time I’d read such a sad book in MG, and I was shocked! I think anyone of any age would love this book, though. As C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s story which is only enjoyed by children is a bad children’s story.”

#6: the family tree series by ann m. martin

Here’s another tear-jerker. Even more so than the last one, good lord. I can’t say much about this series except that you will need some tissues and a shoulder to cry on afterwards. But GO READ THEM! (The first one is Better to Wish.) Also, if you happen to be my family/friends reading this, I have all four if you want to borrow them. Because I will LOVE YOU FOREVER if you read these books!!!

#7: dear mr. knightley by katherine reay

What can I say, a sappy, yet classic romance is perfect for any season. Particularly this one, and AGAIN FOR SOME REASON I CANNOT EXPLAIN WHY. Don’t ask me to explain myself, just read these books and come back to me when you do. (Also: today is my mom and dad’s anniversary and I’m feeling romantic today because they are the cutest couple ever and I hope they have many many more anniversaries to come even though they went back to the beach without me! Anyway, love you mommy and daddy! xoxo)

#8: a corner of the universe by ann m. martin

Tears. Tears. TEARS. Also just realized this is the third Ann M. Martin book I’ve got on this list, so apparently she writes good Autumn books, yes?

#9: the last sin eater by francine rivers

My mom just got me to read this in September, and I feel that while you are holed up inside during the fall (and winter) months, it’s a good idea to read a book that has you pondering life and everything about it. Just, you know, close the book for a bit and stare at a wall thinking about spiritual stuff and how indescribable God is and all that. There’s no better time for it than fall.

#10: destiny rewritten by katherine fitzmaurice

Books. On the cover. Lots of books, and a cute little girl whose name is Emily. FALL. PERFECT. FOR FALL. And again, because the main character’s name is Emily and she is surrounded by books on the cover. Hello. Must. Read. 

So those are my ten monthly must-reads. I know I said you’d cry a lot, but TRUST ME. Have faith in your trust pal Emily. Don’t worry, I’ll buy the chocolate and tissues if you read the books; I just can’t promise that your heart will ever be the same again. But on the flip side, you will LOVE these books. TRUST!

This is a link-up, which means you can do it too – just list ten books following the theme Trisha and I picked, buuut our linky thingamabob is being annoying and won’t work. So! Instead of adding your link right here below, please leave your link in the comments below so we can all check out our monthly must-reads!

have you read the books on my list? what are YOUR monthly must reads??

Hello, everyone! First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t get this post up yesterday. Things have been pretty crazy and yesterday was especially busy! I’ve been kind of lazy lately and nothing super crazy is going on, but I think I’m going to take a short hiatus anyway this coming week. 🙁 I’m a bit behind in For the Bookish things, so I’m going to take this week to answer emails and comments and get some more posts for September written up! I have two posts scheduled for Monday and Wednesday of this next week, so those will still go up, but I probably won’t be back until next Monday. Thanks for understanding. 🙂 In other news, my birthday is in thirteen days!!

Today is the start of a new feature on FTB, which I’ll be hosting along with Trisha at Bonjour Belle! At the end of every month Trisha and I will post a Monthly Must-Reads with a specific theme. This month’s theme is back-to-school, since we’re heading into Autumn (YESS MY FAVORITE MONTH!) and everyone is getting into school.

So if you decide to do the link-up this month, simply list ten books you recommend for back-to-school theme (you can see this post or Trisha’s  of what we did) and then when you do your post, be sure to add your link at the bottom of this post! Also, in your post, remember to link back to Trisha and me! You can add your link until September 28th. 🙂

Here’s my list! (These are in no particular order.)

#1: wonder by r.j. palacio

I haven’t read Wonder in two or three years, but I remember my fifth grade teacher reading it to my class and I absolutely loved it! It’s a great book for going back to school because most of the book takes place at school and it’s all about friendships and bullies and great themes to think about in school. I’ve been meaning to re-read it ever since my teacher read it to us, and it’s never left me.

#2: the book thief by markus zusak

The Book Thief is one of THE best historical fiction books of all time. I walked into a bookstore the other day, and it was in a section titled “School Required Reading.” I was thrilled to see it there – I definitely think it would make a GREAT school-required reading book. I read it in the sixth grade per recommendation of my mom – she found it somehow and bought it for me on my Kindle, and I was NOT expecting it to be as good as it was. Plus, it’s got an amazing movie to boot. So you can bribe yourself into reading it by getting to watch the movie. I went to see it in the theater will my dad and we both walked out crying (and I had read the book!) I think the movie deserved a lot more publicity!

#3: the main street series by ann m. martin

I read these books in third or fourth grade; I believe it was third. I got the first book at a book fair in my school and then my grandmother bought me the books I didn’t have – now I have all but nine, and it’s super annoying! (I’ve been meaning to get #9 for years!) I have it on my Kindle, but not in paperback. All of the books are worn and loved. It’s hard to explain, but the series are the kind of books that just feel… cozy. Does that make sense? Whenever I read them (they’ve been re-read dozens of times!) I feel nostalgic. I guess Cathleen Kelly, from one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail, puts it right.

#4: the giver by lois lowry

If you haven’t read this book, you’re really missing out! My mom and I read it together last year (right when the movie came out.) HOPEFULLY, we can read the other three together soon (we own them, we just haven’t gotten around to it yet.) Again, like The Book Thief, it has a fantastic movie. (Although the characters are a few years older in the movie, which makes for a better movie, but does it change it a lot.) That said, the movie still keeps the main premise of the book alive. It really affected (effected? I get those SO mixed up!) both my mom and I, and we still talk about the lessons in the book every now and then. I feel like it’s a wonderful book for schools to have students read, but only if they’re going to really discuss the book. There are so many moral lessons in it, and I see so many of the things in the book in our world today, it’s scary. VERY though-provoking.

#5: the mother/daughter book club by heather vogel frederick

The Mother/Daughter Book Club series is a series I became OBSESSED with in fourth and fifth grade. It was downright frightening how much I obsessed over this series. Truthfully, I think I love it so much not because the story stood out to me in any particular way, but because in the past four years or so, I’ve grown up re-reading the books. In the first book, the girls are in sixth grade. It was neat reading it for the first time when I was in fourth, and the characters were two years older than me, and now, when I’m two years older than them. It goes back to the quote from You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes your identity.” And I’m SO THRILLED that Heather Vogel Frederick will be coming out with another book in the series soon! The seventh was supposed to be the last, but I’m really happy that she decided to add another. I also had the pleasure of interviewing Miss Frederick last year. 

#6: waiting for normal by leslie connor

Waiting For Normal was one of the books on the reading bowl team in my elementary school in fourth grade. All of the books on the reading bowl list are Children’s Book Award finalists, so they’re all incredible books. But Waiting for Normal has just stuck with me longer than the others. I must have been ten when I read it; it’s a pretty heavy book for a ten-year-old. I have a clear memory of when I finished it; I came to my mom in tears and told her about it. It made me extremely thankful for my family, and it’s just a great story in general.

#7: fish in a tree by lynda mullaly hunt

I HIGHLY recommend Fish In A Tree for back-to-school, because the main focus of the book is SCHOOL. (You can see my review for this book here; I just read it last month.) The main character has dyslexia, and her teacher helps her realize that she’s still brilliantly smart; it’s such a sweet book about school – friendships, teachers, and learning disabilities. I think it would really inspire lots of kids struggling in academics.

#8: ungifted by gordon korman

So this is another book I read this year, in March. Like Fish In A Tree, its main theme is school. The MC, Donnavon, isn’t exactly academically gifted by any stretch, but then he ends up in a school for geniuses… by mistake. It’s another inspiring story for kids, because the lesson is that you can still be GIFTED, even if you’re not school gifted. I’ve never struggled in school, but this book was still inspiring for me – and hilarious! I think I’m going to try to get my sister to read it, because I know she’d enjoy it. =)

#9: the lions of little rock by kristin levine

I’m stealing one of Trisha’s books on her list because THIS BOOK IS THE BEST. I read it… innnn…. fifth grade? Yep, fifth grade. I think the cover was what first stood out for me. It takes place in the 1950’s, about two twelve-year-old girls. One of the girls, Liz, is black, but her skin is light enough that she could, essentially, “pass” for white. So her family enrolls her in a white-only school, so she could get a  better education. This book covers so many topics; it’s a great book for this theme because one of the main premises of the book is school. Definitely recommend.

#10: this means war by ellen whittlinger

This is a very short, easy read. At first, the book seems pretty slow and like a super light read… it’s not! It’s perfect for going back to school because it’s all about friendship, and I think that’s a really important part of school (and life, in general, of course.) It’s also a historical fiction, and they’re my favorite books to read when I think of school.

so what kind of books do you like to read going back to school? are you familiar with any of these? can’t wait to see all of your posts! remember to add your link below!

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