The Bad Beginning
by Lemony Snicket

I read this for the Read Harder challenge from Book Riot. I never read A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was a kid, because it never looked interesting (and by the time it came out, I was reading well above it, age-wise). Well, I can honestly say that, had I never read it, I would not have been missing out on anything.

Mary Rose, a play in three acts
by J. M. Barrie

I really enjoyed this ghost story. It’s written by the man who wrote Peter Pan (if you didn’t recognize the name), and it’s a very smart tale of a girl who used to live in this house, Mary Rose. She’s a sweet innocent thing who once disappeared on an island for twenty days, only to reappear as if nothing had happened. I don’t want to tell you too much, because I really think it’s something y’all should read. It was written in 1924, so be prepared for gender politics of the time in the way Mary Rose and her husband interact, but otherwise it’s an absolutely fascinating story.

I read it because there’s a new book coming out in April (called, of course, Mary Rose) that’s a modern retelling of the play. I urge you to read the play first if the new book sounds interesting to you (I got my copy through my library exchange, so you might have good luck there).

Cast No Shadow
by Nick Tapalansky

This is a cute comic about a boy who has no shadow and a ghost he meets and falls in love with. The art style is just adorable, and there’s a good range of body types on display, which is always a huge plus in my book. Every character looked and acted distinct.

Though he has no outward shadow, his is trapped inside, waiting to come out and wreak the havoc our main character won’t. In a really cool scene near the end, the shadow calls up the shadows of the dead to terrorize the town.

I thought it was a really cute story and it was definitely worth the time it took to read it.

Dia de Los Muertos
by Roseanne Thong

This is a really cute children’s book explaining the celebrations of Dia de Los Muertos. The art is just the cutest thing, and the text has Spanish used for terms relating to the festivities, with a glossary in the back. I just checked it out from the library to see it, and I definitely recommend it for young ones.