Book #859 – Crank by Ellen Hopkins

While the entirety of Crank is not set in New Mexico, the first major section of the book is set in Albuquerque, and it’s the only book on the list that takes place at all in the Land of Enchantment. I decided that instead of going off script and taking up Death Comes for the Archbishop or Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, I’d give this book of connected poems a try. Let me tell you, as someone that was in Poetry Club in high school and took contemporary poetry writing as my arts course in college? This was certainly in my wheelhouse.

Crank was originally published in 2004, roughly a couple years before I’d start writing sestinas and haikus for fun. Crank is actually the first part of a trilogy detailing the life of Kristina, the narrator, but as I wasn’t certain if she returned to New Mexico in either, I decided to forgo reading the rest of the trilogy, but maybe one day for fun, I will. After all, not only is it poetry, it’s in line with all the books that really gripped me as a teenager: Laurie Halse Anderson, Patricia McCormick, Margaret Haddix. While a book of poetry may not lend itself well to the stage or screen (Not counting you, William Shakespeare!), Crank did win several awards for Young Adult literature in 2005 and 2006.

Book #39 – The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This is my second Frances Burnett novel, having read A Little Princess about 5 years ago. What? You read them both in your youth? To be honest, I’m not entirely certain I didn’t. Because either I watched the movies enough to remember certain details about both books or SOMEBODY (Mom?) read them to me when I was still learning to piece together English. Either way, major parts of this novel were just chilling in the back of my memory waiting to spring forward and remind me of what the next plot twist was before I got there. Vaguely annoying, and sort of makes me wish that novel-amnesia pill was a real thing.

Though the book for A Secret Garden was not published until 1911, the book was serialized in The American Magazine between 1910 and 1911. Like many books at the time, it had two publishing companies, one in the US and one in Great Britain. This, along with the book becoming public domain in 1987 has led to a variety of abridged and unabridged copies, including several different illustration styles. The book has spawned several movies, tv series, and at least 1 play. Possibly the most interesting adaptation I’ve found is The Misselthwaite Archives, a YouTube series that’s a modern take on the novel.

Book #56 – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Many years ago, when I was in my Junior year of English, my entire class simultaneously boycotted Huckleberry Finn without anyone really agreeing to do so. It was not until the professor caught on (Sorry, Mr Simpson, we were horrible), that it was discovered that none of us had read past chapter 4. This led to a furious overnight reading of Huckleberry Finn, and a further boycott of Mark Twain that last until approximately 1 pm on November 6th, 2019. That isn’t to say that I didn’t think about reading Mark Twain; I’m pretty sure I own a rather beaten up library-cast-off copy of Prince and the Pauper, actually. So, less of a boycott, as I wasn’t running into library shouting “Down with Twain!” but more shoving all of his works onto the back burner to keep from repeating my Huck Finn disaster.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer were originally published in 1876, although the month of publication differs depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on. Twain had two publishers; the English copy was printed roughly 6 months earlier than the American, and lacked the illustrations and certain corrections that Twain made at the suggestion of a friend. However, the two different copies may explain why the book was initially a flop, but later became one of Twain’s most notable works, leading to several sequels, including Huck Finn. The adventures of Tom Sawyer have also been reproduced in dozens of movies and television shows, in multiple languages. However, I think the most interesting reproduction I’ve found is that in 2011, there was a ballet of Tom Sawyer produced in Kansas.

Book #199 – Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Sticking around the late 1800s, I’m returning to the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson, and I have to say, this was a vastly different tone than Jekyll and Hyde. I have been wanting to read this book for a while, actually, and not just because Treasure Planet was a vastly underappreciated Disney movie. No, it’s been mentioned as well beloved in several other books I’ve read for this list. For example, there’s a dogeared copy that Bod reads in The Graveyard Book after “borrowing” it from a resident ghost. It seems that any more modern story about a young boy growing up, there’s a reference to Treasure Island, so I can only assume all literary boyhoods has a pirate phase.

Treasure Island started as a serialized novel between 1881 and 1882, and was published as a book in 1883 under the pseudonym Captain George North. Whether this was to distinguish the book as different than other writing of Stevenson or for some other reason, I haven’t found. However, the book is sort of the basis for how we now perceive pirates, with peg legs, parrots, and maps with x’s on them. There’s been dozens of adaptations across film, television, theater, and even radio. My favorites are still Treasure Planet and Muppet Treasure Island, but I was a child in the 1990s, so of course they are. Also, no idea if the sea food chain Long John Silver’s ever had to pay royalties for taking its name from one of the main characters.

Book #377 – Black Beauty by Anne Sewell

Skipping back into the 1870s for the next novel, which somehow escaped the horse-fueled frenzy that was me when I was 10. Although, as I was reading the novel, I had vague flashbacks of scenes, and I don’t know if this is because my mother read me the book when I was very young, or she let me watch the 1994 movie around the time it was released. Probably both. Still, since I have the vaguest of memories from things that happened 25 years ago, we’ll say I came to this novel completely new and without any sort of spoilers! (Which is entirely true because aside from a vague sense of horses weren’t treated the best in pre-car England, I had no idea what I was in for.)

Black Beauty was originally published in 1877. Sewell was injured as a teenager, resulting in almost the complete loss of use of her legs. Her reverence and want to understand horses came from her dependence on horse-drawn transportation. While Anne Sewell herself only lived a short 5 months after the book’s publication, she was able to see the initial success of a book that’s still listed as one of the best selling books of all time. Black Beauty also marked the beginning of the “pony book” genre, and probably inspired books like Misty of Chincoteague and any other book where the horse or pony is the star, the hero. Yes, what I’m saying is that if Anne Sewell hadn’t injured her legs, My Little Pony wouldn’t be a thing. (Alright, that’s a stretch, but you can’t prove me wrong!)

Book #158 – The House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

There are 8 books for the House of Night series in the Library of 1000 Books, but there’s 12 books in the main series, 4 novellas, and I believe 3 in the sequel series, Otherworld. I’ll be reviewing only the main series, starting with Marked and ending with Redeemed. This is due to the Otherworld series not being fully published and while I’m sure the mythos is added to in the 4 novellas, I’d rather stick with just what’s given in the main set.

The House of Night series started being published in my last year of high school. Which means I saw the book everywhere: at the library, at the grocery store, in my sister’s presents at Christmas. Thank you, Ren, for failing to give me ANY warning before delving into this series; you’re a peach! I somehow managed to escape the flood of vampire novels with only a passing desire to read Twilight, which has now come back to haunt me. Why? Because I’m nearly 30 and have a strong knowledge of the term Mary Sue.

Book #551 – A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A book about nightmares and monsters is perfect for this spooky Halloween reading list. Apparently the original idea of Siobhan Dowd (author of the London Eye Mystery series), the work was passed to Patrick Ness after her death. Much of the story shows the influence of Siobhan’s own struggle with cancer, and the grief of those that knew her pain in those final years. While yes, the story does deal quite a bit with a young teenager’s nightmares and a yew tree grown sentient, there is much more to this story.

Originally published in 2011, the book has been nominated for and won several literary awards, including winning the Galaxy British Book Award, and a nomination for the Bram Stoker Award. In 2016, the book debuted as a film at the Toronto Film Festival and had Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson as part of its cast. Like the book itself, the movie received several nominations and awards.

Book #84 – Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

There were several choices for Connecticut, including my single selection of Nora Roberts and one of Jodi Picoult’s books. I decided to go with Before I Fall, which is set in the fictional town of Ridgeview (might be based off of Ridgefield? Maybe?). The book takes place in a 24 hour span on February 12th, and it would almost make a good Valentine’s Day read (except for the ending).

The book was originally published in 2010, and looking at the cover, I’m pretty sure I saw this a couple times in the college bookstore. The book follows Sam, a Senior at Thomas Jefferson High, on Cupid’s Day, again and again and again. If you combined Mean Girls / The Heathers with Groundhog Day, you kind of get this novel. I actually looked this up, but the book also likely takes place in 2010, as February 12th fell on a Friday that year.

Book #37 – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The first book of a most peculiar series, this book was originally published in 2011. The story follows Jacob’s travel to a small Welsh island to reconcile his grandfather’s past with the stories he heard as a child. I chose it for this month’s reading for a couple reasons. The first was American Horror Story: Freak Show, the second was the monsters that didn’t show up until well into the book. (Ok, in all honesty, it’s because this book appeared on almost every “Halloween Reads” book list I came across, but AHS definitely helped in my decision making).

Probably the coolest thing about the book is the photographs, which are from private collections and allowed to be copied in to the book. Anything that might belong in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not book could be found in these photos. Riggs even includes, in the back of the book, the collections the photos were borrowed from. Riggs refers to the photos in the story as snapshots of the children, and even admits that the photos came first, allowing the book to be built around them.

Book #159 – Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

This book on teenage werewolves was published during my freshman year of college, in 2009. Weirdly, despite it being right up the alley of my fantasy-loving teenage heart, I had never heard of this series (or Stiefvater’s other Raven series). I blame working 20-30 hours of work on top of my 18 hours of classes for falling off the book bandwagon. So, coming back to this a decade after I was in the target age group, there’s a lot I noticed that I might not have noticed a decade again.

The book follows Grace and Sam, a girl and her werewolf. Unlike mythical werewolves, this book introduces a variety of shifters affected by temperature. Grace, a high school student, is attacked by wolves as a child, and remains weirdly attached to them afterwards. It’s one of those young adult paranormal romance novels that makes you wonder about the sanity of teenage girls.