July Moving TBR

I am moving in about a month for grad school so most of my books have been packed into boxes, which means now my reading is somewhat limited. Here is a quick summary of my reading material for the next month. This list includes one paperback, one Kindle book, and an audiobook.

Title: It
Author: Stephen King
Page Count: 1156
Keywords: Magic, Fantasy, Classic, Adventure
Genre: Horror
Younger Readers: Classic Stephen King with language, sex, and other adult content

Synopsis from Goodreads:

To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It was the children who saw - and felt - what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .

The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.

Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.

My Thoughts So Far:

I am finding this book more creepy than downright scary. Currently, I am about 350 pages in and it has been a slowly building story that has drawn me in quite well as it jumps between the childhood memories and current lives of the children that were in Derry when IT was last a threat. Another interesting point is that the book is less clown focused than the classic movie. So far I am truly enjoying it.

Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Page Count: 324
Keywords: Dystopian, Women, Relationships
Genre: Fiction
Younger Readers: Similar to 1984 and Brave New World. Not appropriate for young children but high school aged children should be fine.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

My Thoughts So Far:

I am finding this to be an engaging read but I am certainly not as enthusiastic as a lot of other reviews I have seen. It feels a bit like every other dystopian I had to read in high school, just written a bit more recently so it feels more current. I would definitely recommend it if you liked Brave New World, 1984, or Animal Farm.

Title: Mercer Girls
Author: Libbie Hawker
Page Count: 422
Keywords: Antebellum, Mail Order Brides
Genre: Historical Fiction
Narrator: Amy McFadden
Duration: 15 hours and 20 minutes
Younger Readers: This is an adult book, but I have not started it yet so I cannot comment on how appropriate it is or is not.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s 1864 in downtrodden Lowell, Massachusetts. The Civil War has taken its toll on the town—leaving the economy in ruin and its women in dire straits. That is, until Asa Mercer arrives on a peculiar, but providential, errand: he seeks high-minded women who can exert an elevating influence in Seattle, where there are ten men for every woman. Mail-order brides, yes, but of a certain caliber.

Schoolmarmish Josephine, tough-as-nails Dovey, and pious perfectionist Sophronia see their chance to exchange their bleak prospects for new lives. But the very troubles that sent them running from Lowell follow them to the muddy streets of Seattle, and the friendships forged on the cross-country trek are tested at every turn.

Just when the journey seems to lead only to ruin, an encounter with a famous suffragist could be their salvation. But to survive both an untamed new landscape and their pasts, they’ll need all their strength—and one another.

My Thoughts so Far:

I just finished Gone With the Wind recently and was craving a book from the same time period when I saw this pop up as Audible's deal of the day. I have not started it yet but the small clip that I heard has me wondering if the narrator's voice is not as engaging as the past few that I have listened to (Rob Inglis and Caroline Lee). Hopefully it proves to be a good listen.