Everything I Read in October, 2025

October:

114. There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds, Jarrett Pumphrey, and Jerome Pumphrey - A children's picture book Carrie of Care's Books and Pie recommended to me, There Was a Party for Langston is about a party with dancing, apparently to open a special wing (or room) named after Langston Hughes. The book has a rhythm and so, in fact, do the illustrations in their own way. That surprised me. I checked the audiobook out via Hoopla, so at first I only got to hear that rhythm. Then, I found many of the illustrations online and I loved them. I don't think it's necessary for younger readers to know who Langston Hughes was in order to enjoy this picture book with its people dressed in words and showing joy. I do, however, think it would be especially enjoyable paired with a children's book of Hughes's poetry. I have one, myself, so I know they're out there. Thanks for the recommendation, Carrie!

115. Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe by Steve Sheinkin - I bought a copy of Impossible Escape after reading The Bletchley Riddle and deciding that I wanted to read something by Steve Sheinkin (one of the co-authors). It tells the story of Rudi Vrba, a Slovakian Jew who decided early in WWII that he wanted to escape to Britain to fight against the Nazis. He failed, was jailed and then eventually ended up in Auschwitz then Birkenau, two concentration camps where almost everyone went straight to the gas chambers and those who didn't were worked until they became too weak or ill and ended up there, anyway. It took Rudi years to figure out a way to escape with a friend and, when they did, they were able to get the word out about the massive extermination in progress. 

Sheinkin writes for middle grade and young adults, near as I can tell. I wouldn't give this one to a younger (middle grade) child because it is a harrowing, brutal, gut-wrenching story of the cruelty and evil of man, as well as a story of heroism and determination. But, it's a book that literally everyone should read because there are way too many parallels to what's currently happening in the US. Some of the quotes (similar to things said by members of the current administration), the way people lack any empathy at all and talk of those in the camps as vermin or subhuman . . . this is happening right here, right now. And, only that knowledge and the willingness to stand up against it can stop it. 

116. Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories NOT for the Nervous, ed. by Alfred Hitchcock - A collection of short stories published in 1965 with a lot of familiar names: Ray Bradbury, Ellis Peters, Richard Matheson, and Dorothy L. Sayers among them. The writing is high quality. Generally, the stories begin fairly innocuously and then the tension ramps up and you slowly realize what horror is afoot. My favorite was a sci-fi: "Dune Roller" by Julian May (written in 1951). The beginning was so boring that I considered abandoning it. But, I decided to be patient because I knew eventually things would start happening. Sure enough, something sinister was discovered and then it became a life and death race to figure out how to save the day. Bottom line: I will be watching for more collections edited by Alfred Hitchcock. This one was a library sale purchase. 

117. Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang - A little background: Fugelsang is the child of a Franciscan monk and a nun. They met, gave up their robes, and married but remained devout Roman Catholics and raised their children in the church. Young John Fugelsang (as he describes himself in his youth) sounds a lot like young me. I was brought up with a strong faith and could be a bit of a snot about it, feeling sorry for people who weren't raised in the church. Fortunately, we both grew out of the young, pious phase and started to analyze what people were saying and doing vs. what we'd been taught in the church. And, the main things that were hammered into both our heads were that we should love and welcome everyone, care for the have-nots, treat people as we would want to be treated, and not judge anybody. Fugelsang analyzes particular verses, usually taken out of context to fit an agenda, and explains what he believes their true meaning is. 

He also talks about how Paul's letters are often used to supplant the words of Jesus and why it's important to take the words of Jesus in their context or understand them as parables and learn the meaning behind the images. An excellent book that explains why Christians need to take care to focus on the words of the Christ who is the basis for Christianity and understand that Christian Nationalism is less Christianity than an excuse to hate. A lot of debunking of the way certain verses are used will probably make some people flaming mad but it's worth a read to challenge your viewpoints, even if you don't agree with him. 

118. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen - I chose The Magic Fish for Banned Books Week and it also just happened to be National Coming Out Day on the day I read it. The Magic Fish blends a tale of the main character's immigrant family with fairy tales and the story of main character Tién's difficulty finding the words to tell his parents he's gay. Stunning illustrations are paired with wonderful storytelling. I love how the author/illustrator used his own experience, how his family would read to each other to try to find a common language that ended up a happy mishmash of Vietnamese and English. And, the ending is just lovely. Neither of the reasons for it being banned that I saw were, in my opinion, even remotely valid. 

119. Three More Stories You Can Read to Your Cat by Sara Swan Miller and True Kelley - OK, I have to get a copy of the first book because this is a hoot. Each of the stories are small, clearly meant for young readers and directed at the cat, as in: "When you were a kitten, you fell asleep with your entire head in your dry food bowl." (not a quote) If I did buy the first book, it would be for laughs because while my previous two kitties actually enjoyed being read to (I used to read them the children's books I was sent for review), my current cats do not. Highly recommended for little kids who like reading to their cats. 

120. The Fox in the Library by Lorenz Pauli and Kathrin Schärer - When a fox chases a mouse into the library, the mouse convinces the fox that it's not a place to go around eating mice. Instead, he should check out the books, which are great for learning and acquiring new ideas. The fox opens a book and sees a chicken. Well. That's a good idea. He goes off to get a chicken. Long story short, nobody gets eaten but the chicken oddly teaches the fox how to read and the fox becomes obsessed with reading, ignoring all of the chickens surrounding him in the final page spread. While I found the writing wobbly and a bit directionless, I suppose the point was that reading can be addictive to the point of forgetting about other things one normally would be doing. I can get behind that. An average read but I liked it.

121. There's a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers - A little girl thinks there's a ghost in the house she lives in but she's never seen one. She takes you on a tour of the house. On the lefthand page is an image (a photograph) of a room and the girl (illustrated). On the right page is text with a slightly foggy transparency over it. When you turn the transparent page, ghosts are overlaid onto the room image. The ghosts are happy, smiling funny ghosts. They jump on the bed, hide behind the banisters, swing on the chandelier. You can't help but smile. A wonderful, non-scary ghost book for young children and weird grown-ups who can't stop reading children's books. I'll be saving this one to pull out in the fall and reread annually. Highly recommended. 

122. Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll - During the Blitz of WWII, Olive and Cliff are living in London with their sister Sukie and their mother, their father having been killed flying over France. When Sukie goes missing after a bombing, the children are evacuated to Dorset and end up living in a lighthouse. Olive, having found a coded message in her sister's coat pocket after the bombing during which she went missing, is convinced that Sukie is not only alive but that if she can figure out what the message means, she'll know what Sukie was doing and why. But, a small village near a lighthouse can be every bit as dangerous as London during the war. There's a lot to this story and it feels like most anything I say would be a spoiler but the bottom line is that it's a solid, middle grade read that I enjoyed and a good war story, as well. It did not turn out to be what I expected at all. 

123. Alone by Megan E. Freeman - Yet another middle grade book, Alone follows 12-year-old Maddie's experience after she sets up a sleepover in her grandparents' empty apartment but her friends can't come after all. Emerging from the apartment the next day, she discovers that her city in Colorado has been evacuated and she is totally alone. Nobody answers her texts or calls, she's too young to drive her mother's car, and after a while the power and water go off. Where has everyone been evacuated to and why? Will they find a way to return to Colorado to rescue Maddie? How long will she be forced to stay on her own with only the dog she adopted from an empty house for company? What will she do to survive? Alone is a compelling survival story, written in verse, in which most of the conflict is with nature and part of the challenge of survival is just in dealing with being alone. There's a follow-up book told from the side of evacuees and I'm strongly considering buying it because the explanation about why an entire state was evacuated is vague. I want to know more. And, I enjoyed Alone. Update: Keep reading. I bought the follow-up story. ;)

124. Mr. Willowby's Head Over Heels Christmas by Robert Barry - Another cute Christmas story by the author of Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, a childhood favorite of mine and a 60s classic. The rhymes are a little awkward in Mr. Willowby's Head Over Heels Christmas, probably because it was a draft that has been made publishable by his son (had he ever found the time, I suspect Robert Barry would have refined it) but it's another fun story in the same vein. This time, Mr. Willowby is mourning the fact that his tree has not yet arrived with just a day left till Christmas. The animals of the original story save the day by finding a tree and bringing it to Mr. Willowby's house with a little help from Santa. I'll add this one to my Christmas rotation. I read it on the day it arrived, hence it landing on my October list. 

125. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household - The unnamed hero of Rogue Male begins his story in Poland, where he has been hunting and now has his sights on someone he calls "the Great Man." It's 1939 and the implication is obvious. But, is he serious about assassination or just using his scope to look at this unknown target? Caught, beaten, and left for dead, the hero must fight the elements and some serious injuries, find his way home to England, and then determine whether or not he's being pursued. When he figures out those who nearly succeeded at killing him are still determined to see him dead, he escapes to the countryside, where there are entirely different challenges from hiding in a city. A story of pursuit and survival that's a bit akin to The 39 Steps and written around the same time period, but with the hero completely on his own. I love this kind of story and really enjoyed Rogue Male. 

126. Away by Megan E. Freeman - Companion to Alone (#123, above), Away takes you to the opposite side of the same story. When an unknown threat causes entire cities to be evacuated, Ashanti, Teddy, Grandin, Harmony, and Pax become friends at the encampment to which they're all sent. Told that some unknown and invisible contaminant has made their homes uninhabitable, the children eventually become suspicious. What is this contaminant that's so dangerous? Why has nobody in the camp gotten sick, in spite of claims that there are people becoming ill from contamination? And, when years go by, why have authorities not been able to successfully clean it up? From an abandoned quonset hut on the former military base, the children investigate. 

There are some issues with this book, but I chose to just let them go and enjoy the story. For example, after reading Alone, you really want to know what became of Maddie's parents so you can see the other side of Maddie's story. Instead, there are a couple of throwaway lines about her and you get to know an entirely different cast. Ashanti is Maddie's only connection and she just assumes Maddie's fine.  Fortunately for readers of Alone, you will definitely get answers about why everyone was evacuated and I for one really liked the new cast of characters. Like Alone, Away is written in verse. 

127. Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill - I have no idea how I found out about the Jenny Linsky books but I was unaware of them as a child, with one exception: I had the book about Pickles, The Fire Cat (and I still have a copy that I bought for the kids, covered in clear contact paper to protect it). When I read about Jenny Linsky, I bought a few used titles randomly. Jenny and the Cat Club contains 5 Jenny Linsky stories, beginning with how she was adopted by a former sea captain, who knitted her a bright red scarf. The scarf becomes important to the character, as do various objects and hats to other cats. I'm not going to go into the stories, but they are all sweet stories that are perfect for young readers who love cats, about how the cats have a club, Jenny joins it, makes friends, and eventually helps two other cats in need of a home become part of her family. It's lovely. I have two more of the books to read and I will probably try to track down the entire collection because I'm that way.

128. Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood - I know, I know. I just needed easy reading, this month. Yes, this is yet another middle grade and a good one. Lifeboat 12 is based on the true story of the S.S. City of Benares, a ship that was taking both paying passengers and evacuated children to Canada during the Blitz of WWII and sank after being torpedoed by a German U-Boat. Yet another book written in verse, the story is told from the POV of Ken Sharp, an evacuated child who ended up on the wrong lifeboat and survived both the sinking of the ship and 8 days on a lifeboat with limited food and water, crammed in with about 50 people. The author was able to interview the real Ken Sharp, who was 88 years old at the time, although the story is fictionalized. There is a great deal of extra info, including photos, at the end of the book. I found Lifeboat 12 fascinating and, at times, gripping. There is a second book that tells the story of the only other lifeboat from which people were rescued (most of the lifeboats were not successfully launched) and I've added it to my wish list. 

129. The Complete Flying Officer X Stories by H. E. Bates - This one's also Carrie's fault (Carrie of Care's Books and Pie). She asked me if I knew of H. E. Bates and I said yes, I was pretty sure I had one of his books sitting around unread. But, then I couldn't find it so I decided to order this set of WWII stories written by Bates exclusively for the Royal Air Force. Bates was inducted into the RAF specifically for the purpose of writing stories that would give the citizens an idea of what their RAF was doing. Brilliantly drawn, moving, sometimes edge-of-your-seat and sometimes quiet stories. The characters are sharply written, described as individuals — some cold and hard because of past loss, some cocky and confident, all aware of how war had changed everything for them. In the end, most of the stories are ones in which there are at least some survivors but that's not always the case. They're definitely written with a spark of truth that's unavoidable. Humorously, I read the longest story right after finishing Lifeboat 12 and it is also a story about survivors in a lifeboat as the plane holding the narrator catches fire and has to ditch in the water. Exceptional stories, especially recommended to people who love to read about WWII. 

Goodness gracious. This month was something. I made a big stress purchase of mostly middle grade books and some other random purchases as our beloved Isabel suddenly went into decline, the result being that I only read a single book that I've owned for more than a year. I am, however, extremely glad I bought all those books because I was at first very upset about Isabel and then grieving deeply. I needed light reads or I might have stopped reading entirely. 

Because I write my little reviews immediately after finishing each book, you will note that I said "my current cats" in one of the early reviews. I don't have the heart to update it to "cat". It's been a difficult adjustment as Fiona is a very quiet kitty and Isabel was chatty, playful, and demanding. Everything in my world feels muted and darker, right now. Escaping into books and art both help a little.

I was quick to ditch anything that didn't suck me in immediately so I liked or loved absolutely everything I read. I honestly can't even choose favorites. It was really a surprisingly great reading month in spite of being an awful one personally.

No attempt was made to work toward any reading goals, whatsoever. I didn't have the bandwidth to bother. Hopefully, November will be a better month for this family. We're taking it one day at a time. 

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