Hi all!
Today I am sharing my Hocus Pocus Readathon Wrap-Up which took place in the entire month of October. You can check out my original TBR here. This was a lot of fun and I’m proud to say I read/completed all of the challenges. I was part of Team Undead which came first place! I’ll share all of my stats at the end. A huge thank you to Alyssa & Tiffy for organising! Without further ado, let’s get into it!
THE BOOKS – TEAM UNDEAD
1.) GROUP BOOK – CEMETERY BOYS by AIDEN THOMAS (15 POINTS)
I just want to say how happy I am this book exists. It is written by a trans author, with a trans main character and Latinx representation. We need more stories like this. I can only imagine how many marginalised groups felt seen after reading it. The writing was so vivid and descriptive. There is so much rich detail about the Mexican Day of the Dead. I learnt a lot about the culture, food, customs and decorations. The romance was adorable and all of the character’s were so fleshed out. I liked the twist and the ending warmed my heart. I will note, this is not a horror novel. It has spooky elements but it’s more of a YA contemporary. I highly recommend it to everybody.
I gave this 5/5 stars.
2.) BINX: READ A BOOK THAT HAS TO DO WITH FAMILY – SUCH A FUN AGE by KILEY REID (10 POINTS)
This story went in a completely different direction than I anticipated. I thought it would be mainly about the ‘kidnapping’ incident but it was so much more. It focused on the subtle parts of racism that are often overlooked or unnoticed. What we need to understand is that these are just as important as the overt acts. It gave me Little Fires Everywhere vibes, which made it such an enjoyable read for me. It is a book I could go over multiple times; uncovering new layers and perspectives. I loved it. It may just be one of the best books I read in 2020.
I gave this 5/5 stars.
3.) BILLY: READ A BOOK WITH A MORALLY GREY CHARACTER – THE SILENT PATIENT by ALEX MICHAELIDES (10 POINTS)
This book promised an unforgettable twist and it delivered! I really didn’t see it coming. That was the most enjoyable part; along with how fast-paced and easy it was to read. The plot itself was a bit underwhelming. I didn’t really care for the story or the characters but the ending made it worth picking up.
I gave this 3/5 stars.
4.) EMILY: READ A BOOK ABOUT GHOSTS OR THE PARANORMAL – THE CARROW HAUNT by DARCY COATES (10 POINTS)
I’m not going to say much about this novel as I wrote an entire blog post reviewing it for my bookclub. You can check that out here. I loved it. It’s brilliant. Everyone should read it.
I gave this 5/5 stars.
5.) STRENGTH: DOUBLE UP ON A PROMPT OF YOUR CHOOSING: READ A BOOK ABOUT GHOSTS OR THE PARANORMAL – BELOVED by TONI MORRISON
I won’t say much about this book either because I also reviewed it separately on my blog. You can check that out here. I had mixed thoughts about it.
I gave this 3/5 stars.
6.) WEAKNESS: YOU MUST HAVE A 24 HOUR MARATHON – NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS by STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES
I was able to read this short horror story within a day. I found the plot quite amusing. It was definitely a blend of horror and comedy. However, the narrator was extremely unreliable making it quite confusing. I’m still not really sure what was real and what wasn’t. I think I need to re-read it.
I gave this 3/5 stars.
WATCH THE HOCUS POCUS FILM (15 POINTS)
Done and done!
AWARD YOURSELF 2 POINTS PER EVERY 100 PAGES READ
Total: 32 points.
OVERALL POINTS TALLY:
Total: 92 points.
This was such a fun readathon and my final one for the year. I hope you enjoyed! Let me know how you went if you participated. Have you read any of these books. What did you think of them? Thanks so much for reading!
Peace & Love xoxo