Feature: Myths, Fables, & Folklore Recommendations
Welcome to Spooky Sundays on BookCrushin! Every Sunday in October we are bringing you recommendations to match the #SignedBookSundays themes. Join us on Instagram and share your recs on theme. Everyone who participates is entered to win a signed book! Plus, we have an international giveaway for any of our recommended books. Enter each week, if you dare!
Myths, Fables, & Folklore Recommendations
Five Midnights
Five Midnights
by Ann Dávila CardinalPublished by: Tor Teen
on June 4, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Horror
IndieBound
Goodreads
Five friends cursed. Five deadly fates. Five nights of retribución.
If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping though Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends. And if they want to catch the killer, they'll have to step into the shadows to see what's lurking there—murderer, or monster?
Read this if you love: Atmospheric settings outside of mainland US, the legend of El Cuco, and stories you can’t put down.
The Devouring Gray
The Devouring Gray (The Devouring Gray, #1)
by Christine Lynn HermanPublished by: Disney-Hyperion
on April 2, 2019
Goodreads
Branches and stones, daggers and bones,They locked the Beast away.
After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn't: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger lurks in the depths of the woods.
Justin Hawthorne's bloodline has protected Four Paths for generations from the Gray—a lifeless dimension that imprisons a brutal monster. After Justin fails to inherit his family's powers, his mother is determined to keep this humiliation a secret. But Justin can't let go of the future he was promised and the town he swore to protect.
Ever since Harper Carlisle lost her hand to an accident that left her stranded in the Gray for days, she has vowed revenge on the person who abandoned her: Justin Hawthorne. There are ripples of dissent in Four Paths, and Harper seizes an opportunity to take down the Hawthornes and change her destiny-to what extent, even she doesn't yet know.
The Gray is growing stronger every day, and its victims are piling up. When Violet accidentally unleashes the monster, all three must band together with the other Founders to unearth the dark truths behind their families' abilities—before the Gray devours them all.
Read this if you love: Ensemble casts, Stranger Things, and small towns. Kelly’s review literally says, READ this one at Halloween, friends!
A Thousand Beginnings & Endings
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings
by Ellen Oh, Elsie ChapmanPublished by: Greenwillow Books
on June 26, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Anthology, Mythology
IndieBound
Goodreads
Star-crossed lovers, meddling immortals, feigned identities, battles of wits, and dire warnings: these are the stuff of fairy tale, myth, and folklore that have drawn us in for centuries.
Sixteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.
Compiled by We Need Diverse Books’s Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman—who both contributed stories to this edition, as well—the authors included in this exquisite collection are: Renée Ahdieh, Sona Charaipotra, Preeti Chhibber, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette de Bodard, Melissa de la Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Rahul Kanakia, Lori M. Lee, E. C. Myers, Cindy Pon, Aisha Saeed, Shveta Thakrar, and Alyssa Wong.
A mountain loses her heart. Two sisters transform into birds to escape captivity. A young man learns the true meaning of sacrifice. A young woman takes up her mother’s mantle and leads the dead to their final resting place.
From fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge, these stories will beguile readers from start to finish. For fans of Neil Gaiman’s Unnatural Creatures and Ameriie’s New York Times–bestselling Because You Love to Hate Me.
Read this if you love: A variety of #ownvoices authors, Neil Gaiman, and unique takes on East and South Asian folklore.
His Hideous Heart
His Hideous Heart
by Dahlia Adler, Kendare Blake, Rin Chupeco, Lamar Giles, Tessa Gratton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Stephanie Kuehn, Amanda Lovelace, Marieke Nijkamp, Emily Lloyd-Jones, Hillary Monahan, Caleb Roehrig, Fran WildePublished by: Flatiron Books
on September 10, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Anthology, Horror
IndieBound, Audiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads
Thirteen of YA’s most celebrated names reimagine Edgar Allan Poe’s most surprising, unsettling, and popular tales for a new generation.Edgar Allan Poe may be a hundred and fifty years beyond this world, but the themes of his beloved works have much in common with modern young adult fiction. Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways.
Contributors include Kendare Blake (reimagining “Metzengerstein”), Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”), Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”), Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”), Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”), Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”), Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”), Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”), Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”), Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”), and Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”).
Read this if you love: A modern twist on classic stories, authors who narrate their own audiobooks (a treat!), and the opportunity for a little whimsy while being terrified!
Giveaway
Win any of the October Spooky Sundays book recs all month long – more recs to come each Sunday!! Open international as long as Book Depository ships to you.
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I would add a couple of middle grade–Small Spaces and Dead Voices.
Awesome! Thanks!
His Hideous Heart
All great books. Five Midnights sounds perfect to me.
“What books would you add to this week’s list?” Maybe “Imaginary Friend” by Stephen Chbosky?