Hi friends! I can’t believe that it’s August already?! School starts again this month and I just want to curl up into a ball in a library forever. But my IRL problems aside, it’s Top 5 Tuesday time! And I’m really upset at past me for reading so many huge fantasies but hopefully I can pull some magically short books out of my sleeve! Don’t forget that this is hosted by Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm!

I’ve only read the first two books in the Wayward Children series* but this was easily my favorite of the two. It was so atmospheric, and Seanan McGuire’s writing style is just plain unique! Jack and Jill were such different, fascinating characters. Although I was waiting for Jack to fall down a hill and break her neck, with Jill tumbling after the entire time I was reading.
*small correction: i temporarily DNF’d the third book. it just wasn’t doing it for me at the time

If you know me, you know that I LOVE this book. Actually, it’s probably not a shock that this is on here at all, it was bound to show up somehow. This is pretty short, but also incredibly emotional and powerful. TELL ME YOU DIDN’T AT LEAST SHED ONE TEAR AT THE END.

I was about to say “hey let’s move on from depression and revisit a childhood favorite!”
I guess even my childhood favorites were dark and depressing huh.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is depressing, yes, but I feel like it doesn’t get a lot of the credit it deserves. As the series goes on, the plot becomes increasingly complex and characters have interesting arcs. Do I remember said complex plot? Not entirely. Okay, not at all but I DO remember ten year old me sitting in confusion from book 7 and on. If that’s not reliable I don’t know what is.

Most of the Narnia books could probably fit but I chose the most famous*! There’s such a sense of nostalgia, and winter, and Christmas for me with this book. It was one of the first chapter books my mom ever read to me and my siblings as kids. Although Aslan’s death highkey scarred me. And as much as I disliked Edmund at the time, tbh I would have probably taken the Turkish Delight too. The only difference is I’d have ran off into the distance with it…and probably would have died from frostbite. I’m pretty sure that is, in fact, why I’m not in any fantasy book.
*although can i just say that the magician’s nephew is criminally underrated. no one even remembers that it exists, let alone starts off this whole series

I suppose today is childhood book day, because this was also one of my favorites growing up! In hindsight, I can say that there are definitely a few problematic things in this first book especially, but in general it’s such a heartwarming tale about a girl who loves Jesus more than anything else and tries to show that love to her father who she’s just met for the first time. Also, apparently even young me was a sucker for some good family drama. Some things really don’t change.
So that’s it! This turned into a nostalgia fest for me, haha, but I hoped you all still enjoyed! Tell me: what are you reading right now? Do you have any short books that you love???

I USED TO READ EVERY ONE OF THESE ELSIE BOOKS IN THE SERIES I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!!!!!!
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WAIT REALLY??? I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE TOO!!! Haha I’ve never met anyone who’s read the series!
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I read every book at least twice- I LOVED them!
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Sameee! I think the first or the second will forever be my favorite, but I loved them all!!
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These all look really interesting! I enjoyed reading A Series of Unfortunate Events and Chronicles of Narnia in Middle Grade. They were so fun!
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Thank you! And yesss, they’re such nostalgic reads!
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Oooh Narnia! It’s childhood memories here 😉
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Haha yes!!
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some great choices here! I found this topic surprisingly tricky 🙂
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Thank you!! Yesss, I found that I really don’t read a lot of short novels which is sad.
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All the Narnia books do pack a punch in a small amount of time! And yasssss, A Monster Calls is one of my favorite short books ever! I question anyone who doesn’t shed a tear reading THAT one!
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Yesss, they really do! And exactly, it’s practically impossible not to XD
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I 10/10 agree that The Magician’s Nephew is totally overrated! I mean I love LWW but the other books carry lots of goodies too. I especially love The Horse and His Boy!
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Yes exactly!! I agree, The Horse and His Boy is so unique yet underrated.
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Oh gosh so much nostalgia from the Narnia books ❤
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I know right, they’re such childhood favorites💜
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Narnia was my LIFE I loved them so much !
– Emma 🙂
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YES they’re so good!!
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When you read most old skool kiddies books – family favourites – when grown up they ‘re distinctly more darker than we remember as a child. Lol! Great list, btw.
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That’s so true! I wonder why that is. And thank you!💜
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Haha I haven’t found anyone else who’s read the Elsie books before. I read them when I was younger too, (although Elsie always made me fill guilty cause she was just so dang…patient and good. I was like what the heck is up with this girl).
What I really loved was how you got to be immersed in what life was like back then. Since it was written in the timeframe it was set in, there were so many details and it felt rather magical reading it when I was younger. Versus some historical fiction books try to be authentic, but they just don’t have all the details to pull it off.
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Haha same! YES I was like “how are you not totally throwing a fit right now…I would be!”
And yes!! I feel like I didn’t appreciate how good the author’s writing was when I was younger. The historical aspects were done so well.
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Ahh good someone else feels the same way haha. I read a couple of the other books in the series, but then lost interest when she got older. (Mainly because I was a bit narcissistic and only liked reading about characters who were my age haha). Did you read any of the others?
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Lol same!! I read almost all of them, I think. After book 4 with all of the marriage drama I kind of stopped haha.
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Sometimes I forget that A Monster Calls is a ~200 page book! I mean, it’s SUCH an emotional rollercoaster that it feels about twice as long. And oh my god, the Series of Unfortunate Events was everything when I was a kid! My friends and I would spin all sorts of theories about VFD. 😀
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IKR! It’s so powerful, yet short. Haha yesss, they were so much fun! XD
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I LOVE Down Among the Sticks and Bones so much, that is my favorite of that series so far. It’s just so atmospheric.
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Sameeee!! It’s just so incredible!
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Does a monster call me? Good reviews!
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Lol I laughed at that! And thank you💜
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