November was a pretty good reading month from me! Towards the end of the month, I read a few really good books. I also completed my Goodreads reading challenge of 50 books by the end of the month (thank you to AP Lit for forcing me to read more books)!

Stats:

• Read: 6 books
• One 3 star, one 4 star, two 5 stars, two unrated
• Favorite book of November: The Ballad of Never After

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (no rating)

Babel by R.F. Kuang

I am in awe of the many important messages that Kuang has conveyed through this story, and her commentary on colonialism and the British Empire is absolutely brilliant and clever. However, this book did not work for me as a story in and of itself. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t connect with the main characters and found them to be flat. The plot was also incredibly slow at certain points. The teaching of linguistics incorporated into the book was interesting at first, but became dull by the end. I really wanted to love this, but besides the commentary, Babel was a disappointment. Rating: 3 stars

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

One of my new favorites of the year! This book lived up to all the hype surrounding it. It was chock-full of the signature Garber whimsy, magic, and enchantment; the setting was so immersive and cozy. I loved the expansion of the world as well as both new and continued plot points. Evangeline and Jacks’ relationship was definitely the highlight of this book. I loved the slow-burn push-and-pull between them– it made all of the heartbreak and betrayal at the end of the story all the more devastating. This story really lives up to its name as an utterly heartbreaking and spellbinding ballad and fairytale. The plot twist has me DEAD– I cannot wait to get my hands on the final book. Rating: 5 stars

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

TJR will never stop making me cry! I certainly connected to this book a lot because as a tennis player myself, I was invested in all of the matches and tennis scenes in the book. But even if I knew nothing about tennis, I still would have loved this just as much. Carrie Soto was yet another imperfect, unlikeable heroine- my absolute favorite type of protagonist to read about. She had to fight to come to terms with what tennis really meant to her, which was such an emotional journey to witness. Additionally, Soto’s relationship with her father was probably the best I’ve ever read. This story was one with so much heart and rawness– I’m so glad I read it. Rating: 5 stars

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (no rating)

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

This is book one of my favorite nostalgia series! I read it for the first time back in 5th grade (when I was WAY too young for it), and it will always be a classic for me. The plot is based around revenge and makes this book so dramatic and fun to read– you’re constantly rooting for and against certain characters. Even though the portrayal of high school might be outdated, I still immensely enjoyed the high school setting. This is a highly underrated series with a fast-paced plot, an interesting cast of characters, and simple but effective writing. Rating: 4 stars