Hey fellow bookworms! At Bookstr, we pride ourselves on bringing you the latest and greatest the book world has to offer. This time, I’m pulling from my personal library, shouting out some of my favorite reads from over the years.
I don’t know if I’d call this list “eclectic,” but it definitely reflects different elements I enjoy in a book: snarky narrators, captivating prose, found family, and other fun tropes. It also very much reflects how my reading tastes have shifted over the years, which is how we go from gifted-kid shenanigans to feminist body horror. I’ve also thrown in a few pieces that aren’t full books, just to spice things up.
Okay, enough chit-chat. Let’s jump in, shall we?
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Trigger warning: this book contains depictions of self-harm, child abuse, ableism, disordered eating, and discussions of suicide.
You know the Tumblr post about getting possessed by the demon only for the demon to grow very concerned for your life choices? Vespertine is that, but in book form. When a troop of possessed soldiers attacks young Artemisia’s convent, a dying nun entrusts her with care of a powerful relic. The relic binds a dangerous spirit, a revenant, who may be the key to stopping a deadly supernatural threat. As the unlikely pair search for answers, they develop a fascinating — and ultimately heartwarming — relationship.
I have to shout out my friend Mikaela for recommending this to me — she knows me very well. This book hits a lot of my buttons: found family, hurt/comfort, and a heavy dose of Catholic inspiration. If you love saints and their lore as much as I do, with some ace/aro and disabled/neurodivergent rep to boot, check this one out.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Speaking of found family: it’s one of my favorite tropes, and this book is probably where it all started. The Mysterious Benedict Society brings together four extraordinary children, each gifted in their own way, for a mission only they can accomplish. Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance are tasked with infiltrating the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, a mysterious boarding school. There, they discover secrets that threaten not only their lives, but the fate of the world.
I feel like my description doesn’t do this book justice. Packed with memorable characters and clever riddles, The Mysterious Benedict Society sets the standard for what children’s books ought to be.
The Antsy Bonano Series by Neal Shusterman
Trigger warning: this book contains discussions of parental abandonment.
My fourth grade teacher introduced me to a lot of excellent middle grade books, all of which I would highly recommend if I could. I chose the Antsy Bonano series because I think it’s highly underrated. It follows wisecracking Brooklyn teenager Antsy Bonano as he and his strange assortment of friends get tangled in what I can only describe as “surreal shenanigans.” In Book 1, The Schwa Was Here, he befriends Calvin Schwa, a kid with an uncanny ability to go unnoticed by everyone around him. Book 2, Antsy Does Time, sees him launch an ill-advised campaign to support a dying friend by fundraising donated months to his life. And in Book 3, Ship Out of Luck, Antsy throws his family’s luxury cruise into chaos when he helps the captain’s daughter smuggle immigrants across the border.
Antsy’s one of my favorite narrators in all of fiction, backed by a colorful supporting cast in a series that perfectly balances teenage snark and youthful heart. I genuinely wish more people knew about this series, it’s so good.
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Trigger warning: this book contains mild homophobic language.
Rebecca Stead’s another excellent middle grade author who I often think gets overlooked. I’ve only read two of her books (the other was When You Reach Me), but she’s got a very engaging way of writing. She’s great at creating realistic young narrators who are intelligent and perceptive even while they still have a lot to learn about the world. Liar & Spy I enjoyed a lot when I first read it, and I still enjoy coming back to it. It’s a wonderful little slice of life about two misfit neighbors, Georges and Safer, who end up becoming the sole two members of their building’s Spy Club. At home, Georges helps Safer keep tabs on their upstairs neighbor, the mysterious Mr. X. At school, meanwhile, Georges navigates a turbulent social scene, trying to stay mostly off the radar of the resident bullies. It’s a nice meditation on change, finding your people, and leaving your comfort zone.
Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
Trigger warning: this collection contains body horror, discussions of suicide, eating disorders, queerphobia, and ableism.
Writers tend to read what they want to write. As a writer who lacks the attention span to attempt a novel, I read a lot of fanfiction — but also a lot of short stories. Salt Slow’s one of the collections I’ve really enjoyed. I love feminist body horror, and Armfield does it excellently, with a hefty dose of complicated sapphic love to boot. It’s difficult to pick just one story from this collection to highlight, but Stop Your Women’s Ears With Wax is a really fun one. If you’ve ever dabbled in the unhinged world of music fandom (or, like me, are still very much neck-deep in its turbulent waters), you’ll love it.
L’Esprit de L’Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente
Speaking of short stories, L’Esprit de L’Escalier is probably my favorite — very much in the vein of something Armfield would write. I adore Valente’s prose. She has such a way with language and creating spellbinding, captivating imagery. This story is a fantastic modern take on Orpheus and Eurydice, one that addresses two questions: What if Orpheus never looked back? And would Eurydice really want this?
To the Man Who Shouted “I Like Pork Fried Rice” at Me on the Street by Franny Choi
Trigger warning: this poem discusses cannibalism, sexual harassment, and fetishization.
This poem has lived in my head rent-free since the senior year of high school. It’s the ultimate revenge fantasy, such a clever way to subvert stereotypes and the fetishization of Asians with a deliciously gory payoff. Franny Choi is an absolute genius.
Like Something the Lord Made by Katie McCabe
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic descriptions of surgical procedures and discussions of racism.
I freelance as a fact-checker for children’s books, which means I get to learn about many cool people. One of those people is Dr. Vivien Thomas, who helped invent modern heart surgery despite never formally attending medical school. Thomas was a gifted surgeon whose work ushered in a medical revolution in multiple ways. Not only did he help develop a surgical procedure to treat heart defects in newborns, but he did so as a Black man during the age of racial segregation. He paved the way for the first Black surgeons at Johns Hopkins University, many of whom trained under him. I was thoroughly engrossed reading every word of this article. I think it’s an absolute masterwork of journalism.
Thanks for stopping by my library! Watch your step on the way out — seriously, my TBR pile is out of control.
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