I read a review of The Art of Starving and had to buy it for the library.  I don’t think I’ve ever read a book about a boy with an eating disorder, and yet I know it’s more common than we’d think.  It had a cool element of magical realism in there, which reminded me a lot of A.S. King’s books.

Such a Pretty Girl came from my haul from the Book Barn.  I hadn’t planned on reading it just yet, but I needed a paperback skinny enough to fit in my purse to bring with me to an outdoor concert, because lying in the sun reading and listening to music is my idea of the perfect afternoon.  This story was a super quick read – published by the same imprint that did The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Brave New Girl, both of which I also enjoyed (perhaps odd to note that all three of these titles I mentioned have sexual molestation as a theme…).

I attended the Boston Teen Author Festival on September 23, where I got to meet a bunch of great authors.  I was super excited to meet Adam Silvera after I had binge-read two of his books this month – History Is All You Left Me, and They Both Die at the End.  While neither of them made the top of my list below, I really loved the ideas behind them and the relationships between the characters.

Stalking Jack the Ripper was one I’ve been wanting to read for a while, and I started it on the train getting into the city and continued reading while I waited in line.  While this is part of the Jimmy Patterson imprint, I thought this was far better written than anything I’ve read of Patterson’s.  I loved the historical aspect and had just the right amount of gore, in my opinion.

I read a lot of really great books this month – I gave 7 of them four stars on Goodreads!  So in my overalls below, I have a tie for best.  I haven’t talked about Ask Him Why by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  My mother recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed it.  It had a quietness about it but still made me race through the pages despite not being a thriller.

• Best Overall: Stalking Jack the Ripper / Ask Him Why
• Weirdest Overall: The Library at Mount Char
• Fastest Read: Smooth, Volume 1 (1 day)
• Slowest Read: Theft by Finding (technically, since I had to wait 3 months in the hold queue rotation, but only took me a little over 2 weeks) / The Witches (actually, took me over a month)
• Best Audio: Theft by Finding

The full list (links take you to my Goodreads reviews):

1. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (ebook)
2. History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
3. Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977 – 2002) by David Sedaris (audiobook)
4. The Last Victim: A True-Life Journey into the Mind of a Serial Killer by Jason Moss
5. Sex Criminals, Volume 1: One Weird Trick (graphic novel)
6. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
7. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris (graphic novel)
8. The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller
9. Such a Pretty Girl by Lauren Wiess
10. Ask Him Why by Catherine Ryan Hyde
11. The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff (audiobook)
12. Smooth, Volume 1: Birth (graphic novel)
13. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco