Sassy Sarah Reads: April Wrap-Up and May TBR

Hey, everyone! Again, April was a weird reading month. March was slumpy and April was slumpy, too. May is slow going as well because I moved and have a lot going on this month. I would say I expect to read a lot more, but I doubt that. We shall see though!

THE BOOKS:

Imago by Octavia E. Butler- 5 stars God, I love Octavia E. Butler's work. I absolutely loved Imago. I still think that the sequel in the Xenogensis or Lilith's Brood trilogy, Adulthood Rites, is my favorite, but there are wonderful things about Imago. Following the first Okonali/human construct to turn into an Ooloi was fascinating. I loved the plot and while it was predictable, the deconstruction of humanity made for a wonderful exploration of difficult topics of philosophy. OWN Bindup edition of Lilith's Brood

Lilith's Brood by Octavia E. Butler- 4.75 stars for the entire trilogy which is pretty high! I really loved the Lilith's Brood trilogy and it will definitely be one that will sticks with me. OWN Paperback

Chopping Spree by Angela Sylvaine- 4 stars This was a ridiculous horror novella about a killer in a shopping mall that also turns out the be an underground cult. I had so much fun reading it. It was total B movie cheese with all the fun moments of a slasher film. Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Incredible Nellie Bly by Luciana Cimino, Sergio Algozzino- 2 stars The edition that I was sent for review was not a great one. The pages and font were so tiny that I had do detective work and zoom in. So that definitely killed my reading experience. I also wasn't a fan of the art. Nothing about this captivated me. Disappointing. Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Wrong Number by R.L. Stine- 4 stars (reread) I am in the process of filming vlogs of reading the Fear Street series. With moving I haven't been able to edit this vlog yet and post it, so stay tuned for my Fear Street Revisit! Surprisingly, this was one of the Fear Street books from my youth that I hated and I rated it 1 star. It was a fun shock that I ended up having so much fun with this one and think it's one of the stronger Fear Street books so far. OWN Massmarket Paperback

Halloween Party by R.L. Stine- 3 stars (reread) My edition is so ugly. I love the original copy, so I want to buy a copy of that at some point. Anyway, this one was fun, but I didn't really feel blown away by it and walked away just feeling like it was a pretty meh experience overall. Not a horrible book, but just an alright one. Concept was a lot of fun though! OWN Massmarket Paperback
The Best Friend by R.L. Stine- 3.75 stars (reread) I apparently read this, but didn't mark it on GR back in 2011 when I joined. As I was reading I had the strongest deja vu, but I thought I had never read this one. I was wrong, but I do love the ending for this one. It's so messed up and bleak. 90s readers couldn't handle it apparently, but I think it's dope. OWN Massmarket Paperback

Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell- 5 stars I love Michael McDowell. I've had two slam-dunk reads from him in 2021 and another one that I liked a lot. This book is DARK and a great Southern Gothic exploration of corruption in a small town that leads to the demise of a family and their ghostly revenge. Can't recommend this one enough! Huge trigger warnings though for part one because the murder of a teenage girl is INCREDIBLY graphic and upsetting. It may make your stomach hurt, but if you can get past that scene, it's a great novel. OWN Paperback

Anoka by Shane Hawk- 4 stars I saw this was floating around on Insta and horror BookTube, so I decided impulsively to order a copy. I'm glad I did! I love reading from Indigenous horror authors and I will definitely be keeping an eye for Shane Hawk's future books. This short story collection has some depth to it and introspection that is hard to find in short horror stories. OWN Massmarket Paperback

The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike- 5 stars I started reading some Pike again and while the Final Friends trilogy was a bust upon reread, The Midnight Club was spectacular. Now it definitely has flaws, but this simple story of kids in a hospice due to dying of cancer and telling stories at midnight was sweet and painful. It was a beautiful exploration of death, time, and morality as well as mortality. I had never read this book growing up, but I remember always wanting to. Funny how it was one I could never find, but ended up being the first one I found at a used bookstore when I started my hunt for Pike again. OWN Used Massmarket Paperback

Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo- 4.25 stars This is a wonderful YA novel that looks at being a first generation American to immigrants, Islamophobia, the interconnectedness of timelines and lives, and embracing who you are. It's a novel told in verse which lends to enhancing the storytelling aspects of there being two girls who are the same person who live different lives. It was unique. Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Monster by Christopher Pike- 5 stars As of now, this is my favorite book I've read this year. It definitely has faults with Pikeisms and laughable writing, but the plot? The character development? The horror monster alien cannibal elements? The ending? All 100/100 out of BRILLIANT! I couldn't stop thinking about this book for two weeks after I read it and I still think about it. I loved this book so much. This is crazy to say because I never thought a Christopher Pike book would be my favorite read of 2021 so far, but it is and I want to read it again. LOL OWN Used Massmarket Paperback

Goddess of Filth by V. Castro- 4 stars This wasn't as weird as I thought it was going to be, but I loved the exploration of feminist themes here and I loved reading about Mexican American women who want to overcome the oppression of society and get the opportunity to do when one of them becomes possessed by a goddess. It's a concept that's not necessarily new, but done with a unique new twist. OWN Massmarket Paperback

Overall Thoughts:

I read a total of 13 books in April. Same amount as March, but I found some absolute favorites in April. Even though it wasn't an amazing reading month by numbers, the quality was a lot higher.

STATS:

Netgalley ARCs: 3

Books I Own: 10

Library: 0 (I didn't read a single audiobook in April!- Who am I?)

Genres:

SciFi: 3

Horror: 6

Contemporary: 2

Fantasy: 0

Graphic Novel: 1

Children: 0

Nonfiction: 1

Paranormal: 3

Poetry: 1

Romance: 0

Thriller: 3

Mystery: 3

7 Adult Books

6 YA Books

1 MG Book

0 Children Books

Diverse Authors by Race:

Asian- 1

Black- 2

Indigenous- 1

I need to read more diversely!

LGBTQIA+ Authors: Octavia E. Butler, Michael McDowell (if any of the authors I read are identify as part of this community and aren't listed, please let me know!)

Here are my 5-star reads: