Tag Tuesday: Top 5 Books Under 300 Pages! // the nostalgia is real

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???