Ten of my favourite autumnal reads

Good day fellow readers and writers! It’s Tuesday and we all know what that means, another edition of Top Ten Tuesdays by The Broke and the Bookish. If you’re new here and you’ve never heard of TTT, pop along to the lovely ladies’ blog and educate yourself, son!

It’s a brilliant weekly meme where we all choose ten books/characters/etc. on a particular theme. This week, as the nights draw in and the weather turns decidedly chilly (here in the UK, at least), the theme is Autumn.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Look at that cover! It screams Autumn to me, like bonfires and caramels and toffee apples. This is a sci-fi dystopian about sixteen year old Ruby, who survives a deadly illness that kills most American children, and the survivors discover they’ve been left with strange new abilities. It sounds like the perfect dark read for the longer nights and cooler days.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Who doesn’t love a gentle evening stroll once the stars come out? Even if death is following in the shadows… They Both Die at the End is a contemporary about two boys, Mateo and Rufus, who find out they are going to die on the same day, so they decide to spend it together and make it a last day worth living.

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Autumn brings with it some of the most beautiful sunsets, and as they’re so early we’re much more likely to be able to enjoy them! Plus, this girl’s dress is either on fire or full of magic, so there’s that. Walk on Earth a Stranger is the first in the Gold Seer trilogy, which follows Lee Westfall, a girl who can sense gold in the environment – nuggets in riverbeds, veins of it running through the earth (handy in Gold-Rush era America). Her ability has kept her family alive through many a harsh winter, but it might just put them in the gravest danger if someone finds out…

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

This cover is pretty abstract, but the combination of colours strikes me as autumnal. This is a sort of modern fairy tale about a family of miracle workers who live on a ranch in Colorado, the Sorias. The miracles they perform consist of exposing the deepest, darkest secrets of their clients so that they can overcome them, but unfortunately the Sorias are not permitted to help them do so. If they do, they will be punished. Maggie’s speciality is strange and magical settings, characters with flaws and layers, and fantastical elements unlike any you’ve ever read about.

A Shiver of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke

I’ve thrown a few wintery book covers into the mix, so fingers crossed there isn’t a Winter themed Top Ten Tuesday in a few months or I might struggle to find ten books without duplicating! A Shiver of Snow and Sky is set on a remote island called Skane, the description gives me a very Scandinavian vibe. The sky lights up with colours that indicate different messages – green means all is well, blue a snow storm is coming, and red is a warning. Doesn’t that sound like the Aurora Borealis? Perfect reading material for frosty nights under a blanket with a mug of hot chocolate.

Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi

Look at that gloriously wintery cover! This is a companion novel to Furthermore, so check that one out too, but both can be read as standalones. Laylee spends her days washing the bodies of the dead and preparing their souls for the afterlife. Her own mother passed away, leaving her alone with her father who is driven mad with grief. Laylee’s own sadness and loneliness are causing her hands to stiffen and turn silver, like her hair, until a pair of strangers turn up in the village and she rediscovers colour, magic and the healing power of friendship.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

There’s nothing like a walk through nature in the Autumn months, kicking piles of russet leaves and collecting shiny conkers. The Darkest Part of the Forest sounds right up my street – a strange town where humans and fae live side-by-side, a glass coffin deep in the woods containing the body of a horned fae-boy, who has slept for eternity. Until now. It sounds very Steifvater, I must say, which I obviously love.

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Karen Millwood Hargrave

I think this is the only Middle Grade book on this list, but I can’t resist a good fantasy, and this one centres on a cartographer’s daughter on an island filled with monsters. And just look at that gorgeous orange cover! Girl of Ink and Stars has won several awards for children’s literature, so I’ve definitely got to give it a chance, even if I tend to lean towards more mature reads.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Another contemporary! I know what you’re thinking, it’s unlike me to include more than one contemporary novel in any list, but I’m trying to expand my horizons, alright? Let me try. And that evening sky is just beautiful. So, Ari and Dante are two teens who meet at the pool and gradually realise they have more in common than they first thought. They’re both loners, but one is a rebel and one is a geek (or so I understand from the blurb). Their friendship comes to change both their lives beyond recognition.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This cover might look slightly more summery than the others, but the story sounds very wintery indeed. Set in the Russian wilderness, where winter lasts for most of the year and snow drifts are taller than houses, Vasilisa loves to sit round the fire with her siblings and listen to her nurse telling them fairy tales. When her mother dies and her new step-mother forbids them from performing the rituals that protect the household from the bad luck and misfortune threatened by their stories, Vasilisa must expose her long hidden ability to protect her loved ones.

 

These are all books I’m yet to read, but I can’t wait to get to them all, I’m sure I won’t manage by the time Spring rolls around, but a few wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Would it? We’ll see!

Which books are you looking forward to reading this A/W? Pop your TTT links in the comments so I can check out your lists!

 

Lyndsey

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