Tag Archives: Adult Fiction

The Good Little Book

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Available at VPLI’m going to be honest: I am totally enamoured of Kyo Maclear. And if you’re into picture books that are just as much fun for adults to read as for children, then you’re going to be enamoured of her too.

The Good Little Book, illustrated by Marion Arbona, is, as always with the illustrators Maclear partners up with, beautifully drawn and visually engaging*. That’s not all, though; while I will concede that the story is not actually all that exciting – it talks about a boy who got into trouble and sits out his punishment in the library, where he discovers The Good Little Book – the details are what really charm the reader. The first thought I had while reading it was “THIS IS SO META!” (this is a good thing.),  because as I’ve mentioned above, The Good Little Book features in The Good Little Book! Which, I think, is pretty cool. (Not that it’s the first book to do so, nor do I believe it will be the last. See, for example, Jenni Desmond’s The Blue Whale). And there’s more! By putting the book itself into the contents of the book, Maclear actually intimates that we, the reader, are part of the story: we are an extension of the image of all the readers who have ever read, who are reading, and who will ever read The Good Little Book.

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An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel

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Jim McDonielVampires nowadays, attractive as they are and as much glitter as they disperse in the sunlight – let’s face it – don’t hold a torch to the good ol’ vampire of yore. They have become so diluted from, say, Dracula, that to compare the two might actually be a misstep altogether, like comparing apples to oranges. Just to drive my point home (through the heart, with a stake), here are the characteristics Bram Stoker bestows upon his Count in Dracula: he’s a “tall, old man” sporting a white moustache; he has a thin nose and domed forehead, bushy eyebrows and likewise bushy hair; topped off with ruddy lips, protruding sharp teeth, and a “broad and strong” chin. Suffice it to say he is decidedly not the stuff of most people’s dreams. This disparity is what McDoniel takes as his starting point before leaping off into the ether with it. Continue reading →

Stranger Reads

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What to Read Now

So you’ve binge-watched Netflix’s Stranger Things, and now there’s an eerie, 80s, Demogorgon-shaped hole in your heart. You’re somehow going to have to survive the year-long gap between seasons, and it’s looking rough. What to do? Well, just in time for Halloween, we’ve compiled a reading list to tide you over! Check out these reads at your local branch.

STRANGER READS

The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Girl with All the Gifts – M.R. Carey

Melanie is a young girl who, for reasons unknown to her, is detained by the military and a Dr. Caldwell, who calls her “our little genius.” She’s escorted to and from school in a wheelchair, with guns trained on her the whole time. Melanie just wants to be a regular girl, but when it’s up to her to save the world, she realizes just how special she is. Picture Eleven in a dystopian future.

 

 

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My Best Friend’s Exorcism – Grady Hendrix

Hendrix’s story is saturated with 80s goodness (the music, the movies, the roller-skating) and the book is decorated like a high school yearbook, with cheeky messages written inside the covers. Best friends Abby and Gretchen are starting their first year of high school when suddenly Gretchen starts acting strange. She’s moody and difficult, and weird things keep happening around her. Is she possessed by a demon? Abby decides to investigate with the purpose of saving her best friend. But can their friendship survive the devil? A nostalgic coming of age tale, but with Satan!

The Boys of Summer: A Novel by Richard Cox

The Boys of Summer: A Novel by Richard Cox

The Boys of Summer – Richard Cox

In 1979, Todd was knocked into a coma by a tornado ripping through his hometown of Wichita Falls. In 1983 Todd wakes up, 13 and with a new, uneasy grasp on reality. Together with five friends, Todd spends that summer coming of age with first loves, deep betrayals, and a terrible secret. 25 years later, the friends reunite. Embarking on a search for the truth of that summer, the men come head to head with the past, changing the way they see each other and the very world itself. Reviewed by Barnes & Noble as a “darker, edgier Stranger Things.”

 

Paper Girls volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Paper Girls volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 – Brian K. Vaughan

It’s 1988, the early hours of November 1st. While some teens are still out celebrating Halloween, four 12 year old girls are up to delivery their paper routes. But their jobs are interrupted when they stumble across some mysterious figures in robes and they, of course, decide to investigate. A series about “nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood” (with a good dose of sci-fi thrown in), Volume 1 collects issues 1-5. The colouring of this series is gorgeous; the aesthetic is ultra-80s in the best way. Fans of Vaughan will definitely love this one.

If none of these do it for you, you can always check out NoveList from the VPL website. This database allows you to search for “read alikes” of your favourite books. Do you like the creepiness of Stranger Things? The sci-fi element? Stories of friends facing danger together? NoveList can find those titles for you!